For those that missed my last post, I’m back writing and have moved my content over to a brand new site which I hope will give us more opportunities to interact and share our travel stories! Please do hit that subscribe button and follow along!
Trip reports and (hopefully!) inspirational travel content will remain free to everyone, while the subscriber part of the site will feature tips such as how I manage to travel business/first all the time when being far from rich, discussions of how to maximize your ability to travel more (and better), and special alerts on great travel deals whenever I discover them.
I’m excited to finally announce the next stage in my travel storytelling career!
I’ll be moving all my travel content from both FB and this blog to a new space on Substack and shortly also to be found at http://www.196stories.com – I really hope you’ll subscribe and follow along to hear my stories and contribute to the community!
Your support to this blog over the years has been tremendous, and I’m excited to have you along for the next stage of the journey!
So, looking around today for flights to Egypt I stumbled upon this…and after googling I couldn’t find any new sources or other blogs having shared it so decided to throw it out there.
According to FlightRadar24 EgyptAir has been operating flights from Baghdad to Washington DC, Dulles every 3-4 weeks for nearly a year now!
Now, I can’t imagine there’s huge demand for tourism to Iraq, and I highly doubt large numbers of Iraqi tourists are being allowed into Washington, so this makes no sense at all. These seem to be charter flights, and I can’t find anywhere to book them, and the next one is scheduled for September 5.
Anyone know what these are about…or better yet, how to get a seat on this crazy routing? Would love to know more…
Gratuitous pic from my trip to Northern Iraq for New Years back in 2009-2010.
So, I’ve been toying around with posting this for a couple of months now, but it never quite seemed like the right moment. Yes, like many of you, I’ve been grounded at home because of Covid for over six months now, and at the beginning I didn’t feel like I had anything to say – because I wasn’t travelling.
I was going to update you on how I was filling the time, but this has always been a round the world travel blog so it felt really odd updating you on the mundane going ons of my DC life.
I started cooking. I mean, let’s not get crazy – when I say cooking I mean eating things that didn’t come from restaurants. I even baked a couple of cakes and stuff like that. I was pretty proud of myself!
As a consequence of eating better and not eating airplane and restaurant food all the time, the weight began to come off…50 pounds of it to be precise to date. I look at pictures from January and I’m stunned.
Some of it was eating better, but I also started running again. In the early days in February and March and even into April, it was just around the neighbourhood, with the odd longer hike on weekends. Mostly the same loops over and over, but I was getting faster and faster and skinnier and skinnier.
Then, a good friend shared with me that she’d taken on a pandemic project – she would run every road in the Florida Keys! I thought, hey, maybe I could do that with DC…but I don’t live in DC…I live in Arlington.
So that evolved…I would run every road in Pre-Retrocession Washington DC. What is that, you ask? Well, DC used to be a perfect 10×10 mile diamond…until part of it decided in the 1850s that it wanted to go back to Virginia. This became present-day Arlington and part of present-day Alexandria. So, I decided I would see about running the whole diamond. Every road of it. Fits with my “every country” mindset.
This got easier when the same friend told me about the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee. The idea was from May 1 through August 31 you run across Tennessee, corner to corner, the longest way. Just over 1,000 km. So, I started doing that….5+ miles each and every day. But a funny thing happened…I was doing 7+ most days, and there was a special “Back Across Tennessee” version for nutsos like me who wanted to run 2,000 km – Across Tennessee and back.
So here we are, September 1 is here, and I’m happy to report that on August 30 I arrived back in Arkansas, my 2,000+ km covered! Now that I’m not spending 3+ hours a day running and driving to/from runs (gotta do new roads every run, ya know!) I figured I’d put pen to paper.
I headed out tonight to run from home for the first time in months…my regular 4 mile loop around my neighbourhood. Ran it faster than I have in 10+ years. Halfway, a funny thing happened. Someone yelled at me “hey! I read your trip reports! You’re ironmanjt!”
So yeah, I made it across Tennessee, I’m back home, and I had a hell of a trip. I may never have gotten on an airplane, but I’ve done some amazing traveling the last six months, and that’s what I’m going to start sharing with you.
