Tuktoyaktuk and the Arctic Ocean

It rained all night and continued on into the morning.  The campsite was so muddy I just wore my rainpants and rubber booties all day.

We headed off on the 3 hour road trip to Tuktoyaktuk, the end of the Dempster Highway and the Arctic Ocean.  It rained the whole way so there wasn't any stopping.  The taiga eventually transitioned to tundra.  The locals leave their snowmobiles along the side of the highway.  Apparently they use them in the summer to ride across the tundra.

We stopped at the pingo viewpoint but not for long in the heavy rain,

Then we drove through town to the end of the road and the big Arctic Ocean sign.  The rain was blowing horizontally into our faces.

Having fun yet?

I had planned to do a polar bear dip in the ocean but not in this weather.  So I waded in instead.

Leo was a wuss.

Afterwards we headed to Grandna's Kitchen, a takeout cafe that serves hamburgers and local whitefish and chips.  You eat in a separate building on the water.

A bunch of people did their polar bear swims here and dried off in front of the woodstove. 

It was a convivial atmosphere with everyone celebrating the end of their road trip, everyone introducing themselves and swapping stories.

Eating our fish and chips

Our neighbour's had ordered muktuk (whale blubber) and offered us a piece.

I tried it (Leo was a wuss) and was surprised at how non-fishy it was, quite bland and unobjectionable.  

I only ate the one piece though

 With that done we drove back to Inuvik in the relentless rain.  On the way we saw the Bird of the Day sitting in the middle of the road!  A lifer!

Canada Day in Inuvik

 Canada Day in Inuvik!  Of course there was a parade.  We found a good spot on the main street.

We were next to this family of Grandma, Mom and daughter.  We voted the daughter best decorated bike in the parade but she wasn't actually going in the parade. She wanted to dress up but she didn't want to miss the free candy.

Note Grandma is wearing a red and white dress and her modern/traditional jacket.

It didn't take long for the parade to pass by.

My vote for best float:

They had the RCMP, the fire truck and the local search and rescue:

Afterwards everyone headed to the visitor centre for free hamburgers and hot dogs.

Where we sang O Canada and they raised a giant Canadian flag off the fire truck ladder.

Later in the evening we walked through town

To check out a trail that went around a small lake but the mosquitos were vicious and the lake view was obscured by shrubbery so we didn't get very far.  But not before I spotted this wintergreen:

We stopped by the icecream store!

A couple of wildlife spotted:

Dragonfly on the tent

Tree swallow

Drive to Inuvik

 

The hamlet of Tsiigehtchic is right before the McKenzie River ferry.

The next morning we drove by without turning off to see Fort MacPherson and an hour later reached the McKenzie River ferry.

The ferry operator told us that some years ago the River flooded out those buildings up on the opposite shore.

Another two hour drive and we reached Inuvik.  We looked for a restaurant and we liked the sound of Mamaqtuq.  It turned out to be a charm less hotel restaurant and expensive.

We liked our waiter though. He told us he was a student in Ottawa but taking a year off to work in Inuvik and save all his money.

The hotel had a display of traditional Inuvialuit clothing.  The hoods are made of  wolverine fur, complete with dangling paws.paws

We camped in the municipal campground and later took a stroll around town.

Of course we had to get a photo in front of the iconic igloo church

Later we walked down to the river.

An old wooden riverboat converted to a storage shed.

Inuvik's water and sewage are fed through these above-ground heated pipes called Utilidor lines.

Across the Peel River to camp at Nataiinlaii Territorial Park

 

Today was some of the most spectacular scenery though we don't seem to have taken any photos.  The highway climbs up in elevation to Eagle Plains hotel, gas restaurant and rv park.  A few weeks ago the ferry across the Peel River was out due to high water and Eagle Plains ran out of gas but no drama today.

Gassing up at Eagle Plains

The price of gas here is really reasonable, 1.95 per litre.

We had lunch in the cafe and the prices there made up for the deal on gas.

Next we stopped at the Arctic Circle.

I was napping when we crossed into the Northwest Territoties so no photo of that milestone.

Eventually we reached the Peel River ferry.  Of special interest to us because back in 2016 when we paddled the Snake River We had to be sure to take out at an island in the Peel River just past the confluence with the Snake.  It was flooded and unrecognizable and we almost missed it.  Had we gone by we would have had to travel 3 more days to Fort McPherson. 

And here we were

Crossing the Peel River where it meets the Dempster Highway.

It was a short drive to Nataiinlaii Territorial Park campground.  It was a nice campground with a great heated, mosquito-free shower house.

Starting in Engineer Creek and continuing till we got back to Dawson, I pretty much wore my mosquito net (thanks Birgit!) all day long sometimes accompanied by my bug jacket.

Skipbo in the bug tent.

We were the only people in the campsite.  A pair of jeeps drove through but they didn't stay.

Whiskey Jack

Engineer Creek Campground and a hike up Sapper Hill

 

A short drive today to Engineer Creek campsite, about 2 hours north of Tombstone.  Pretty spectacular scenery with gray Beringian mountains untouched by the ice age glaciation.

It rained on and off and we considered driving further but the sun peeked out of the clouds so we camped at Engineer Creek.  

We headed up the Sapper Hill trail but it started raining and we slogged through wet foliage and creeks running down the trail.  Too bad as it really was quite a spectacular hike even in the downpour, culminating in this window in the rock wall.

From the top we could look down on the Ogilvie River.

There were some great new flowers, including a yellow ladyslipper and this delicate yellow poppy but I couldn't get any decent photos in the rain.

The mosquitos at the campsite were outrageous and it poured rain all day.  Fortunately there was a mosquito-proof shelter with a roaring wood stove.  Here we met Mark, a retired pilot who was bicycling from his home in Kelowna to Tuk.  He was spending a day here to dry out.  His family was flying into Inuvik to meet him and then he was flying home.

We played many a game of Skipbo to pass the time.

Tombstone Mountain -Day 3

We got up bright and early to visit a few birding sites recommended by the Naturalists at the interpretive centre.  The first stop was an area known for Smith's and Lapland longspurs.  Although Merlin picked them up we had no luck finding them.

On the other hand we had no trouble finding this willow ptarmigan who was wandering about next to our parked truck. 

 

Bird of the Day!

And the white-crowned sparrows were all over the place.

Next was Two Moose Lake for waterfowl.  Lots of ducks, horned grebe and a pair of tundra swans with 6 Cygnet.

Not a single Moose though, never-ending two.

Heading back to camp we stopped by another pond to look for more waterfowl.

Can you spot the exciting something?

  

I looked out of the truck down toward the pond and spotted something exciting.

Can you spot it now?

How about now?