Blogs from Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada, North America

My inspiration for this blog entry came from a very interesting article I read on my flight into Inuvik. Inuvik sits right on the Arctic Circle and I will be doing a circuit with the Territorial Court here this week. The article is entitled, “My Conversation with Ezra” and it discusses some of the problems local aboriginal groups have when it comes to protecting their hunting rights with regard to environmentalist pressure. It is by Terry Audla. Some of the more interesting quotations from the article include: “ ‘Fight them with facts!’” That is exactly what Inuit have endeavored to do in our legal attempts to overturn a law banning the export of seal products to the European Union. And when it comes to firing back at jet-setting activists who fly into remote communities, destroying industries ... read more

Our last night, a little anxious to get going.Thanks to all the people who helped get us ready. A special thanks to Helen and Roger,we are better prepared than we could have ever been.... read more

Two more sleeps and snippity snap we're on our way!... read more

I began my day quite late. I had intended on being up by 9 in the morning, but I set my alarm on my watch for 9. The problem was that it was still on Yukon time, which is Pacific Standard Time, while the Northwest Territories are on Mountain Standard Time. Oops. But that was okay. My plans for the day were nebulous. I had met some guys at the campground the "night" before. They were from Edmonton and had come up on motorbikes. They were quite nice. But they left early, about 7. I got up and headed back to the visitor centre to see what I could do for not much money. I was given a couple of ideas. I had already decided to walk around town and look at stuff, such as the ... read more

The Dempster Highway. That small sentence holds a huge amount of intrigue for me. It has been a destination that I have wanted to conquer for a few years now. It was 3 years ago that I decided that I would go up the Dempster, see the midnight sun and then take on the rest of Canada. Since deciding to do the Dempster I have spent time looking into the facts of the road, but more so seeking the experiences of those who have traveled her length. I came into this trip expecting flat tires, broken windshields, battered shocks and bruised body. The stories of others vary from one end of the spectrum to the next, some have made the trip and come off the road with just a rock chip, others have had multiple flat ... read more

Ok..........Phew that was tough! Quite possibly the toughest ride I've ever had to do on a motorcycle. 380 kilometres of mud. It seems so easy to just type the word out....mud.....but it posed quite a few problems. Basicallly, Adam and I were the only 2 idiots on the Dempster over the last 2 days riding bikes north. In fact, we only counted a dozen cars or so over the entire 380 kms. But we made it after 81/2 hours of battling the elements to a hotel room and a hot shower. We had to stop at one point to unclog Adam's radiator. Basically his bike was no longer being cooled efficiently and so we used a camelbak bladder as a "pressure washer" (Nevil squeezing the bladder and Adam squirting water into the radiator) to clean everything ... read more

There are so many things that I will remember about the Great Northern Arts Festival. The art was varied and impressive. We were able to watch the native artists working on beadwork,yarn, painting and stenciling. There were carving tents to watch the stone, antler and bone carvers. We were able to see several pieces in differnet stages of the creative process. Friday night we attended the ArtCirq. It is a circus performed by members of a small communtiy in Igloolik. It was very entertaining! On Saturday I attended a workshop on Digital Photography. I look forward to doing some unique things with the pictures form our trip.... read more

Hey hey! We left the story in Dawson City. Now we are in Inuvik, Northwest Territories where the only way to get here from Dawson is...THE DEMPSTER HIGHWAY....that's right: A one way road, 750 kilometers of gravel and mud and pot holes! And oh yes, let us not forget the unforgettable: MOSQUITOS. In addition to the challenges, we saw some unbelievable views. Beautiful mountains, tundra, and boreal forests and wildlife accompanied us on the way. We hope that our return trip brings more sunshine so we can see even more! (we hit a lot of rain along the way). Our first stop on the Dempster was Tombstone Territorial Park where tundra meets mountains. We did some very picturesque walks to the frozen ice sheets on the North Klondike River and some guided walks with very knowledgeable ... read more