Native Orchid Conservation Inc

In the summer of 2008, Native Orchid Conservation members Peggy BainardAcheson, Eugene Reimer, and Doris Ames drove from Winnipeg Manitoba to Inuvik NWT, and back, a distance of 11,000km, in a Chevy Cavalier.  We decided to make this trip for a number of reasons, the first being that we all love the north.  We had previously travelled to the Churchill area and now wanted to see and explore some of the western Arctic.  Secondly, the western Arctic is changing rapidly due to melting permafrost as a result of climate change, increased tourism, and the resumption of oil and gas extraction.  If the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline goes ahead as planned this highly unusual area along with the lives of the plants and animals and native people will be changed forever and we wanted to see it before this happened. 

Our trip coincided with the 50th anniversary of the town of Inuvik.  Also, 2008 was the 4th International Polar Year (IPY), as well as being the 50th anniversary of the 3rd IPY, the 75th anniversary of the 2nd IPY, and the 125th anniversary of the first IPY.  We had a special interest in rare plant species including native orchids and we planned our trip so as to catch as many as possible in bloom.  We did find native orchids in every province and territory we drove through. 

We started to plan the trip a year ahead, because Doris is so inclined.  Reservations for lodging etc need to be made well ahead (the summer is short so most people visit in June and July), but they needn't be made that far ahead.  It is important to plan your route, and to figure out what gear to take.  Much helpful information is available from the tourist bureaus of BC, Yukon, and Northwest Territories; their maps and brochures will allow you to plan your trip so as to see the features you are interested in. 

The flowers, the animals, the scenery, the geology, and the friendly and eccentric residents were fascinating.  Between the three of us we took over 2,000 digital photographs, only a small fraction of which are included in this slide-show.  The roads were either excellent or sheer Hell!  When the infamous Dempster Highway washed out and stranded us in Inuvik for a few days we chartered a plane and flew over the MacKenzie delta to Tuktoyaktuk on the Beaufort Sea.  We enjoyed our trip immensely and had many adventures.  We would recommend this trip to anyone from 8 to 80 in reasonably good health and with a sense of adventure. 

Itinerary  (4907 + 5976 = 10,883km)

note: we encountered two delays of 2.5-days each, however by driving longer days and eliminating 1000km of sidetrips, we ended only one day late. 

Petrol-Price Info

The average cost of petrol was $1.505 per litre, which is 12% higher than the "within civilization" price at this time.  In general, the price goes up as one goes north, however the steepest price is encountered in EaglePlains YT, at a petrol-vendor that happens to be the only one on a long lonely unpopulated stretch of road near the arctic-circle. 

Eugene's Cavalier averaged 13.9 km/litre (39.2 mpg) or 7.20 litres/100km, which is 20% worse than its "highway" rating of 6.0 litres/100km (or 16.7 km/litre, 47.1 mpg).  (Its "city" rating is 10.6 km/litre.)  Most days we did way too much stopping, to photograph animals, birds, plants, etc, for optimal fuel-efficiency;  however, on the night of July05 when the Eagle-Plains Service-Station was closed by the time we got there, then we made every effort to drive for economy from there to Dawson-City:-)  Unfortunately our efforts don't show, presumably because the first part of that tank was used in "city" driving in and around Inuvik.  Note: the Litres and Dollars columns show the amount purchased; the km-per-litre column takes into- and from-jerrycan transfers into account. 

THE END