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

[PetitFrereArmada]

Pictures I took yesterday when I was driving on the Icefields Parkway from Banff to Jasper.

Yesterday, I spent the night at a hostel in Jasper. I booked a bed in a 10 bedroom Coed dorm room. 10 beds for 10 of us with a singke toioet and shower in the same room for all of ua to share. In that room, there were more women than men. About half of the people were foreigners on vacation in the US. A young German couple. Each had their own bed. A solo young female from New Zealand. I really admired her adventurous spirit of coming to the US and renting a car to explore in Canada. Same for the German couple. They all looked like they were in their late 20s or early 30s. Here is a picture of the beds in the room. I slept in the first bed on your left.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

I am starting the long drive down the Alaska Highway tomorrow.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

I had a very long drive today. My plan was to drive for 12 hours and get a hotel. But I got there too early and decided to drive for 2 more hours to the next town to spend the night.

90% of my drive today was in heavy rainfall. I did not get to stop as often as I wanted to, but I did see some wild life and made a few brief stops.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

The next stop was the Sign Post Forest, where I met some cool people.

I met this older gentleman all the way from Pennsylvania in his Toyota Tacoma. He told me he has recently retired and is on a solo road trip to Alaska. His plan is just to take his time driving, sightseeing, and let the wind take him to any cool destination until he is ready to drive back home.

I saw this cool rig and started taking some pictures of it until the owner came over and we started talking. He is all the way from Brazil driving this Volkswagen. I asked if I could take a picture of him. He said sure. Then he said we should rake one together. Immediately after that picture, it started raining hard. We bid farewell, and I went to get gas and some food before continuing on my trip.

 

[ITTOG]

That bear is so thin it looks like a dog.

You always meet people on your trips. You are either good at starting a conversation or very approachable. Either way, great qualities to have.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

I saw this in Dawson City 2 days ago and thought it looked cool.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

That bear is so thin it looks like a dog.

You always meet people on your trips. You are either good at starting a conversation or very approachable. Either way, great qualities to have.

I think people are really friendly out there, especially travelers. Most peoppe traveling are always willing to help others and most are always willing to share travel stories or find out about others. So it happens that some people approach me or I approach some people.

Like on this trip so far.

I met this retired couple from Florida at the start of the Dempster Highway, where we stopped to take pictures. We said hello to each other. Then it just so happens that we have been meeting each other at many photo opportunity spots along the way and each time the wife has something new to ask about me. I thought we had gone our separate ways and I just met them right now in the store in Inuvik. Very friendly people.

I met Mark and his wife stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire. I stopped to see if I could help. He came out and thanked me and said over 5 people have stopped to offer help. He has already sent information with 2 bikers to help him get help.

Mark and his wife are from Arizona and have been driving around for 30 days now. He told me he drove to Tuktoyatuk and never had a flat. But on this day coming back, he has had 3 flat tires! 3 flat tires in one day!

His RV had a flat tire, and he stopped and changed it. Later on, his truck had a flat tire. He changed it. Then, 30 minutes later, he gets another flat. Now he is stranded with no spare. By the time I stopped to check on him, he had been there for 2 hours, and he had no idea when help would come.

I bid him farewell as I continued my trip down the Dempster Highway..

These are the flat tires he has already had today and changed.

Janet was staying at the same hotel as I was and came over to say hello because she was curious about the number 66 on my car. She asked if I had something to do with Nascar. I said no.

She told me she is on a solo road trip from Wisconsin and has been on the road for over 30 days now. She did the Top of the World Highway to Dawson City, and just before Dawson City, she hit some bad pot holes that broke the control arm of her bike. It can drive slowly around town, but it cannot do another long drive. So she has been stuck in Dawson City for 8 days now since she had to order the parts and have them shipped to a shop in Dawson City, which will do the repairs for her. She told me the part should be there the next day.

I saw this bike parked on the side of the road. You can tell he had a flat, and someone has given him a ride to go and get the tire fixed and come back.

I saw these too along the road on the Dempster Highway, and just took pictures.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Dawson City and start of the Dempster Highway

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

I drove 16 hours yesterday from Dawson City to Tuktoyatuk. My original plan was not to go all the way, but I just found myself going and going and going. It was not easy, but the anticipation of what was next kept me going.

I left Dawson City at 10:30 am and got to Tuktoyatuk at 2:30 am. The sun was as bright as ever. The sun was up 100%. There was no sign of anything like it was going down. I drove straight! Just taking a few breaks here and there.

The road from Dawson City to Tombstone was good.

The worst part of the road is from Tombstone to Eagle Plains. After Tombstone, there was a torrential downpour of hail storms. Very small things if ice hitting my car. It did not last for long. I have not even checked my car for dings and dents.

Eagle Plains to Northwest Territories border was still bad, but not the worst. The road from the NWT border to the ferry at Fort McPherson was good. The road from Fort McPherson to MacKenzie river Crossing was good.

The road from MacKenzie river Crossing to Inuvik was the best!

The road from Inuvik to Tuktoyatuk has A LOT of loose gravel. It is very technical. Any slight error, and it will be unforgiving, and you will wreck. I met 2 bikers who told me that they both fell on that road twice each.

2 airport strips along the way

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Eagle Plains

Arctic Circle

Entering Northwest Territories

First River Crossing at Fort McPherson. Hours of operation are 8:15 am to 12:45 am.

MacKenzie River Crossing. Hours of operation are 8:15 am to 11:45 pm.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

I made it to Inuvik @ 1:15 am! No flat tire.

2:30 am. I made it to Tuktoyatuk! I am happy I did not have a flat tire to get here.

At 3:15 am, I was flying my drone and taking pictures at the Arctic Cirlce sign when Violet saw me from her bedroom window and decided to come out and walk to see what I was doing. She spent 30 minutes talking with me before saying she is going back to bed. I went and packed my car among other travelers and took a nap.

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

880k of gravel in one shot !
Driving beast fo shure.

Then when you turned around in Tuk what did you do ?? ...

Thanks for the compliment. Yes, I did all 880 km of gravel road in one shot. It was not easy, but I gave it my all. I feel sorry for my Accord. She is hanging in there. The car has been abused! From all the rocks hitting the under carriage to the hail storm and all the dust that is in all parts in my car that I will never ever be able to get clean again. My car is currently filthy from the dust.

I took a 2 hours nap in my car at the Arctic Circle. At 8:00 am, I called my hotel in Inuvik and asked if I could kindly do an early check in. They said sure. I could check in any time as from 10:00 am. I got into my car and drove 3 hours back to Inuvik and was able to check in at noon. I checked in and took a well deserved shower. No good wifi at the hotel, so I am right now at the library here in Inuvik using their wifi to post all these pictures of my drive from Dawson City to Tuktoyatuk.

 

[Dave in AZ]

Great posts, I love following along, thanks!

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Hah, well deserved indeed.

I see you chatted with a local in Tuk. Awesome.

The vistor centre in Inuvik is pretty good, the one with the big carving outside. And the airport has a big polar bear (stuffed) inside.

Enjoy and thx for the pics !

Thanks for the tip. I just went there. They gave me this certificate.

Also, Inuvik has a problem. A drug problem! I have been seeing these random women walking around like zombies. I was sure that was not normal. When I went to the visitor center,I talked about it and they confirmed with me that there is a big drug problem here. The police is cracking down but there is no improvement. So I guess there are a lot of drug addicts here. The sight is very sad. The ones I have been seeing are women. Young beautiful girls. It is sad.

 

[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.