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My bicycle soon after arriving in Inuvik
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Dirty trucks in Inuvik
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Caribou in Western
Arctic Regional Visitor Information Centre
Our last short 36 km day on the Dempster Highway starts again with rain. There's been rain off and on ever since last evening and steady rain during much of night. The roads are wet, sloppy, and mushy until the Inuvik airport where very smooth pavement starts. I think it's very smooth. After riding 750 km of dirt, it's hard to tell?
We take group photos and individual shots at the “End Of Dempster” sign which soon appears. Many riders of Tour Arctic are over-joyed to be finished. There are great shouts of joy and celebration during the picture taking.
The Inuvik accommodation is the Nova Inn. I visit the Western Arctic Regional Visitor Information Centre which is next door. Immediately, the interpreter says, “Oh you're with that group of cyclists. We started hearing about them last week.” There are a number of interesting displays. That of a stuffed Caribou indicates that this animal is much smaller than I thought.
The staff at this Visitor Information Centre are quite friendly and know lots about Inuvik, too. They tell me about a laundry at the Happy Valley Campground on other side of Inuvik. I go there and wash some clothes while writing up my diary.
I ride around Inuvik taking many pictures. I can take many of these while riding since the road is smooth enough that any jarring is accommodated by the anti-shake mechanism in my camera. I have lunch at Inuvik's only cafe, Café on Mackenzie, with other cyclists. Dinner is an elaborate affair back at the Nova Inn: there is lots of food that is all served up by the Nova Inn's staff. The pie for desert is in double-size slices. Truly a celebration, eh?
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My stay in Inuvik is shorter than originally planned. I arrive in Inuvik on August 12 and leave too soon - between 1 and 2 in the afternoon on August 13. I looked around Inuvik and find some old friends who have room in their truck for me. I leave when they leave. They are headed south and eventually take me to Whitehorse in a couple of days.
Many riders in Tour Arctic take a side trip to Tuktoyaktuk via airplane and boat. It's where the ice road ends in the winter. The big draw, I'm told, is seeing the Bering Strait of the Arctic Ocean – Canada's third coast? On the other hand, many others like myself who do the Tour Arctic stop at Inuvik on the Mackenzie Delta. Perhaps some cyclists are staying around for the End of The Road Music Festival that is on this weekend. I do know cyclists who are just staying an extra day to get to know this northern community some more. Undoubtedly, there are riders who are returning home ASAP via the Inuvik airport.
Early on Saturday, I go for short tour of Inuvik on foot. I walk across the ball diamond and go in the recreation centre and look at the pool. It's quite modern, built a couple of years ago for about a million dollars. There are 3 or 4 lanes for swimming lengths of 25 metres, and slides and toys on the other side of the pool. Quite an amazing pool and recreation facility for a town of 3,500 people.
I walk by the famous igloo church, but it is closed. The crew of Tour Arctic have arranged for a tour at one o'clock this afternoon. I, unfortunately, will either be waiting for my lift to Whitehorse or already on my way. I do want to see the Dempster one more time and experience more of the Yukon. I must catch my ride!
I go into the grocery store to get a pop and find “store baked” bread at $2.99 so conclude that only some items have out-of-this-world pricing in Inuvik.
I also visit the Inuvik Community Greenhouse. The greenhouse is open for visitors to see from 11 to 2 on many days. I visit it shortly after 11 and find a bake and produce sale in progress. I purchase a small cake with an edible flower on top. The flower is somewhat tasteless. 0ne of the volunteers then gives me an edible flower that is tasty; another shares a bean with me. I am impressed by the amount of greenery in the greenhouse, the lack of weeds, and the fast growing speed of the plants that one volunteer tells me about. My conversations at the Greenhouse indicate that there are 25 to 30 homeless people in town.
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My memory of bicycling this route is useful for figuring out where we are at any point in time. I'm aided by the Dempster Highway map.
We successfully take ferries over both the Mackenzie and Peel Rivers. We're lucky with the Peel River ferry. It closes soon after our voyage. A notice in the restaurant at mile zero, when we get there tomorrow, will indicate that the Peel River ferry is temporarily closed due to water conditions. Whew, that was close.
The next lengthy stop is at the Eagle Plains Resort to fuel-up the truck. Then, somehow, one friend needs to go inside and sit in the comfortable chairs in the lounge. They're such a great relief after bouncing around in the truck all day. We decide that it's to early to camp, eh? After all, the sun is still above the horizon. We pull ourselves from the lounge chairs before we all fall asleep. They are so cozy.
