Category: Northwest Territories

It’s a funny thing waking up from a deep sleep where the sun hardly sets, I woke up at 5 am and it was so bright out I thought I’d slept until noon, it certainly plays tricks on your mind that’s for sure. I was glad I drove to High Level to camp the night before, I was able to get more done in camp such as giving Winnie’s bed a proper clean in a washing machine, along with having access to wifi again so I could upload my blog.
I got back on the road around 11:30 am heading towards the Northwest Territories, the road was a long stretch with occasional patches of charred timber scattered amongst tall and vibrant birch trees. As I drove further north the amount of insects increased exponentially, there were times I thought it might be raining due to so many hitting my windshield at once. While I may have been annoyed at the bugs, for other creatures it was the buffet of a lifetime, I watched as groups of birds darted back and fourth gorging themselves on the endless supply.

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I saw it at last, the sign I’d been waiting for, I had arrived at the Northwest Territories.

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I continued heading north on the MacKenzie Highway, with so much rain and the slew of mostly tiny little flies I limited how often I stopped. There was one place I was going to brave though no matter the conditions, Alexandra Falls. When I arrived there I took my time viewing the cascading falls from varying vantage points, a light misty vapor rose high into the air as the water thundered over the cliff and plunged into the valley below. Satisfied I ventured back to my vehicle and continued north.

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I was starting to worry about my gas, as you go further into the north things like gas stations become increasingly rare and further apart, often hundreds of kilometers from one another. I arrived in a tiny little place called Enterprise planning to fill my tank before a small little gift shop named Winnie’s caught my eye, who would have thought my dog would have a side hustle all the way up north?! Sneaky woodle. I walked in and the owner, a kind lady, welcomed me. We talked for a bit then she instructed me to grab some chalk and write on her building like so many before me had done, well I took her up on it and left my mark on that tiny place in the world.

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It was now time to get some gas at last as I was running very low. I pulled up to the gas station and oh no, it couldn’t be, it was closed down! The closest gas station I was able to drive to before my tank ran dry was 30 minutes north in a town called Hay River, while I hadn’t planned on going there I now had no choice and immediately set off in that direction.

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I arrived in Hay River just in time and filled my thirsty tank to the brim, I figured since I was there I mine as well stay the night and enjoy my evening exploring the town. I found a great campsite right beside Great Slave Lake and set up my tent, since it was still fairly early I figured I’d take Winnie for a trip to the beach, to say she loved it would be a vast understatement. She started going wild playing about in the sand as I looked out across the water. Shortly after arriving, two women walked up with their dogs, we said our hellos and chatted about as the dogs chased one another back and fourth. This was a big step for Winnie, she has been scared of water for a while now but as the other dogs ran into the water she would barrel in right behind them, starting shallow and slowly going further and further in, I couldn’t help but smile as I was watching my dog get over her fear of water. The three of us walked up and down the beach sharing stories before saying our goodbyes.

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I was feeling pretty hungry when I got Winnie back in the car and decided to check out a local restaurant, I ended up going with a place called Boardroom. I sat down and a server named Thomas greeted me, now I have had great servers in the past but Thomas was exceptional, one the friendliest people I have ever met, he shook my hand and encouraged me on my future travels. I ended up eating so much I found myself wishing they had a wheelbarrow service to take me to my car, I would have payed well.
With the soothing sound of the lake in the distance, a belly full of food and Winnie snoozing at my feet it’s time to call it a day, it’s been a pretty good one.

Last night was probably the best sleep I’ve gotten this entire trip so far. I slowly crawled out of bed, packed everything up and headed to the camp office where they had coffee on the house, I simply couldn’t pass that up and sipped away while I worked on the blog. It came time to leave and I took one last trip to the beach, as I was walking back to the car I almost got ran over by two energetic little squirrels, one even decided to perch itself on a tree right beside me and pose for the camera, I have a feeling this isn’t their first time doing this, born to be a star I suppose.

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I started off towards Yellowknife. I’ve gotten better at traveling after my first week on the road, I’ve been grabbing more maps and while keeping my plans incredibly open I’ve been planning out places to stop a little better than before. One of the places I made sure to stop at was Lady Evelyn Falls, a decent detour but a treasure worth pursuing. A short walk took me to a cliff where the torrent of water rushed over the edge as it raced to the bottom leaving a colorful rainbow that hovered amongst the mist.

