&games

Map lifted from MSN Encarta.

Picked up a lady a few weeks back who told me this story.

She went from Anchorage to Inuvik, NWT, for the holidays.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Inuvik, it lies near the mouth of the McKenzie river, and is the most northerly city in Canada on the road system.

Inuvik is about 900 miles from Anchorage, if you take the short route on the Taylor and Top of the World Highways. On the 417 mile stretch from Dawson City to Inuvik there is literally one place to stop, Eagle Plains, which is about half way.

She couldn't afford to fly so she drove.... the long way, through Whitehorse. I will venture a guess that by going via Whitehorse the trip is upwards of 1500 miles.

In a clunker.

In the winter.

With two infants.

Just to visit relatives.

For further explanation, roads in the north are generally not paved. Those thick red lines that denote main roads which you see on maps of Alaska, The Yukon, and the Northwest Territories, are (more often than not) narrow, graveled roads. Such is the case of the Dempster Highway, which leads from Dawson City, YT, to Inuvik, NWT.

On the Dempster Highway she drove into the ditch.

She had to wait six hours before another car drove by to help her get out of the ditch, and she was lucky she didn't have to wait longer. I will reiterate: With two infants.

She is thinking about visiting next year at the same time.