Tuktoyaktuk and Arctic Ocean!

 9/3/25:  ITH Hwy to the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk and the Arctic Ocean.  

“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” - John Muir

Today we packed up the truck and pups, locked the trailer and took off before 0900.  Google said the drive to Tuk or TukTuk was going to be almost 3 hours with construction for the trip of 100 miles.  Diesel in Inuvik was $2.50 a liter.  The speed limit on the road is anywhere between 50-70kmh.  Overall, the road was in pretty decent condition.  Maybe it was the fact that we weren’t towing Sis behind us.  It felt pretty smooth and several times Katy caught me approaching 90.  Oops!  

You quickly leave the trees of Inuvik and get into the open Tundra.  The fall colors and hundreds of lakes and ponds are stunning.  Think of a peak fall in the UP or New England, but the colors top out at 4’ off the ground.  The drive up also revealed something we’ve never seen before.  People up here leave their 4 wheelers, Argo’s and snowmobiles parked in the tundra right on the side of the road.  A lot of them are up on pallets and they keep them there for when they are going hunting or fishing.  No one messes with them.  A lot of the lakes have wall tents and small cabins on their shores.  Hunting and fishing camps, I suppose.  

We rolled into Tuk right around noon.  We checked out a few small parks and photo opportunities before getting into town.  I took some pics of the Pingos and we headed for the visitor center.  Pingos are mounds of tundra that poke out of the ground, some reaching hundreds of feet high.  They are also filled with ice/permafrost.  They are typically located above the Arctic Circle.  

The lady at the visitor center was really nice, big welcoming smile and “Welcome to Tuk, what would you like to do here.!?”  She provided us with a map of town and circled things of significance.  She also said if we wanted a locals tour, we could just start calling numbers on their list.  We opted for a self guided tour and went right for the Arctic Ocean.  

We took some pictures, looked for Beluga Whales, and waded into the water.  It was cold…bone aching cold after a minute.  We also got Maggs and Dunc in on the fun.  It ended pretty quick as Duncan drank the “spicy” water.  I really wanted to polar plunge, but Katy and Google prevailed.  Probably not a good idea to submerge myself when I’m still on meds.  My younger self would’ve thrown caution to the wind and went anyway.  Staph is no joke and as Sweet Brown would say, “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”  

Lunch was next on the agenda and we tried for Grandma’s Kitchen which is a tourist favorite for burgers and Muktuk, which is whale.  She was busy catering a party for the local school teachers who start school tomorrow and would be opening late.  We decided to go back to the point and eat the charcuterie Katy had put together.  It was nice eating crackers, meat and cheese by the ocean, the food was already paid for.  We also split a bottle of Bubbly in mason jars as they are the only glass items to survive the trip.  

We met a nice local at the point and talked to her about the area.  She still speaks the native language and has been in Tuk for 60 plus years.  She was fun to talk with. We then rolled around town to see some of the other sites.  The 4 sided soapstone carving was very impressive as was the traditional Sod house.  The grocery store was very interesting and sold food, hardware, sporting goods, furniture, Starlink and 4 wheelers…it also had the post office in it.  We picked up some small garbage bags and sweets.  Pineapple was $19.99 a Kg, small pack of roughed up raspberries, $11.99.  

The ride back was equally beautiful.  The Ptarmigan are all starting to turn white.  That and the leaves falling means it’s time to go.  We topped off with fuel and then hit the ATM for some Canadian cash.  Next stop was Alestine’s for dinner.  We’ve seen several YouTube travelers who have raved about this place.  We can tell you it did not disappoint.  We split the fish tacos and an order of Poutine.  They also serve wine in mason jars, it’s our kind of place.  The curry whitefish tacos are the way to go.  10/10 recommend you stop here!  

Back at the camper we took some walks after going through our possessions to see what we can donate to the local thrift store.  We came up with about 10 DVDs that we’ve seen a hundred times, one book and 2.5 paper bags of clothes.  We’re going to drop them off tomorrow after we dump tanks and head south.  Donating to a local thrift store is the September monthly challenge for seRV.  

Great Day overall…don’t know what else to say.