Texas to Alaska to Texas. 2020 Honda Accord Hybrid driving on the Dalton Highway and the Dempster Highway. July/August 2023.

[PetitFrereArmada]

And if you like dried fish, ask around but it might be too early. It's a specialty.

I just asked at the library. They directed me to a store. I get there and the lady says they do not sell dry fish in town and that the people who do it in town do it only for family members. They say my best bet is to go to Tuk. Too bad, I cannot go back to Tuk.

 

[FAW3]

Another fabulous report with great photographs!

Have to say your reports have helped me as introductory guides to an area. Seeing a few sights/photos is all it takes to interest me for a future trip.

I also think your trips show how folks can travel like this NOW. For sure the big 4x4's and such are nice, and do provide great capabilities, but you prove that it's not the vehicle that is the foundation of a trip, it's the will to just go and do it.

Safe travels!

 

[crazysccrmd]

Stop in Dawson on your way back to get the human toe and dog balls certificates.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

If you come to Tuktoyatuk, you must stop to check out the pingos. Too bad the wind was very strong, and my drone was warning me with red alerts all over. I wanted to fly over the pingo and take a shot looking downward, but the wind was too much for my drone, and so I flew back to shore. I miss not getting that shot to see what was on top of that pingo.

 

[Todd780]

Stop in Dawson on your way back to get the human toe and dog balls certificates.

I knew about the toe, but never heard about dog balls.

 

[crazysccrmd]

I knew about the toe, but never heard about dog balls.

Same concept. I’d tell you where it was but I was on a three day bender after riding snow machines over the border from Tok so the memories are a bit blurry.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Fun fact.

All the Taxi cabs in Inuvik are numbered with the numbers posted on them. There are only 30 cabs and all are numbered. And each has a cb antenna on top. Needless to say when they saw my car numbered 66 with a cb antenna, they have been asking around town about my car. One cab driver approached me and said a friend of his called him on his cb about my car with 66 on it. He was just not sure since I had 66 on my car, which is not a local cab number. So, the cab who called his friend was wondering if I was a tourist cab from another city visiting Inuvik. I told this guy nope. I just have numbers on my car and have a cb to communicate with other truckers.

Most of the taxi drivers in Inuvik are all from Africa. They are all from the same country called Sudan.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Maybe I spoke too soon about not having a flat tire.

I woke up this morning to a tire that looked a bit low. I went and got gas and went to a tire shop.

They took off my tire to check for leaks. He could not find any. He called his coworker and I to come and help him look for bubbles. We could not find any.

He said he would put back my tire, and that would be $20 canadian. I said I have $20 US, which is more. Will that be ok? He said sure, and thanks a lot.

He adjusted all my 4 tires to the same psi. I went back to the hotel to check out.

It is 11:00 am now in Inuvik as I post this at the Inuvik library before I take off to drive over 16 hours through the night to get back to Dawson City.

I plan to take my time and sleep whenever I get tired. I just want to get to Eagle Plains before the restaurant closes at 7:30 pm, so that I can have dinner there.

I pray I do not have a flat tire. But I will be watching the driver side front tire, which is the tire that lost some air last night.

 

[ITTOG]

I wonder what draws the Sudanese there? Surely they can find cab jobs much closer to the climate they are used to. Inuvik's climate couldn't be more different.

Safe travels for the long drive.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Random Pictures.
Inuvik Library which offers excellent free wifi with free books. I even took 2 novels from the free books in the hallway.

The hotel where I stayed for 1 night. I enjoyed it.

A view this morning from my hotel room

It is really cool each time I see these huge overland rigs with foreign plates. So these people shipped this car to America so they could tour. These must be some very wealthy people to do this kind of travel.

The best restaurant in Inuvik. I had whitefish and chips. It was very good.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

It's 12:30 pm now. It is time for me to check out of this library and start my over 16 hours drive through the night to Dawson City. The goal now is 7 hours drive to catch the restaurant in Eagle Plains before they close at 7:30 pm, so I can have dinner there. Since that was one of my goals. To eat at that restaurant in Eagle Plains.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

My return trip from Inuvik to Dawson City started at 10:30 am, and I reached Dawson City at 4:30 am. It took me 17 hours, which includes a 1 hour break at Eagle Plains for dinner. I gained one hour based on time zone change.

