A drive to Tuktoyaktuk

[UKCraig]

Found this link a couple of days ago and finally got round to reading it. Thought I'd post it here as, although the writing is a little rough around the edges, I enjoyed the report!

And I thought our trip up the Dempster to Inuvik was tough!

[Mass Tim]

I'll have to read through that completely on some really hot day around here. I was hoping for a picture of Sasquatch.

[Quebec Gen]

I think this guy is very judgemental in his comments about Canadians while he obviously went to a place where population is scarce. How can he generalize about us when he barely scratched the surface? He went to Denny's to eat, he stayed at a Best Western...Wasn't that supposed to be the ultimate exotic Canadian trip up north eh?:)

This way of thinking sometimes reflects what I hear from Canadians who've never been further than the north eastern touristy beaches in the States and assume all Americans are fat, ignorant, uneducated, arrogant and impolite -- which is not the case of course. It's offensive, it's not documented and I believe they should apply this same jugment upon themselves. Other than that, I think he should've skipped the getting out to pee and smoke part. My English is far from perfect, my sentences may have a basic structure and my vocabulary is not as good as a native English-speaker but at least I'm avoiding vulgarity. Two thumbs down. I don't think this report is worth reading. Sorry, just my 2 cents.

[AZBuck]

I agree totally with Gen. The writers of this blog complain about the ignorance and backwardness of the people they encounter, but in reality do more to demonstrate their own thorough lack of class and understanding than anything else. There must be at least two dozen instances where their comments would fail the Good Neighbor Policy. Their 'exploits' make for dreary reading and saddest of all, I don't think they learned a single thing about the land they drove through or the people that make it their home.

[UKCraig]

Well I enjoyed it anyway... their view of Tuk in particular range very true. Mind I was surprised by their description of Inuvik. We had nothing but bad memories unfortunately. We weren't made to feel in the slightest bit welcome and, worst of all, our trailer was broken into and a huge esky and contents stolen. Guess that added to our genuine excitement when we finally rejoined civilisation at Dawson.

[Mark Sedenquist]

I agree that his lack of cultural and human sense was appalling -- but his descriptions of the road conditions and the number of times he broke down and/or had to be rescued made for compelling reading. If this was an accurate telling of his adventure --they were darn luck to get back at all.

Mark

[glc]

Leave the Dempster in the winter to the ice road truckers.....................

[RainMan62]

This is very well written and I admire his courage for driving all the way up there in winter. But while bragging rights to an obscure or out of the way place is certainly a legitimate reason for travel, I sense that was this guy's only reason for going. He didn't appear to have much interest in the people who lived there. If he wanted to know why, for example, the First Nations and Inuit stay in such an inhospitable climate, why didn't he ask? He would have probably learned a bit about the dilemma faced by people trying to preserve their traditional way of life in the 21st century. Maybe they see leaving the area their ancestors lived in for thousands of years as abandoning their culture.

I would like to drive the Dempster or the Dalton in Alaska, although in a more friendly time of year. I joined a tour up the Dalton as far as the Arctic Circle a few years ago and had a great time. But an open mind and good attitude is very important. I want to get a sense of the area and learn about the people who call this place home. A good travel experience is fun to tell your friends about when you get home, but it should be more than that.