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I got back on the road and continued north. Despite the ridiculous army of insects I found myself constantly stopping to take pictures or view some of the territorial parks, during one of the stops I came across some of the strangest birds I’ve ever heard, their shouts sounded like someone screaming, I even doubled checked to make sure, it had an eerie rather unnerving sound.

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Soon I arrived at a gas station around Fort Providence and figured I mine as well top up the tank, while I was there I noticed they were selling bison burgers and knew I had to try it, I’ll never be able to look at a bison the same way again, it was delicious! I chowed down and since the MacKenzie River was right behind the building I took Winnie for a stroll to stretch her legs.

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Back on road and still thinking about how tasty that bison burger was I drove past the biggest bison I’d ever seen in my life, cheeks full he was gorging himself on the various greens beside the road, I quickly snapped some photos and went on my merry way.

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The roads were long seemingly unending stretches of pavement, I chased the shimmering mirages for hours on end. I could feel the exhaustion taking it’s toll and found myself pulling over to take breaks more often. I was getting closer though, I was determined to reach Yellowknife within the day. The final 100 km to the capital was treacherous for the unaware and speedy drivers, the road constantly dipped and weaved with pot holes and gravel patches scattered about adding to the mess. There were warning signs for some of the dips and bumps but many still remained unmarked and hidden until the last moment as they waited to humble those who thought they could speed along with minimal care.

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At last I arrived in Yellowknife, exhausted I found a campground and set my tent. There was a dog park close by so I took Winnie on over to stretch her legs and burn off her energy, she ran back and fourth having a blast in the sunset. The amount of mosquitoes there were staggering, the swarm followed us everywhere, even as I was putting Winnie back in the car after her gallop in the park there must have been at least 20 that got inside before the slaughter started as I hunted them down. When I got back to camp I found myself watching a dragonfly darting back and fourth feasting, I wondered who took out more mosquitoes tonight, me or him, I’m willing to bet it was close.

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I had already driven over 3000 km when I made it to Yellowknife, with so much time on the road I decided I would take today to relax a bit and do some exploring of the city. I took my time crawling out of bed, hopped in the car and headed downtown to explore. As I was driving about I saw my first destination worth checking out, NWT Diamond Centre. I walked on up and pushed the buzzer, a cheerful lady came up to the door all smiles and let me in. She began to tell me all about the diamond mines located in the Northwest Territories, the history of them, the extraction process, grading, it all ended up being pretty educational and interesting. Turns out the biggest diamond ever found in North America was recently found in one of the mines here, a 552 carat yellow diamond found in the Diavik Diamond Mine. I then got to see some of the $50,000 to $100,000 diamonds under a special magnifying glass, the details were pretty incredible though I still don’t think I’d fork out a 100 grand for one!

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I said my farewells and headed off to an area called old town, an area full of all sorts of strange and unique shops. I made my first stop there at a place called Old Town Glassworks where a friendly man named Mathew happily greeted me and proceeded to give me a tour of the place. They take old bottles and make some really cool artwork out of them, adding all sorts of unique kinds of engravings, fashioning cups, lamps and other unique art, talk about a creative way to recycle! They also fixed up bikes and Mathew lent me a motorized one to take for a spin around the block which ended up being pretty fun.

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I found myself getting pretty hungry and it was time, I’d had multiple people hype this place up pretty heavily, I entered the legendary Bullocks Bistro. The building alone was pretty unique with the walls and ceilings covered with all sorts of stickers, writings and the like. I sat down and got a menu, naturally I picked out the most expensive fish, the Arctic Char and eagerly awaited it’s arrival. I didn’t have to wait long, it soon arrived in all its glory in front of me. Now I have had some pretty tasty fish throughout my life but this one now sits on the top of the podium. I could hardly contain myself after the first juicy bite, it was unbelievably delectable. The chef looked over and smiled at me as I chowed down, I could see the proud look on her face as I devoured the delicious meal before me.

