Parallel 68 : November 2013

Its 8am on September 24. Robin is curled up in the fetal position. My head is throbbing. The moving company wouldn't move any wine or beer, "it'll freeze," they say. So we had a goodbye party and we drank it all...

In 20 minutes the movers arrive and we have to pack the house. Eff.

In a flurry of boxes, tape and a stale smell of cigarettes the moving team packed our house into the back of a truck leaving us with a mattress, a lamp and two suitcases of clothes and supplies for the next 3 weeks and a 3700km trip north to Inuvik, NT.

We arrived at Vancouver International airport and walked to the far end of the check-in wickets to Air North's one little counter. Bags checked, security passed and on to the plane we go! 2 hours and a chicken cordon bleu sandwich later we landed in Whitehorse.

Our mission, should we accept: buy an SUV in 1.5 days, buy food and supplies, pack it and drive 1700km up the gravel Dempster highway to Inuvik. We accept.

We stayed in an amazing airbnb apartment that was walking distance to downtown and all of the car dealerships.

We found a 2011 Kia Sportage that was in incredible shape and a great deal, so we bought it in record time, loaded our stuff into it and hit the road.

Day 1 Destination: Dawson City, YT

With the new rig fully loaded with cereal, wine kit, jerry can of extra gas and suitcases we made our way north through the rolling hills. The birch trees were bright yellow and lit up the valley. As we made our way north the hills slowly grew, the leaves lost their colour and the number of cars on the road declined.

Dawson is a mining town and the moment you get within town limits you can see the mounds of gravel that had been upturned in the old-style gold mining process used during the Klondike. A massive barge would dredge up the ground, separate out any gold and spew the useless gravel out into huge worm-like mounds. While it was extremely effective, the land was rendered useless and still today nothing grows on these mounds. The landscape reminded us of the movie "Tremors." Unfortunately Kevin Bacon didn't make an appearance.

We rolled up to Bombay Peggy's whore house to spend the night. The towns most prominent brothel was built in the 1900s and became a favourite hot-spot for many miners during the Klondike. Today the house has been restored as a historical landmark and is a fantastic boutique hotel (no hanky-panky included anymore).

We stayed on the very top floor in the 'Attic,' where we found a spacious layout with a claw-foot bathtub, reading nook, skylights and comfy bed. We had to watch our heads as the ceiling angled in from every-which-way.

If you listen closely, late at night you can still hear the moaning of the ghosts of the Klondike.

As night fell we found a little greek restaurant to eat. Nothing says traditional Yukon mining town, like Saganaki and Kalamatas! After dinner we ventured over to the Sourdough Saloon at the Downtown Hotel to have a drink. This particular Saloon boasts a unique drink called the "sour toe cocktail." It's exactly what it sounds like. A human toe in a generous shot of Yukon Whiskey. In order for the shot to 'count' the toe has to touch the drinkers lips.

I had one.

To see the video of the shot click here: Drinking the Sour Toe Shot

Our trip to Dawson was now complete.

Day 2 Destination: Eagle Plains

We rose the next morning to overcast skies and muddy roads. We set out from Dawson and almost immediately met two moose on the side of the highway! They were there and gone before we had a chance to get the camera out and were the only wildlife we encountered except for a few ptarmigan near Inuvik.

Our journey took us through Tombstone Territorial Park. It was raining and foggy for the majority of the drive but every once in a while we caught glimpses of the snow-capped mountains.

The terrain and climate changed so rapidly throughout the entire trip. You can also see the colours of the road change. Each section was built using local gravel and materials.

Our drive started getting really spooky as we climbed over mountain passes. Unfortunately the first time I asked Robin to take the wheel for a little while so I could rest my eyes, we hit the worst patch of the Dempster. Rutted muddy tracks took control of the vehicle as we tried our best to stay on the road, white-knuckled.

We pulled into Eagle Plains Motel (a glorified truck stop) early in the evening. It was a stark contrast to the lavish Bombay Peggy's. The front desk attendant was also the waitress, bartender and gas jockey.

"An Oasis" ...right.

How many dead animals can YOU spot? There were so many more that you can't see here.

Day 3 Destination: Inuvik!

Breakfast was made-to-order by our very own french chef at Eagle Plains (because there was no one else there). He made us Eggs Benedict and told us tales as he showed us pictures of grizzlies on his camera. He came for a visit one day and never left.

A few kilometres up the highway we pulled over near a river so that Andrew could take a quick dip. It was very quick, the fast current and frigid waters were painful and scary. Thank KIA for heated seats!

Ptarmigan [tarm-i-gan] are like grouse. Their defence technique is to stay motionless and blend in with their surroundings. You could walk right up to one and pick it up. Unfortunately for them the snow came late and they stood out like a sore thumb.

On this leg of the journey we crossed the Arctic Circle! It was cold... or so we thought.

We ascended into the Yukon/Northwest Territories pass. The border sat at the top of a snowy and perilous mountain.

Visibility was very poor as we reached the pass. Here we discovered it was significantly colder than the Arctic Circle, due to the high elevation.

Ahead lay the Northwest Territories and Inuvik!

As we came down the other side of the mountain pass we found ourselves back in the muddy rutted roads that we knew all too well. The final stretch of the trip had us crossing two rivers via ferry.