We caught our first glimpse of MV Kennicott at 4:30 pm as she sailed up Chilkoot Inlet. We had to admit seeing her was an exciting moment, marking the end of our Alaska and Northwest Canada adventure and the start to saving MFI three weeks of driving. In front of the terminal, there were seven…
The Tlingit First People called Haines Deishu, which appropriately translated to “end of the trail.” The city was a quaint tourist and fishing village sitting on the Chilkoot Inlet amidst an area, which had a lot to offer visitors. The day we arrived, the weather was wet and cloudy; but over the following days, the…
The original plan at this point was to work our way south to Skagway, AK, be there in time to board our AMHS (Alaska Marine Highway System) ship, and sail back to the lower 48. We had purchased our tickets several months earlier on our way north with a departure date of 16 September. But…
NOTE: Before reading this blog, I highly recommend you first read The Dempster Highway Experience by MFI published September 1, 2024. Her blog helps put this one in proper perspective. Our plan, and only option, was to drive the Dempster Highway south, stop at the same campgrounds we’d done on the way up, and hang…
Seeing the Aurora Borealis, also called the Northern Lights, was on our bucket list. While we were camped in Fairbanks, MFI downloaded the My Aurora Forecast app to help us know when and where to look during our remaining 2 and 1/2 months in Alaska and northwestern Canada. It was not something we checked on…
NOTE: Before reading this blog, I highly recommend you first read The Dempster Highway Experience by MFI published September 1, 2024. Her blog helps put this one in proper perspective. After 5 decades of consideration, construction of the all-weather road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk (population 900 and hereafter referred to as Tuk) was started in…
In the mornings, I had time, along with terrific weather, to squeeze in two local hikes. Both started in our campground, leaving MFI free from not having to drive me to a trailhead and bide her time until finished. The first trail was not on my AllTrails app and looked more like an infrequently used…
The Inuvik Mural Project has taken many forms in many places over a number of years. Its purposes included: reinforcing community pride, establishing greater connections between Inuvialuit of all ages, displaying Inuvialuit culture, supporting local artists, and preparing communities for the return of tourism. As part of the broader Project, the IRC (Inuvialuit Regional Corporation)…
The Inuvik coordinates were 68°21’39″N and 133°43’47″W, which placed it 124 miles north of the Arctic Circle. I referenced this to make a comparison with my assignment at Thule Air Base, Greenland from Dec 17, 1976 to Dec 17, 1977. For accuracy, Thule was renamed Pituffik Space Base in 2023, since it had become a…
NOTE: Before reading this blog, I highly recommend you first read The Dempster Highway Experience by MFI published September 1, 2024. Her blog helps put this one in proper perspective. We were on the final leg of the Dempster Highway, which ended in Inuvik, NT (population 3,137). The terrain became heavily dotted with ponds, lakes,…