You see, despite being in DC for 30 years now, there are SO many parts of this city I’ve never been to or explored…and it’s been amazing. I’ve been fed ribs at a back yard BBQ, invited for a burger at a pot-filled middle of the street cookout, propositioned by “working people,” run through protests, seen beautiful things, seen painful things, and when it comes down to it…I’ve travelled. A lot.
Travel is growth and experiences, and I’m having just as many of those as ever!
So, below are the photos from the very early hikes back in March and April that I started this post with months ago…they’re a prelude to my summer travels. Enjoy, and I’ll post a few of my favourite and most memorable summer travels soon!
Arlington Cemetery hike…before Covid shut it down.
15+ mile hike through DC, Maryland, and Virginia!
Spring is springing, the turtles are out, and John Carrol is still watching over my Alma Mater.
This run looked innocent enough when I mapped it out…
…but it turned out to have some serious rock scrambles, creepy bugs (tent caterpillars), and gorgeous vistas:
Waterfall…right here in Arlington.
Much more to come! I’ll leave you with the “after” picture. You can see lots of “before” pics on the blog, but 2,000 km of running and 50 pounds later…here’s my finish picture from the race.
This is a blog I’ve been wanting to write for some time, but it’s also something I wanted to do lots of thinking about before I wrote it. How do you distill 196 countries and 30+ years of travel down into 12 trips that were the most memorable for you? What makes a trip memorable? Is it the places? Is it the people? Is it something you did? Or, is it some combination.
Initially, I wanted to keep this to ten most memorable, because everyone likes a Top 10 list. But, I was struggling to get it under 20. I did narrow it down a bit, but in the end, there were really 12 trips that I felt really needed to be told because they’ve formed such an integral part of my travel journey.
That said, it’s obviously not a comprehensive list, and there’s a few honourable mentions that I have to put out there:
Traveling to Penticton, British Columbia for my first Ironman race
First group of Americans allowed into North Korea in decades back in 2005 (you know it’s a tough choice when a trip like this doesn’t even make the list! A photo regardless:
So, with those said, let’s kick off the Top 12 list….in a bit of an order in that #1 is almost certainly the best travel memory I’ll ever had, but other than that it’s a bit random….so please don’t get offended!
#12 – Zimbabwe Coup – End of Mugabe’s Rule
Military on the Streets
Boring coup…
Former President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia in Harare for Installation of the new President
I’ve been a follower of Zimbabwe for years, going back to grad school when I was studying sanctions. Ever since my first trip to Africa (where the plane actually stopped over in Harare on the way to South Africa) I’ve been fascinated by Zimbabwe and its struggles since Independence.
A few years ago for Thanksgiving I found myself with absolutely no plans when I saw in the news that the military had decided Mugabe’s time as the long-time ruler was coming to an end…and he had “decided” to resign. Except then he went on tv…and did what nobody expected with Generals standing around him: didn’t resign, or even mention it.
Knowing this wouldn’t stand, and I had a five day weekend ahead of me, I booked a last minute trip to Harare, and when I was in the air the military staged a “not coup” and removed him from power. I landed to parties in the streets celebrating hope for the future…which unfortunately has largely proved to be more of the same.
Huge historical moment, and so excited I could be there for it!
#11 First Trip to the Florida Keys
If not running, drinking beer!
Jen over halfway to 100 miles!
Despite a year filled with health issues, my amazing friend Jen managed to convince me that “running” 100 miles in the Florida Keys would be something I should do. Health issues continued to be a challenge, so I dialed it back to the 50 mile option (which I could easily walk in the time allowed) before finally deciding the week before not to do the race.
It turned out to be the right call, because having never been to the Keys before I way underestimated the sun, heat, and humidity. That said, I totally want to give it another go in 2020 health permitting.
I did still go down there, which gave me a chance to cheer Jen on in her 100 mile quest and spend time with my friend John who had flown down to be my crew for the race when I thought i was going to do it. Great friends, sun, and gorgeous scenery. What’s not to enjoy?!