Pictures at the start of the trip. This is the best stretch of the Dempster Highway. It is straight and very well maintained. The speed limit is 53 mph on this road, but other riders and drivers boast of doing over 70 mph easily.

I did 60 mph a few times and could even hit 65 mph. But all these roads have gravel. If you are going too fast and have to make an emergency stop, the gravel will be very unforgiving, and you could lose control of your vehicle, and you will crash.

My GPS showing how straight the road is.

MacKenzie River Crossing.
I the ferry to take me to the little town of Tsiigehtchic. I was the only one who went there.

 

[klahanie]

My return trip from Inuvik to Dawson City started at 10:30 am, and I reached Dawson City at 4:30 am. It took me 7 hours, which includes a 1 hour break at Eagle Plains for dinner. I gained one hour based on time zone change.

Pictures at the start of the trip. This is the best stretch of the Dempster Highway. It is straight and very well maintained. The speed limit is 53 mph on this road, but other riders and drivers boast of doing over 70 mph easily.

I did 60 mph a few times and could even hit 65 mph. But all these roads have gravel. If you are going too fast and have to make an emergency stop, the gravel will be very unforgiving, and you could lose control of your vehicle, and you will crash.

Glad you made it safe back to Dawson.

Got to say it. Driving over 70 there is straight up stupid. And a great way to give outsiders a bad name.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Glad you made it safe back to Dawson.

Got to say it. Driving over 70 there is straight up stupid. And a great way to give outsiders a bad name.

Very true.

You should see all the Ford Raptors and F150. When I was going to Inuvik, the guy with the Raptor told the guy with the Subaru and I that he does over 120 kmph (over 74 mph). So we should let him get on the Ferry first because as soon as he gets off, there would be a huge ball of dust following him as he barrels down the highway to Inuvik.

On this return trip, when I got off the ferry at Fort McPherson, this loaded F150 was chasing me. I was doing 55-60. He was on my tail and did not care about the ball of dust I was raising. I had to pulloverand let him zoom by. 15 minutes later he is packed on the side of the road and he is peeing while another female passenger is peeing too on the side of the road. They could not wait until the nest rest stop. I passed them at that point and I never saw him again.

Some bikers too express how they fly down that road doing over 70 mph easy.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

TSIIGEHTCHIC

Not many tourists take the ferry to this town, so I made it a priority to visit and take tons of pictures.

Let this my trip on the Dempster be a good reference that others can share with others wanting to take a trip down the Dempster. I am sure these pictures would help. Feel free to share with anybody wanting to take a trip on this road and encourage them to stop in this town.

On the ferry heading to Tsiigehtchic

Frederick asks me to please see the video of my drone. He was very entertained with the quality of the image on the remote control and how the drone was following the ferry.

The most photographed buildings in town.

An aerial view of the whole town. If you ever wondered how the town looks like from above.

When I was done and drove down to where I had to wait for the ferry, this guy came up and pulled up to say hello. They do not get very many visitors as before, so he was pleased to see me.

His name is Frederick Blake. He told me he used to be the speaker of the NWT. He told me to please look him up. Well, I have not looked him up yet. If anybody wants to look him up.

I asked if we could take a picture. He said sure and he asked if he could take some pictures of me next to my car. I said that would be great! He took 3 different pictures of me.

He told me a lot of things about the town. Sadly, they do not offer anything for tourists like a restaurant or a grocery store. Maybe that is why nobody is visitong. He told me this is a diesel tank that most of the houses have and use to heat up the house and heat up water.

I thought this was a nursing home, but he told me it is reduced housing for seniors. A small, nice apartment for $200 to $300 a month. I thought that was a very good deal for a beautiful apartment. He told me he is now retired and loves living out there.

Sitting at the shore, waiting for the ferry. It was very nice visiting Tsiigehtchic. You should go if you are in the area. They will be happy.

On there ferry now. These guys enjoyed seeing me fly the drone. They asked to see the video. I showed it and they loved it. They asked if I do not mind sharing the footage with them. I said sure, I can share the footage with them. The bikers gave me their phone numbers and the owner of the van also gave me his number and email address.