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Full to the brim I headed off to a lookout with Winnie, took in the scenery and headed back to the car. I made a few more little stops at some shops in the area then decided to head back to camp where I finished the night off with some reading while Winnie snoozed beside me.

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I woke up today feeling a little more indecisive then usual. I was torn on whether I should stay another night and do some more exploring or head on down to adventure in Alberta. While I was thinking about what to do I stopped by the camp site office to work on the blog. As I was working away, Winnie made another friend and they played about. I finally decided I would stay another night and went out to do some exploring.

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My first stop was the Aurora Ford dealership, I mentioned to them how much I loved the Northwest Territories license plates and the manager Barry was kind enough to give me one for free, not only that but they were serving up free burgers and told me to help myself, quite the solid start to the morning!

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After the dealership I headed down to a gift shop I had seen the day before. Now for anyone that knows me, I’m a sucker for souvenirs and knick knacks and as soon as I walked into the store I could already feel more poor wallet quivering. So many choices, so many baubles and trinkets, I was lucky to make it out having only bought two items!

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I’m always getting opinions from the locals on what’s worth checking out, you end up experiencing more and often seeing things you may have otherwise missed. One of these places recommended to me was Cameron Falls, about an hour out of town along the Ingraham Trail. The enticement was strong and the allure to great to simply pass up, before I knew it I was on the road heading there next.

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I arrived at the parking lot, laced up my hiking boots, tossed the bear mace in my pocket and doused myself with bug spray before Winnie and I set off. The hike was fairly short, mixed with lots of uphill and downhill inclines, along the paths wild flowers bloomed in radiant splendor, a forerunner to the real treasure that lay ahead. The sound of crashing waters grew louder with every step and with the ever increasing anticipation I pressed on. At last my hunger was sated, I stood on a cliff overlooking the brilliantly violent display of crashing waters racing down to the join the river below. An excellent recommendation by the locals without a doubt. I took my time and explored around it, a short walk upstream led to a bridge to access the other side, I headed on over it and ventured down to the falls once more to get a closer look. As I stood there mere feet from the copious wild flow, I took it all in, the cooling mist washing over me to ease the heat of the day, the gusts of wind, the fact that here I was exploring Canada like I’d been saying I would do one day, it was worth it, so worth it.

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After such an incredible time at the falls I made it back to my car at last, yet still I was craving more, similar to the feeling of eating a delicious meal and still having room for desert, I wanted desert. I decided I would continue down the Ingraham Trail until I reached the end. The journey took me further east, with the blend of mountainous rocks and endless lakes there was never a shortage of things to view. The road turned to dirt and gravel, a far more bumpy adventure than the beginning but I pressed on and in time I reached the end of the road, I could go no further, only in winter does the road continue. I took out my drone and flew it as high as I could (400ft being the legal limit) to catch a glimpse of the lands beyond my sight before returning to Yellowknife to spend the night. Another solid day of adventures was had indeed.

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A windy storm arrived last night as I was pulling into camp, just setting up my tent without it blowing over proved challenging. The howls of the wind came with their strong gusts that tested the durability of my shelter as they beat relentlessly against the walls causing them to vibrate back and fourth in rapid oscillations. Strangely enough I slept through the storm with minimal interruption and woke up refreshed and ready to embrace the day.

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There’s an abundance of great places to meet people depending on what you’re after and who you want to connect with. With today being Sunday I figured I’d go to a little church in town before getting back on the road, I arrived and took a seat. It was a small place but full of friendly people who greeted me with kindness. I met a man named Gerrit who lives in Alberta and knew some amazing places to venture that were a little less known to anyone but the locals, we exchanged numbers and I find myself looking forward to chatting some more with him and the discoveries I may have otherwise missed.

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The church service was done and I was back on the road once more, I started heading southwest towards a small area called Enterprise, it rained on and off throughout the drive and I found myself taking breaks when I could. The rain had subsided for a little bit when I arrived at a beach along Great Slave Lake, eager to get some aerial footage I pulled out my drone to fly it. A native family was eating lunch nearby and two young boys greeted me eagerly wanting to see me fly the drone, I got all ready to fly it and right before taking off glanced at my gps, I was within 5.6km of an airport, dang! Drone rules are there for a reason and I try to be as responsible as I can with it, sadly I told the youngsters that I was unable to fly it due to being too close to the airport. As I was packing up the drone I began to chat with the woman there who was readying some smoked ducks, she offered me some and I couldn’t refuse, she even gave me a bag, napkins, wipes, I could tell she was a mother without a doubt. As she was packing everything up for me the rest of her family arrived and we chatted for a little before we parted ways. The kindness was appreciated and I cheerfully went on my way.

