Friday, August 7, 2009

My, it has been a long time. where have we been? what have we done? What haven't we done and where haven't we been would be more appropriate! Well, currently we're jotting this down from just outside of Inuvik, N.W.T., due south, on our way out of the Arctic Circle. Our summer in Dawson City has nearly wrapped up but we just didn't feel right leaving the north while there was still open road above us so we grabbed some friends, bought LeVan some new 'shoes' and took to the notorious, mud slick, pothole riddled nemesis of all that is automotive. Yes, five of us plus two huskies and trusty LeVan would face the 736 kilometer length of the Dempster Highway into the North West Territories to pay a quick visit to Inuvik, the northern most road access point in Canada. But before we divulge all the dirty details let's catch you up on a few other highlights.

Independence Day, July 4th 2009

Where better to celebrate the independence of our neighbours to the south, or, to the west in this case? Chicken, Alaska of course! Apparently sometime soon after the turn of the century the town was formed and was to be named Ptarmigan, but get this, no body in the town could agree on how to spell the name of the bird and so they settled on Chicken! That still makes me chuckle! the 4th of July is easily the biggest event of the year in Chicken when folks from 'all around' gather to drink, blow things up, listen to local bands play 'sweet home alabama' and jimi's 'star spangled banner' repeatedly before the event of the night: the launching of bras and panties from the Chicken Independence Day Canon... yes, canon! A typical event like this might quintuple the local population to a booming 75 people (give or take a few)!! The giftshop, liquor store, bar and diner (all one building... the only building) were bustling with activity, you could barely find a spot in the parking lot!!
'Beautiful downtown Chicken'

'Hooray for Independence!'
'face-melting-harp-solo!'


Day to Day in Dawson City

'i'm-a-eatcha-fishy!'

'all she needed was a little rest'

'Annual Dawson City Motorcycle Skills Competition'

'Draggity-A$$ Thursday @ The Midnight Sun'

'a few goodbyes... bonne chance!'

Grizzly Lake, Tombstone Territorial Park

We quit our jobs and set out to enjoy a few local adventures before our nearing departure back to the south and back to the east. We'd been to Tombstone but we kept hearing stories of more. so off we went in search of Grizzly Lake. constantly hiking over loose rock can be fairly cumbersome at times but we tried our best to look up every once and a while and remind ourselves that we were traversing the spine of a small range of mountains on our way to one of the Yukon's most beautiful locations. Before long we were pushing our way through the brush towards Grizzly Creek and Grizzly Lake. We reached the clearing and in an instant we were struck with awe, our breath and our words were snatched away. This time of year in the Yukon the sun sets for hours and we spent those hours sitting by the creek and sitting by the lake soaking everything in. As we sat there we knew we'd never be able to find the words. Oh ya, Lauren killed her first fish....killed, gutted, scaled, skillet....what a girl!
"i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry... AAAHHHH!"

'hike prep'
'holy hike!''so beautiful i just wanna take all my clothes off!'
'Grizzly Creek''Grizzly Lake... sigh...'


The Dempster Highway to Inuvik

'here goes nothing'
'just a touch of mud'
'so... here we are at the arctic circle, learning''just a pinch of fog'
'dun-dun-DUN... polar bears'
'this one's for Warren on his Birthday'
"this is why i come up here... NATURE!!"
'nice school buses Inuvik... not!'
'just enough time to cast a line, slam a beer, Mr. Noodles and head back'

So, sorry about the long pause between entries...just 'busy' i guess. Anyways we're on our way home, actually our exact location is once again the Super 8 Motel parking lot, Fort Nelson. Free Wireless! A-MEN!

Hold your breath for further updates. Who knows when we'll be in your neighbourhood....

Muk-Tuk.

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