Day 26, Monday, 7/13: Well, Bob decided that we should start out early this morning so we were on the road at 3:00 AM! Of course, it is daylight no matter when you travel and he thought we might see some critters. The sun was just above the horizon and it was nice. Several reasons we won’t be doing this again! The sun was full in our eyes, there was fog in spots, we didn’t see any critters except for a few rabbits and grouse. We arrived at Eagle Plains Lodge/Motel at 6:00 hoping to have breakfast but their restaurant doesn’t open until 7:00 and the fuel station doesn’t open until 8:00. So Bob is having a nap and I am updating our journal…. More later….
We had a great breakfast at the Lodge/Motel. It is quite a place! The complex was built in 1978 when the Dempster Highway was finished and they are totally self-sufficient. They use generators as there is no power out here. The complex includes the motel/lodge, restaurant/lounge, RV park, public laundry and showers, fuel station with repair shop and helicopter pad. Water is trucked in and sewer is trucked out! We were surprised that the breakfast was NOT expensive. The young lady that waited on us was a college student that works here in the summers. She said it is great because there is no place to spend money so she is able to save! They do have Wi-Fi here but we didn’t take advantage of it since we had internet connection yesterday.
After breakfast we fueled and headed on north. This area is so VAST it is just amazing. You drive for miles and miles and the only thing that is man made is the road! There are no fences or power poles or houses, just an occasional microwave/cell tower on a mountaintop. We have been a little surprised at how many cars and RV’s are on this road. Not as many big trucks as we expected though.
Crossed the Arctic Circle this afternoon. Once we left the mountains we had expected to be in a flat environment which for the most part it was. The surprising thing was that there were so many of the small black spruce forests on both sides of the road. There is a section that is 13 miles of perfectly straight road! Crossed two rivers by ferry today which is always an adventure. The black flies seem to hang around in those spots! Since we got up at 3:00, we stopped at a gravel pit and Bob took another nap (I read my Kindle). He is driving which is a little stressful since you have to watch for potholes and such. Once we left the mountains the scenery was not nearly as spectacular so we just kept driving until we reached Inuvik! Arrived here about 5:30 pm and the first campground was a wash. The sites were too small and we could only stay one night as they have people with reservations. There is an Arts Festival in town starting at 10:00 in the morning! So, we backtracked to another Territorial Park and they were VERY accommodating. We have a nice pull through spot and decided since it is about 5 km. outside of town that we would disconnect the trailer and put the camper on the ground so we have the truck to go sight seeing. They have nice showers here and a viewing tower to see the McKenzie River delta area. Will take some pictures soon. Camper and trailer are dirty/dusty inside and out. 34.5 Miles to the Arctic Ocean.
Bob is thinking Speed Week in Mid August.. We are about 7 full days drive from Bonneville… Bob’s thinking probably stinks… Alaska… Nevada… Alaska.. Utah.. Alaska… salt… ALASKA… much better.
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