Yes, we made it to The Northwest Territories (NWT). This leg of our journey grew from a concept to being a reality relatively quickly. There was an attraction and a bit of mystery that drew us to the far north. In this post assessment period, it is still considered a worthwhile adventure and we would do it again given the chance. We found it to be a very unique part of the world. The culture is fascinating as it is a blend of native Canadians and white folks (the label given to outsiders). The vast natural resources of the land and the history of inhabitants living off the land for generations are impressive.

The loop route we took is the Deh Cho which is named after the Mackenzie River. Deh Cho is Slavey Dene (Native Canadian Tribe) for big river. This is a wilderness/remote route with about 1/3 being unpaved. It is 800 miles starting in the Peace Valley in Alberta and ending at the Alaskan Highway in British Columbia. We were not able to do the entire loop due to a major washout and a temporary bridge which is unsafe for large rigs. Since we could not do the loop we decided on a side trip to Yellowknife (over 700 miles round trip from the loop).

Going north from Edmonton the flat farming terrain gives way to hills, rocks and pine trees. Our first night we stayed at Peace River which is named after the river. The trip down into the valley was very steep and never seemed to end. There we found the town folks extremely friendly and very talkative. We kept hearing about 12 foot Davis, a local legend so we had to take his pictures. Actually he was only five seven in real life and yes, he is a legend.

The next day we passed into the NWT at the 60th Parallel which is now documented by a certificate from the visitor center. Next overnight stop after a 400 mile day was Twin Falls Territorial Park. There were two nice falls on the Hay River. The water levels were high and the river was fast. There were traces of snow and lots of water falls from the melting snow off the cliffs. The park manager was from the Dene Tribe and was very personable. He gave us lots of information on the Native Canadians and their culture both present and past. Jan said she could talk to him all day.

The trip to Yellowknife was 350 miles. There is a new bridge, only a year old, which replaced the ferry service. Yellowknife is the capital of NWT (1967) and became a city in 1970. Gold was mined there for forty years. When the gold started to run out, diamonds were found in 1991 and Yellowknife is now a leader in the world Diamond production. The NWT has 45,000 total population with over one half being residents of Yellowknife. The old part of town is called the “Rock” and actually a small island which “is” all rock. There is new development referred to as “New Town”. Once outside of the city limits it becomes wilderness quickly…of course pictures included.

The old part of town is very crowded, dense and can be a bit on the seedy side at times. There are lots of small shops and does retain a connection to the past. It attracts tourists and is in the process of being redeveloped. Jan found a large Inukshuk there so we had to take a picture.

Houseboats are one thing you would never expect to find in the far north. There are lots of them and they come in all sizes and colors. The inhabitants have to leave them in the fall when the ice forms and again when it breaks up in the spring. Otherwise they are year round lodging. Looks like fun if you like boon docking and living on the water. You see lots of float planes used for regional travel. The city does have a large airport with helicopter and jet service.

The roads in NWT are in fairly rough shape. There are lots of frost heaves and sections where the pavement has been removed. At the end of the day you find things have moved around in the RV from all the jostling. Drank lots of coffee to stay alert as some of the major dips and bump are marked but many are not. The road to Yellowknife goes through a Buffalo Reserve. We saw lots of them grazing by the side of road which gave us many photo opportunities. There are many small lakes along the entire loop with water fowl and Muskrats houses to keep one entertained.

We spent three nights in Yellowknife before moving on to Hay River for two more. Hay River is the older city having been around since the 50’s (Population 3,800), second largest city in NWT. There are only the two cities of any size in NWT. Hay River came in to its own being the rail terminus for the region. The city use to be a shipping and fishing center connected by all the rivers that converge there as well as the Great Slave Lake. The town has fallen on hard times since the road was built. At the shipping terminal I counted 12, there may be more, rusting ships now permanently dry docked.