#10 Abkhazia
Bombed-out/burned-out former HQ of the Abkhaz SSR government
Masha liked its belly rubbed…
Masha the Bear
Al Capone Restaurant
Lake Ritsa
What do you do when you’ve been to every country? You start “inventing” new ones of course! Not recognized by the UN, Abkhazia is a country that broke away from Georgia a few years back with the support of Russia, and now lives in relatively autonomous peace. Need proof that these “countries” are “worth” visiting? Where else can you:
Have lunch at a restaurant called Al Capone’s Pizza where they insist you take pics with toy prop guns and gangster hat
See a beautiful lake in the middle of winter where Stalin used to have his datcha
Run into a guy walking his bear on the side of the road, only to have him tell you “have bigger one at home”
In the middle of a delicious Georgian dinner have a rando drunk restaurant patron start going on and on about his love for Omar Bradley to you?!
So, if that doesn’t convince you that a long weekend in Abkhazia with a great friend is worth it, I don’t know what will!
#9 Kosovo and Macedonia
Bill Clinton Avenue in Kosovo
Grabbing a coffee in Kosovo
One of many statues in Macedonia
I’ve known my friend Dewon for nearly 20 years now, ever since he moved to Washington, D.C. from South Africa for work. His American adventure has taken him all around the country since then (and currently to New York) but we still manage to connect from time to time for amazing adventures.
A few years back he mentioned he’d be in Frankfurt for work and have some time afterwards, so I should pick a country in Europe I hadn’t been to yet (this was 10+ years ago I think?) and we would go for the weekend.
Well, I couldn’t just leave it at one country, and that’s how we ended up flying into Kosovo and eventually hiring a driver to take us to Macedonia. Both were fascinating in their own way: Kosovo because it was still newly-independent and finding its footing as a country, and Macedonia because…well…there were literally statues and monuments everywhere in the capital. It was totally surreal.
Plus, of course, the chance to spend the weekend with a great friend I don’t get to see enough of! Great friends and great times!
#8 Longyearbyen/Svalbard Marathon
Boat tour around Svalbard
Getting ready to run 26.2!
Polar bear patrol on the marathon course. Seriously.
Polar bear patrol bringing in the final runner
Finish!
I had always wanted to run the Antarctica Marathon, but it’s a hugely expensive undertaking…with no guarantee the boat will even be able to dock so you can run it. So, what did I do instead? Found the northernmost marathon in the world in Svalbard, Norway way above the Arctic Circle.
On top of being a stunning and scenic locale, it was also by far the smallest marathon I’ve ever run, with less than 30 participants. Unfortunately I got injured about 10 weeks before the race, but recovered enough I was still able to do it at a slow jog and really take in the scenery. Amazing memories!
#7 Saudi Arabia
Post Forumla-E Concert. Can you believe this is Saudi Arabia?!
Country counting geeks unite!
Edge of the World
Edge of the World
Yup, we’re in Saudi!
That time Scott and I pondered becoming Saudia crew
Oh yeah, there was a race…
…most random thing anywhere, but a guy in a unicorn onesie in Saudi Arabia?!
Saudi Arabia used to be a really tricky place for “country counters” to check off their list. Unless you got invited there for work, or are Muslim and went on the Hajj, the country was completely closed to tourists. A few people have managed transit visas over the years, but I had to be content with an epic airport story (which I only tell in person over drinks) for my every country visit.
In late 2018, the Saudis announced a limited one-time-only tourist visa for a Formula-E Race that was coming to Riyadh, and country counters descended on Saudi en masse to take advantage of it. Sure, in the meantime the country has opened up even more to the point just about anyone can go at just about any time, but we didn’t know that back then. It was just dozens of country counters taking advantage of what they thought might be a one-time opportunity.
The cool thing about the whole thing was: as cool as Saudi itself was, the people were even more amazing. It was like finding a whole world full of people that “get” you, and understand why you do what you do, and why you travel to the places you do. I made many good friends out of the trip – people I still talk to frequently today.
I’d go to the “Edge of the World” with these people…and quite literally did!
#6 First Round-the-World – 40 Days for 40th Birthday
Whitewater rafting the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe
Sunset in Aruba
Curacao
Bungee off the Victoria Falls Bridge – still can’t believe I did it!
Venezuela
Birthday in Hawaii
Swimming with jellyfish in Palau
Chobe Park sunset in Botswana
Yup, it was a great trip!
