The Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk - Mission Accomplished

Back when we started talking about this trip, I told Barb that there is only one highway in Canada that goes North of the Arctic Circle, all the way to the Arctic Ocean. It's actually the Beaufort Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean.  Today we made this dream come true, by driving the last 153 Kilometers North until the road ended at the water's edge.

So who is ready for this final dirt road trip? Maybe the cleanest vehicle in the parking lot.

So the highway from Inuvik to Tuk, is much shorter in distance, but much harder to drive. This is a newer highway having opened in 2017, while the Dempster portion from Dawson City to Inuvik has been open since 1979. The road to Tuk has a lot of loose gravel, larger stones (rocks even) and for much of our trip the road was like driving on a washboard, just nothing but ripples. 

The maximum speed was 70, we probably averaged about 55.  Even at our speed, driving over a continuously bumpy road is a challenge to keep your vehicle on the road. You need to be really focused.  This trip north took us 3.5 hours to travel the 153 KM.

Scenery again was great, as we watched the trees thin out and eventually about 90 KM south of Tuk we saw the last tree.

This northern route is still stunning.

As we approached Tuktoyaktuk, we saw the Pingos.  Pingos are high mounds of land where a lake has thawed the permafrost. Then the freezing front advances inward placing the encapsulated "lens" of water under pressure. The thin layer of permafrost above the lens is pushed upward and the Pingo begins to grow. This Pingo will stop growing when it is frozen solid. How big are they you ask?  Take a look at these two Pingos.

You cannot drive up to them or climb them. They are protected by the Government of Canada.

Finally we reach Tuk.

And after a short drive through this Hamlet, we reach the Arctic Ocean!

Around town we found a few interesting areas.  This post showing the distances from Tuk to other locations around the world.

This is the Lady of Lourdes, a boat that sailed it's way into history of the Canadian Arctic. She sailed from 1931 to 1957 guided by Captain Billy Thrasher, braving pounding storms and shifting ice flows to deliver supplies from Tuktoyaktuk to Cambridge Bay which is now western Nunavut.

The people we met or saw were very, very friendly, waving if they passed us and were very kind and polite as we were. In one grocery store, a little girl wanted to purchase some sort of candy, but she didn't have enough money. We covered the 50 cents she was short.

Where ever we go, Barb likes to dip her toes in large bodies of water when we visit.  Actually she really wanted to swim in the Arctic Ocean, even though the temperature today was 8 degrees, not counting the wind chill which was coming at us from the North.

I was actually worried as to get into the water we had to walk a long way on a very stony beach and to get in deep enough she would have to walk out a long way into the Ocean since it was very shallow where we were.

So we took the walk along this beach to where the huge rocks stopped and the toe dipping began.

Thankfully she stopped there, otherwise hypothermia might have set in and I would have had to go find someone to retrieve her...lol. 

She was a bit disappointed, but it is another sea to add to her list which includes the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, the English Channel, North Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Alaska and the Ionian Sea.  Now that's impressive.

So after spending all afternoon in Tuk, we headed back down the road to Inuvik.  The road was dusty, which was another good reason to slow down as trucks approached. You completely lose sight of the road when they pass.

I drove up to Tuk, Barb drove back. We are both comfortable with each other's skill to drive safely and handle this machine I have now called Ruby. We arrived back and gave her yet another bath. It has taken us from Whitehorse to Tuktoyaktuk and back to Inuvik a total of over 1550 Kilometers, no flat tires and a rugged yet comfortable ride.

We made it back in time to have dinner at Alistine's and I was wrong last night when I said the tables were in that school bus. The bus is actually the kitchen, the little house is a historic building owed by a lady named Alistine McDonald who was born in Fort Norman in 1924. In 1955 she moved to Inuvik with her husband and they were one of the first few families to settle here. Her home remains and Barb went inside to take some pictures.

The meal was wonderful the owners Brian and Pam were very nice to chat with. The food was delicious. Below you can see Barb with an Eskimo Donut. It was great!

 

Tonight we are packing up. In the morning we will turn in our rental Jeep and fly back to Whitehorse for the next part of this adventure.  We will tell you more about this tomorrow.