We stopped back in Peace River to catch up with the “friendly” folks we met on the way up. As you can see from the pictures there was rain for both our Peace River stops. We did manage a camp fire the last night between the rain clouds although you cannot see the fire in the picture, it is there.
Dawson Creek, British Columbia is home for two nights before taking on the Alaskan Highway. Dawson Creek is mile 0 for the Alcan. We arrived yesterday afternoon. The first thing to do was to give the RV and the truck a bath so we could find out what colors they were. Today is restocking, laundry, catching up on email, posting to the internet and planning the next week. It is a 1,500 drive to Fairbanks and we expect to be there in one week (June 14).

Life on the road is good. So far no major issues that we could not solve. The NWT tour is now logged and we are ready to take on the next leg of the Alaskan Journey.

Hope all is well with everyone out there…

God Bless,

Larry and Jan

Traverse City, Michigan to Edmonton, Alberta – Nine Days[/caption]

As the old saying goes “Getting there is half the fun”. The miles are clicking off, the “on the road” routine is falling into place and Traverse City is becoming a distant memory. After leaving Michigan we have crossed Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and half of Alberta. We have logged about 2,000 miles in nine days and seen some great scenery (photos to follow). Successful traveling in a RV is about logistics and tactical planning which seems to consume much of the off the road time. However, the character of the trip is about to change from being a road trip to a sightseeing adventure experience. Our route was around the top of the Lake Superior connecting with the Yellowhead Highway in Winnipeg, Manitoba then ending in Edmonton, Alberta. The Trans-Canadian Highway also follows the Yellowhead section that we took. The Yellowhead trail is named after Métis guide Pierre Bostaonais known as “Tete Jaune” which translates to Yellowhead. It is dubbed the “Park to Park” highway which crosses 4 Canadian provinces, five national parks and 90 provincial parks. It was easy to find lots of literature that promotes the route to help find the worthwhile points of interest along the way.

As you can see from the pictures we experienced more than our share of rain around Lake Superior. This is a great drive if you can see the water. We stopped in Wawa to take pictures beside the Canada Goose.

The weather cleared up as we came into Thunder Bay with a stop at the Terry Fox Memorial. (Terry Fox was a cancer victim who ran across Canada and raised millions for Cancer research). This is the third time we had been there…uplifting experience.

It has been easy to find campgrounds. Of course some are better than others…the smiley face was taken at a park that might have been mistaken for Sanford and Son’s backyard. Private parks have been the order of the day so far. It is our hope to find more provincial/territory parks as we head north.

The Canadian experience is interesting and fun. Great place to visit if it was not so expensive. The provincial parks in Ontario are almost twice the cost of private parks. We will not talk about fuel prices. The landscape is breath taking and the cities are interesting. On this route we hit Winnipeg, MB; Saskatoon, SK; and Edmonton, AB. We did not get to spend any time in Winnipeg which looks like an interesting city.

Today’s agenda includes exploring Edmonton. The two days spent in Saskatoon was a nice relief from being behind the wheel all day. We were able to take advantage of the river walk along the Saskatchewan River. This was a nice half day adventure (with lunch along the trail). We were able to take in the University of Saskatchewan Campus and explored part of the city. You can see the University in the background from pictures taken from the railroad bridge over the river. You can see the city across the river from where we had lunch on the trail.

Now the Prairie will give way to more mountainous terrain as we leave the more developed Trans-Canadian Highway. The theme for the Edmonton stop is to prep for a drive through the wilderness in the Northwest Territory. The next leg of the trip about 1,200 miles over 10 days will take us from Edmonton to The Alaska Highway at Fort Nelson in British Columbia. The experience will include a trip to Yellowknife (Capital of NWT), 250 miles of gravel road, lot of lakes-waterfalls-rivers all with long distances between refueling opportunities.

Getting ready to move on…

Larry and Jan

PS: This did not get posted yesterday due to a dysfunctional internet connect. Today did not go as planned due to an adventure with the truck and an auto repair service. We also found out there was a major washout on the loop road in the Northwest Territory and the strong recommendation is not to try it towing an RV. The road is expected to be in full service by August…so tonight is regrouping to see if a fall back plan can be created.