Marshall Islands on the Continental Island Hopper
Cat cafe in Japan
Mountain lodge in Lesotho
Believe it or not, back when I was at just under 100 countries visited I still hadn’t done a true round-the-world trip, where you cross both oceans basically continuing in one direction. So, I decided for my 40th birthday I would book a 40 day round-the-world trip that would be epic in its scale! What was the rough itinerary, well, something like:
Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire
Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama
Hawaii, Micronesia, the Marshall islands, and Guam
quick stops in Japan and Thailand en route to:
South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland
Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana: Victoria Falls!
Tired yet? It was an exhausting and amazing trip, and an unforgettable way to celebrate four decades on this planet!
#5 Johannesburg for U2 PopMart Concert
Waiting for the show to start
PopMart
My first “safari”
The Edge
For me, this is where it all really started.
Sure, I’d been to the Soviet Union and a few trips to Europe. Less than ten countries total, but then came the opportunity to see U2 in Johannesburg for the final concert of the PopMart Tour, and when my friend Matt (as anyone who knows me knows – it’s ALWAYS a Matt) said he was game for it…a plan was hatched.
My first time in Africa, first time outside Europe and North America, and I was absolutely addicted to travel. If I could pull this off, I could do anything! It would take a few more years until I had the time and money to really start ramping up the travel, but once I did there was no stopping me.
I have U2 to thank for my love of music (I was at the original Red Rocks concert – the best thing about divorced parents who hear about these “cool new bands kids are into” and take you to a random concert) and have seen them all over the world now.
I can still pretty much see the entire concert in Johannesburg as vivid as if it was yesterday (despite being more than twenty years ago) and to this day when I go back to Johannesburg I always stay in the same hotel that I stayed in 20 years ago on that first trip. For me, it really was the trip that started it all.
#4 Dominican Republic
They say that true friends show it when you need them most. After ending a ten-year relationship I was more than a little bit of an emotional mess, and really needed something to get my mind in a better place and start moving forward again.
As luck would have it, my close friend John was headed to the Dominican Republic the next week (a country which at that time I still hadn’t been to!) with a group of 20+ friends, and pretty much insisted I join them. Anyone who knows me knows I’m very anti group trip, anti resort, anti cruise, blah blah blah, but I’m very glad I went on this trip!
I made some absolutely amazing friends, it was exactly what I needed at that point in my life, and despite just meeting all these new people they were really there for me over the coming years as I moved on and figured out my next steps in life!
Shout out to my Ottawa family for being there – and being amazing people!
#3 Easter Island
Crater lake
Moai
Cultural Appropriation
Gorgeous sunset
Continuing the theme of things to do when you’ve been to every country, I found a great fare to Chile a couple years ago, booked it for a week, and figured I could decide what I would do later. I had only spent a couple days in Chile my first trip, so really wanted to explore more.
Well, my friend Phil who recently moved from DC to California was up for joining, and together we hatched a plan to visit Easter Island…where we actually spent several nights sleeping in a geodesic dome! I’m normally the type to opt for posh hotels, but yes, I pretty much roughed it for several days there…and loved every minute out in nature!
Everyone knows Easter Island for the Moai statues, but what you probably don’t know is it’s also home to amazing food and some of the freshest fish I’ve ever had. I would love to go back and spend a week again – this time maybe doing more hiking all over the island!
#2 Soviet Union
When I was 17 I left North America for the first time for a four week study trip…to the Soviet Union. Yes, my first time out of North America was to the USSR! Probably proof I was destined for off the beaten path from a very young age!
My school didn’t have a ton of language options, and I had pretty much outgrown them by 11th grade so I had started spending summers at a Russian language camp to get more of a challenge. When they offered a trip over Christmas and New Years to the Soviet Union I begged and pleaded with the parents who were surprisingly ok with the idea, and off I went.
I went into the unknown with absolutely no idea what to expect, and although I dialed it back for the next few years (since I still had to learn how to travel independently and not in a school trip) I think this is what convinced me that I wanted to see more of the world.
“Weird” foods (I still remember the aspic for dinner on the first night and the joy my host family took me in serving pomegranates and coke in the middle of winter), strange customs, and not to mention “communism” (psst. mister, you have jeans? Buy rabbit skin hat?) it was all strange and so very foreign to me…and I loved it!