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I realized it was getting late quickly, with the events of the day adding to the clock faster than I thought they would I decided to set up camp at Fort Providence. A gas station with wifi was nearby and I decided to take advantage and go about troubleshooting my blog, I made progress but found the process to be lengthy and a pain to figure out at times, life is busy enough as it is and dealing with troubleshooting can be a real headache sometimes. The sun was taking its final dip below the horizon as I made it back to camp to set up my tent, where will I end up tomorrow I wonder, time will only tell.

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I slowly crawled out of bed and started packing my tent, as I was doing so I narrowly missed getting bit by a pretty big spider, I guess if he was eating the bugs off my tent he was paying his rent, oh well, such is camping life I suppose.
I began my travels by heading deeper into Fort Providence, it finds its home right along the MacKenzie River. It was a small town, many of the buildings having become relics as they bore the strain of time. One such building stood out to me in particular, an old church. A fellow traveler mentioned to me that the doors were open and they’d taken a look inside, my curiosity perked I followed in their footsteps. It was a calm, cozy and quaint auditorium with paintings adorning it’s walls. I took my time admiring the unique artwork before cheerfully saying a goodbye and returning to the road.

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The destination before me was a long stretch of seemingly unending asphalt. I was reminded of the potential danger of wildlife galloping across the road as I passed some pretty banged up abandoned vehicles. I would stop when I could to take pictures but I was unable to stand in one spot for too long before an army on insects would hone in on my position and advance upon me in endless ranks.

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Eventually I made it back to Alberta, saying my farewell to the Northwest Territories for now. A short drive into the province and I could see helicopters flying above me looking for potential new fires erupting among the smoldering forest floor.

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I arrived at the Aspen Ridge Campgrounds, now a familiar place to me having stayed there not even a week ago on my venture north. As the sun was settling I set up my tent, grabbed my chair and relaxed over a good book while Winnie scoured about the foliage looking for the perfect branch gnaw on. A chill of night air slowly drifted in with the dimming light as a lambent drizzle patted the leaves above me, it was time to head into my tent and call it a day.

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As I opened my eyes a glowing sunrise greeted me. Winnie needed to stretch her legs so I let her out to play in the snow as I stood there admiring the warm and radiant colors off in the distance.

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The last bit of the drive was rough. Deep potholes and all kinds of bumps challenged my focus as I tried to weave my way around them the best I could. Soon that brutal road took me to the destination I’d drove up north for, I’d arrived at last in Tuktokuktuk, land of the pingos. Pingos are a neat natural phenomena as freezing and thawing water in the earth create all sorts of bumps that rise up from the earth.

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I drove to the end of the hamlet right up to the edge of the Arctic Ocean. I’d made it! I took my boots off and dipped my feet in the freezing waters. It was the coldest water I’d ever felt, with the icy waves numbing my feet in seconds. I’d done it though, I finally dipped my feet in three different oceans, an achievement that I’d talked about accomplishing for years.

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There was only one restaurant in town, Grandma’s Kitchen. I drove up to the house and knocked on the door where a friendly face greeted me and invited me in. The kind lady along with her husband and daughter sparked up a conversation with me as my meal was prepared. Being this far up north I had to try something unique so I got the muktuk, the outer part of the beluga whale along with some miqpuk, dry whale meat. Both had quite the interesting taste. The muktuk was kinda sweet and meaty where as the miqpuk was like steak with a hint of fish flavor. Both were incredibly delicious!