My friends quickly drive south on the Dempster and eventually camp at Engineer's Creek Campground. My friends' camping delicacy is canned fruit with chocolate bits and nuts added. It tastes yummy, but the chocolate bits have a bad habit of landing on my gum where I have a missing tooth. Ouch! I guess I'm still eating too fast like we all do on long bicycle trips like Tour Arctic? I need to be careful when eating this delicacy? We also have a campfire at Engineer's Creek. It's a good way to update each other about our wanderings.
A highlight of this trip is finally figuring out what is the Elephant Rock that one can view across the Peel River. On the return trip, this is after we descend 7 mile hill. There's a sign at that point along the Dempster Highway, but it lacks a good explanation. One of my friends has been here many times so he does point out the elephant to the rest of us. Many thanks!
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Today starts with a hike to get closer to the rocks above Engineer's Creek, and then to look out at the valley. Two of my friends climb the rocks. I just hike. My friends like it here, but they too need to get back south. We all have commitments to fulfil. We reluctantly leave at 3 pm.
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We stop a few times along the Dempster to revive our spirits. I get some good photos. My friends agree that the south side of Wright Pass is very scenic. We stop there for awhile. Sometimes the best that one can do at spots like this one is to stand there and let one's jaw drop in amazement. We make other stops to get good pictures of mountains that are clear today.
It is interesting for me to see the Dempster in reverse from a car. There are lots of muddy spots on this return trip, but some are in different places. There is not quite as much mud on the return trip on the hill just south of the Pelly River that defeated so many of the cyclists in Tour Arctic 2011.
I must report that the Dempster is just as bumpy when driving as it is when bicycling. It's so bumpy that I leave my Netbook in it's bag and plan to update it when on the airplane headed back to Ottawa from Whitehorse. The Klondike Highway from the Dempster Highway to Whitehorse is also very bumpy in a car. There are a few pot-holes and there is lots of rough road-seal on top of the pavement.
I persuade the others to stop once again at the restaurant at junction of Dempster and Klondike Highways, the Klondike River Lodge. When inside we realize that we are all hungry. I eat the daily special. The others have something similar.
The time to part comes too soon. By that time, most of us are sleepy. We shake hands and wish each other well at 1:15 am in the Whitehorse airport, about 36 hours after leaving Inuvik.
I find two cleaning staff and one security person in the Whitehorse airport when I arrive at about 1:15 am. The airport is open so I can sit inside. My bags are mostly packed. I did this in Inuvik. I push my tent into my large black duffel bag so I have 1 small pannier and a sleeping bag as my 2 carry-on items, and the black duffel bag and my bicycle as checked baggage. Next, I take the pedals off the bicycle and turn the handlebars. All is now ready for my flight on Air Canada to Ottawa.
Next I find a spot with an electrical outlet where I can plug-in my Netbook computer. In fact, I end up moving all my stuff to a second set of seats where the electrical outlet is easier to access. I decide that sleep is not possible. Instead, during the early morning hours, I work on selecting the best images from my pictures for all the days of the trip. For some reason, I get better results by working backwards in time. I do have cat naps, at times, but try to stay awake.
When I first arrive at Whitehorse airport, I talk a bit with the young man who is pushing the floor cleaning device. He is from Inuvik and wonders if it's still the same. He has a few questions which I try to answer.
Around 5 am, the Air Canada staff starts to arrive. I talk to an agent and find that I can get a ticket right away so I do. She also takes care of my baggage. I put the bicycle into one of Air Canada's large plastic bicycle bags and take it 10 metres to the door for over sized items. When I'm inside the office for over-sized items, a man inspects the bicycle and checks it with a wand. All is OK.
I check through security shortly after it opens at 5:45 am. I go after the flight before mine is checked. Everything goes like clockwork at the Whitehorse airport – loaded on time, take off on time, etc.
In Calgary, I find it to be difficult to determine the airport gate for my flight to Ottawa. I ask an information clerk and see that I'm standing right beside the right gate. The flight is in over 90 minutes so I go to Tim Hortons, wait in a long line as it is the most popular spot in the airport, and get a sandwich. There is no sales tax.
After eating, I find a spot where I can plug in the Netbook and continue working on revising this web page and selecting pictures – still going backwards on the dates. At this moment I amaze myself. I seem quite capable to concentrate on this task even though I last slept on Sunday at 6 am and it's now 9 am on Monday.
The flight in Calgary is delayed since the physical airplane being used is late arriving and needs to be cleaned. We leave at 8 am, rather than 7:45 am. On this flight I talk too much to the man beside me about the trip that I've just completed on the Dempster Highway. Gee, I guess I liked it?
A few days later I try to shave off the remains of an overgrown scruffy beard. I have problems. I scrape my chin and see all this embedded dirt on my fingers. More Dempster dirt, eh? It won't leave me alone. It only comes out with skin cleanser. Only then can I shave my beard and regain a clean-shaved civilized look.