We spent four weeks in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, and Novosibirsk, and I wanted more! Strangely, it would be nearly 25 years until I would return to an independent Russia, but all the memories came flooding back. I can’t find the pictures from 1988 (hopefully I’ll find them in a box somewhere eventually) so I’ve included some of my Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Novosibirsk pictures above.
#1 Iceland – 196th (Every!) Country Visited
Iceland! Every country!
The group in Reykjavik
Getting beautiful at the Blue Lagoon
Start of the SuperJeep tour
Double rainbow!
Post-SuperJeep
There might have been champagne!
Extra special my mom and brother could join!
Commemorating the journey!
So, this one is probably pretty obvious! What better way to celebrate visiting every country than to hit your final country with more than 30 friends and family for four days in a gorgeous place like Iceland! It was truly a special and wonderful time and meant a lot to me that all these people I had spent so much time away from as I ran around the world were all willing to come to Iceland to celebrate with me.
From our guided walk around Reykjavik to a silly afternoon at the Blue Lagoon, to a day with SuperJeeps around the Golden Circle I think I pretty much spent the entire trip with a giant smile on my face…well, except maybe the hour I spent getting the unplanned “Iceland 196” tattoo to celebrate the achievement!
Is it terrible I’m secretly hoping someone else declares themselves independent in the next year so we can have a #Jason197 party somewhere for my 50th birthday?
Woke up the next morning feeling like I’d been hit by a truck. Not just any old truck, but a big-ass semi that had run me over, backed over me again, and then proceeded to run me over at high speed. Turns out lots of travel, craft beer, burgers, and poutine leaves you feeling not so great when you’re not 21 anymore…nor two times 21 even.
That said, a bit of Starbucks and I rallied by a champ to chair an important two hour meeting via videoconference from my hotel room before getting ready to check out and head to the airport.
I was mildly nervous because this had started overnight, and it was coming down harder and harder as the morning went on. But this is Canada, right? What could go wrong? Even a regional jet operated by a US airline will be fine because it’s Canada…right?
Uber had no trouble, and there wasn’t even a surcharge compared with the night before, so everything was great, right? I was expecting my usual grilling when traveling between the US and Canada from immigration, but nope, even that was a piece of the gate.
The view from my gate, however, really made me worry. It was coming down heavier than ever, and was really starting to pile up. At least my inbound flight was still showing on time. Would this be the trip when I finally had back-to-back flights cancel?
But no, thanks to the superpowers of Canada my inbound landed right on time, we boarded right on time to “try and get out early in case there are delays” and away we went.
United Express flight 5877 operated by SkyWest Calgary, Alberta (YYC) to Chicago, O’Hare (ORD) Depart 12:15, Arrive: 16:51, flight time: 3:36, flight distance: 1,385 miles Embraer ERJ-175, Registration N150SY, Manufactured 2015, Seat 2A Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 203,595 Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,895,897
Gin and tonic for a PDB. I needed it after the night before, and I have no idea why I ordered it. I never drink gin and tonics, but it sounded refreshing. In the middle of winter. Go figure. There’s probably something wrong in my head.
Bit of a delay for de-icing at the gate, but we got the green slush AND the orange/pink slush today – Canada doesn’t mess around!
We were about 45 minutes behind schedule due to the de-icing delay, meaning my connection in Chicago would be about 20 minutes. That’s no bueno. So let’s have another gin and tonic in flight before lunch to try and forget about that…ok?
Lunch was next, and there was a reasonably good fruit bowl, a salad with cold beef on the side, and a cookie. Overall, considering it was a regional jet, I was more than happy with this. That said, this was my longest regional jet flight ever, at nearly 3.5 hours! That said, I’ll take an ERJ-175 to a 737-800 any day! Nobody to climb over me.
About halfway through the flight I started feeling bad, really bad. Not in a way that was likely related to my beverages and burgers, but really strange muscle spasms that had me majorly concerned…to the point I starting timing the intervals between them. After about 15 minutes they started getting longer and longer, and for the last hour of the flight they were gone. Nothing is quite as terrifying as thinking you might have to page the flight attendant and be that guy that forces them to ask if there’s a doctor on board.
At least we had absolutely gorgeous sunsets to distract me the last hour of the flight:
Landed in Chicago feeling reasonable, and with no problems the final hour the desire to get home won out over the consideration to see if there was a clinic at O’Hare, so I decided to run for my gate. Because running is exactly what you need when just a couple hours prior you wear feeling horrid, right?