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I did some more exploring of the tiny hamlet. The locals were very friendly, often waving as I drove by. I wanted to pick up a souvenir but the store that sold them was closed for the season. I asked around, seeing if anyone knew where I could get any collectibles when I came across an old lady that told me she had something. I drove to her house and she brought out some handmade moose hide gloves. Being that she’d spent her entire life in the town, she was full of interesting stories and I eagerly listened as I tried on my new gloves for the first time. I was ecstatic, I had obtained the best possible souvenir I could possibly ask for! Her neighbors were quite friendly as well, sparking up a wonderful conversation with me.

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Having spent the day wondering about, chatting with locals and admiring the town, I returned to the shores of the Arctic Ocean where I watched the sun slowly go down over the chilly water.

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The sky was quite clear as darkness arrived and I was feeling lucky about seeing the northern lights. After a lifetime of waiting they finally revealed themselves! Pictures don’t do them justice, not even close! The light danced rapidly across the sky, like a musical symphony orchestrated in beams of light. I laughed as I stared at the natural phenomena, words could not express the joy that flooded my heart, I’d waited my entire life to see this and it was even better than I’d ever imagined. I put on my new moose hide gloves, keeping my hands nice and toasty as I stared at the sky for hours. At last the show came to an end and with great fulfillment I fell asleep.

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With such an amazing time the night before I took to the road smiling as I began the return south. I found the perfect spot about 180 km outside of Tuktoyuktuk where I decided I’d fly my drone up and take a pic. I pulled over to the side of the road and went to grab it from the back seat where I normally kept it. That was strange I thought, it wasn’t there. I figured I must’ve buried it under something and kept searching. I began to panic as the search became frantic, where was my drone?! It was missing! Did I place it down somewhere and forget I’d done so? How could this happen?!

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I rushed back to Tuktoyuktuk fighting back tears. This couldn’t happen, how on earth could I lose something like that?! The adventure couldn’t end like this! I found myself distraught, praying to God that it would show up.

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I made it into Tuktoyuktuk and went to the bench I might’ve left it on, it wasn’t there. Crushing sadness began to overwhelm me. I couldn’t give up though, I had to try and find it despite a diminishing hope . I asked all the locals I could find, offering a generous reward for its return. I got recommended to go to the town office and made my way there.

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An administrative lady greeted me and heard my story. It turns out her husband had come across a drone in the past day and made a facebook post about it. My eyes widened as she spoke, my once dim hope growing to a prodigious optimism. She called him and he showed up carrying a black box. I lifted the cover and peered inside, there it was, God had heard my prayers and answered them! The overwhelming relief! The boundless happiness that filled me! I offered the kind man a reward but he refused, saying one of his workers had found it and freely brought it to him, that he simply couldn’t take anything in return. I will never forget the kindness that was shown to me in that moment, there truly are beautiful souls out there.

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So how exactly did I lose the drone to begin with? After I’d taken some pictures of the pingos the previous day and packed my drone up, I’d left the box on the back of my car instead of immediately putting it back inside like I normally would. I had walked over to read one of the signs explaining the natural wonders in depth and somehow I’d forgotten the box was still sitting on my vehicle out of sight. As I drove into town it had fallen off and onto the road where it was found a few hours later.

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I gave the drone a thorough inspection once it was returned to me. Overall it had suffered minimal damage, a few scrapes here and there but the lens and other vulnerable parts were still perfectly fine. One of the detachable wings was broken though and my spare battery was gone. That was fine. The wings are attached every time you fly it so I could easily replace them. I was so happy to have the drone returned to me I didn’t care about the wing and missing battery. I won’t be taking any aerial shots until I can pick up a spare wing but that’s ok, there is some pretty rough weather ahead that would prevent me from flying anyway.

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It was a lot later than I wanted it to be as I took to the road again heading south. I was also feeling a growing fatigue as it’d been a pretty emotional day coupled with barely any sleep from the previous night watching the northern lights. I made my way along though, passing through Inuvik and catching the ferry’s in time.

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I was originally scheduled to avoid the snowstorm that was coming but with the massive loss in time dealing with the drone situation I was now driving in a blizzard at night. I took my time as I carefully navigated the slippery roads, taking no more then 5 minute breaks when focusing became difficult. I eventually arrived back in the Yukon and made my way to the Eagle Plains, an outpost with a hotel and gas station. I opted to finish driving the Dempster in the morning when I was well rested. What an emotional roller coaster the day had turned out to be.

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