November 15th, 2017 the all weather road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk was open. As soon as I heard this news I put forth plans to make the drive to Tuk with my dad as co-pilot who would be 89 years young. By the summer of 2018 we set forth in early August on a journey that covered 9000km. We toured areas of the Yukon visiting areas my dad spent time in as a younger man and talked about the family history that the Yukon held. A journey north is no easy task where the north runs on its own schedule where you just get to play by its rules. Just because there is a road it does not mean it will be straight forward.

Having worked in remote parts of Canada and having grown up with the stories of my dad’s adventures across 27 different countries I knew what to prepare for and what we could expect. With extra fuel, food, and supplies we tackled the road to Tuk. The new road across the permafrost to Tuk was a well built new gravel road. It was the road from Dawsen to Inuvik that was the adventure. The rain was the issue. The rivers flowed heavy and high with debris and trees, washing out a ferry landing and making ferry crossings unsafe. The roads turned to grease. The lineup was a mile long and growing while we waited for the landing to be rebuilt. Some people had already waited almost two days to cross. Luckily our wait as only 8hrs and made it across near midnight in the rain and failing light. The road closed down once again when they had to extract a fuel bulker that slid of the road, luckily that was behind us. From Dawson, after getting cleaned up we headed for the old Canal Road and yet another adventure.