Well, I got to the gate for my connection exactly 12 minutes before departure and…we hadn’t even started boarding. The reason? No pilots. They were “delayed getting to the gate” and when they showed up 10 minutes later with their fresh McDonalds takeout for once I was very happy they’d decided to stop.
United flight 624 Chicago, O’Hare (ORD) to Washington DC, National (DCA) Depart 18:00, Arrive: 20:52, flight time: 1:52, flight distance: 612 miles Boeing 737-800, Registration N14242, Manufactured 1999, Seat 2E Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 204,207 Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,896,509
Nothing to say here – flight went quickly, snack basket and a good crew, and kept feeling better and better as the flight went on. The epilogue to the story is: stop acting like you’re 21. Eat some salads. Drink a whole lot less craft beer and wine. Hamburgers are not one of the major food groups, oh, and stop flying 250,000 miles and year and stressing yourself out prepping for meeting after meeting. 2020 is going to bring some big changes!
So, would I do the trip again? Was I’m glad what started as “join me for four days in Asia” turned into a 2.5 week trip that took me from Tunisia to Oman, Indonesia to Thailand, Toronto to the extreme Arctic? You bet. It was an amazing trip. It didn’t pair well with all the work travel that bookended it, and next year when I take a vacation somewhere I’m going to make sure it’s at a time where it’s not going to be a series of constant trips.
Best lesson from the trip? The Canadian Arctic is absolutely gorgeous, and I picked the perfect time of year to go with the short days and the pink, orange, and purple skies. I wouldn’t change a thing!!
Nobody likes an 05:30 flight. I definitely don’t like an 05:30 flight. It was, however, really the only way to get out of Whitehorse and still have at least a tiny bit of time in Calgary. I could also have flown straight through to DC in the same day, but the way fares worked breaking it in Calgary saved a ton of money.
Given my disdain for hours before the sun comes up, I did everything possible to maximize sleep. Yes, the flight was sold out, but I was checked-in online, and that means 90 people max to get through the single security line in Whitehorse. I set everything out the night before, set my alarm for 04:00, and went to bed after verifying that the plane had taken off from Vancouver, so it would be overnighting in Whitehorse as planned.
04:00, jump out of bed, dash through the shower, and I was out the door on the way to the airport in my cab by 04:15. Just before reaching the airport I turned on my phone (oops, such a rush I’d forgotten, and was greeted with this gem from the previous evening’s flight:
Yes, it had taken off from Vancouver, but apparently had a mechanical and returned to Vancouver where they spent 2+ hours on a rolling delay before finally canceling after midnight, ensuring the crew timed out.
The airport was quiet when I arrived, confirming that everyone else had probably checked online and decided to sleep in. Total amateur mistake on my part to not double-check before leaving for the airport.
On the “good news side” the agents confirmed an extra section had been added and that we would leave around noon. Well, I’d have much less time in Calgary than planned, but nothing at all that I could do about it.
Grabbed a cab back to the hotel where they were happy to give me my room back, and by 05:30 I was back in bed where I slept for another three hours giving me a solid 8+ hour night when added up.
It also gave me a chance to explore Canada’s northernmost Starbucks…for research and science purposes of course!
Back to the airport around 10:30 for the 11:55 retimed flight, where I headed through security. I love the signs that are everywhere in Canada now warning that crossing the border with pot is illegal. Sadly, in Whitehorse they were accompanied by signs warning about the dangers of fentanyl.
No wait at all for security, and I was probably curb to gate in 5-6 minutes total, meaning I could have easily waited another 30 minutes. Just be warned, there’s only two security lines (and I’m totally usually one is only open) so plan ahead, because I’ve heard lines have the possibility of being much longer than I faced.
On the other side of security, the very small waiting area for security-required flights. (Like Yellowknife, flights headed north don’t have to go through security.)
Our plane landed at 11:10, giving them 45 minutes to turn it around, so no drama at all and we were all ready to go for our rescheduled 11:55 flight.
Air Canada flight 8771 operated by Jazz Aviation Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada (YXY) to Vancouver, BC (YVR) Depart 11:55, Arrive: 14:15, flight time: 1:50, flight distance: 923 miles Canadair CRJ-900, Registration C-GJZS, Manufactured 2017, Seat 2A Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 201,782 Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,894,084
Gorgeous views of the Yukon on takeoff:
Fortunately, the flight had been re-provisioned with lunch instead of breakfast and started with a nuts and drink service. Can’t break my tradition of a glass of red.
Main course offerings were exactly the same as my Vancouver to Yellowknife the previous week, so instead of the odd General Tso’s Chicken I decided to go with the vegetarian pasta this time, which was surprisingly flavourful and quite taste. The blondie for dessert was actually excellent!
Had 90 minutes in Vancouver (I was offered a 35 minute connection, but was really not in the mood to run for it) and shockingly was able to find a seat in the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, where I decided that a mid-afternoon snack of cookies and a Ceasar was in order. Mmmmm clams…
Boarding to Calgary was right on time with a lot of people that looked exhausted and disoriented. Turns out lots of connections from Asia on this flight, so no matter how tiring my day had been there were definitely people who had it much worse!
Air Canada flight 218 Vancouver, BC (YVR) to Calgary, Alberta (YYC) Depart 16:10, Arrive: 18:34, flight time: 1:24, flight distance: 428 miles Airbus A321, Registration C-GIUB, Manufactured 2001, Seat 1C Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 202,210 Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,894,512
Due to the short flight time the nuts and snack were served together on this flight. It was a sort of deconstructed salad niçoise today, which was at least reasonably healthy. Could have used more protein though…
Arrived in Calgary approximately six hours later than I wanted so rushed to catch an Uber and get to my downtown hotel as soon as possible so I could at least enjoy a dinner out.
The room was rather odd – it was an upgrade according to the staff, but the only thing it seemed to have is a ton of empty space. I’m not used to hotel rooms that feel cavernous! The hotel was ok, but since it was also the host hotel for the upcoming Grey Cup in a few days the hotel was swarming with media and corporate sponsors, so I imagine they had taken the “better” upgrades long before I was in the queue.
It was already nearly 8pm, so after a little research headed out on a short walk to get some dinner. The Calgary Tower was nicely illuminated at night:
Ended up at Bottlescrew Bill’s Pub due to it’s relatively promising-looking craft beer list…and proximity to my hotel of course.
You really can’t go wrong with a burger and poutine…at least until you wake up the next day and that combined with several beers reminds you you’re not 21 years old any more and can’t get away with that. At least it was delicious.
Terrifying statue on the walk back to the hotel. Nobody needs a 20 foot tall hockey mascot in a ten gallon hat mocking them.
With that, my all too short day in Calgary was over. I’d really hoped to have the whole afternoon to explore the city, but sometimes things conspire against you. I guess it just gives me an excuse to do a trip I’ve been thinking of: fly into Fort McMurray in northern Alberta and then drive to Calgary via Edmonton – trying to understand Alberta on the way. Maybe that’s something for 2020.
My flight out of Inuvik wasn’t until nearly 2pm, and I only really needed to leave for the airport a bit after 12 so I decided not to set alarm since I really didn’t have anything I needed or wanted to see left in Inuvik.
I woke up around 10am, just in time to catch the tail end of breakfast, but not with enough time to do too much more before heading to the airport. Decided on a short walk in town before packing up and heading out, and then it was off to find gas before heading to the airport.
The price of gas was a crazy C$1.99 per liter, and the Suburban took nearly 50 liters to fill up. The trip up to Tuktoyaktuk hadn’t been cheap, but was certainly worth it.
The drive to the airport was only about 30 minutes, returning the car took less than five minutes, and I was on my way to check-in with Air North. It looked online like the flight might be pretty empty, and I was hopeful it would be.
Check-in agent confirmed that indeed there would only be about 25 people on the flight today, meaning each passenger could have an empty seat next to them if they wanted – score! Our flight was doing a loop today from Whitehorse – Old Crow – Inuvik – Whitehorse, and while waiting for the plane to come in from Old Crow I spotted today’s Canadian North flight being operated by a 737-200 with a forward cargo door – COOL!
Our flight touched down right on time, and soon it was time for the 15 or so passengers joining in Inuvik to join the 10 who had come from Old Crow to board our ATR for a nearly two hour flight!
Air North flight 362 Inuvik, NWT (YEV) to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada (YXY) Depart 13:55, Arrive: 14:50, flight time: 1:55, flight distance: 528 miles ATR 42-300, Registration C-FVGP, Manufactured 1989, Seat 4A Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 200,859 Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,893,161
The seats were interesting, and I’ve never seen any like this before. The two seats we really made of one piece meaning it was really one big seat with a divider. Legroom wasn’t great, but with nobody next to me it was more than adequate.
Takeoff!
Despite being a propeller plane a choice of sandwiches was served – cheese or turkey were on offer and I went with the turkey…which came with a raisin cookie. Plenty nice snack for a tiny regional flight. Well done Air North!
Flight went pretty quickly, very little turbulence, and we descended into Whitehorse right at the golden hour. Gorgeous orange skies:
Great mountain views below:
A view of our ATR after landing in Whitehorse – there’s something about this orange, white, and blue livery that I really find appealing.
There was a free shuttle to most of the downtown hotels, and I had chosen the Best Western Gold Rush Inn for the night. Best Westerns definitely aren’t my chain of choice, but given the location in the middle of town I decided it would be “good enough” for one night.
Funny enough my room came with a jacuzzi in the corner (not in the washroom!) and the window was held together with duct tape. That said, the bed was plenty comfy for a good night’s sleep!
I had about an hour before sunset, so I decided to head out for a long walk clear across town about 2km or so to Yukon Brewing to sample their products. After all, it was advertised as “Beer Worth Freezin’ For” so I had to try!
Sampler tray was quite nice, and reasonable at less than C$10. Unfortunately, I didn’t find very many of their beers very good. They were rather bland and unremarkable. I really wanted a hoodie with their logo, but just couldn’t bring myself to spend $70 when their beers were not something I wanted to advertise – despite the super cool logo.
Back to the Best Western, where I had to snap some photos of the kitsch in the lobby. You could “mine for gold” in the lobby with some sifting trays….or use the non-functional old-time telephone to make a call. But beware, the Mounties are always watching you!
Walked to find some dinner, and ran into hometown hero Jack London. Who knew!
Unfortunately, the place I had hoped to go (The Dirty Northern) turned out to be closed for a private event, and being Sunday night there wasn’t too much going on in general so I ended up at the Best Western’s restaurant – which was shockingly completely packed!
I settled in at the bar for a beer, and ended up having a super tasty bison burger and some chocolate ice cream cake – definitely decadent, but still delicious!
I wish I had had a bit more time to explore Whitehorse, including the hot springs, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the little bit that I saw. What was striking to me was a huge number of Mexican tourists (who come for northern lights tours) and how much the town felt like Alaska to me.
Inuvik and Yellowknife had felt like something totally unique, but Whitehorse really struck me as if I had just hopped over the border from Alaska – lots of similarity in how it felt.
I’ll definitely be back one day for a longer visit, but for now, it was time to end this wonderful two week trip and begin the trek back home…
Picking up my car at Inuvik airport was relatively straightforward – certainly more straightforward than reserving it in the first place. There’s only one agency in town, and it took quite a bit of research to find Driving Force but eventually I had an SUV reserved.
What I hadn’t remembered is: it had a 100km per day limit, and there would be overage charges of 40 cents per km, and since Inuvik was over 160km each way I had to remember to factor that in. That’s not even including insanely-priced northern fuel, but more on that later.
You’d think for over $150 a day you’d get a nice SUV, but in Inuvik you’d be very, very wrong. I did get a relatively (2-3 years old?) recent Chevy Suburban with room for 14 people…and a crack the entire length of the windshield. Oh well!
The bigger challenge? It was -32 when I arrived, and the Suburban was ice cold inside. I suppose I could have started it and gone back into the airport while it warmed up, but I foolishly waited nearly 15 minute until the inside temperature was warm enough to drive into town.
Maybe a 15-20 minute drive max, and Waze worked like a charm. I found my hotel, The MacKenzie Delta Hotel, and had no problem parking. There were even outlets at each parking spot to plug in the engine heater if needed. I decided to live dangerously, and left it unplugged.
After checking in it was already less than two hours to sunset, so I headed out into the frozen tundra to do a tiny bit of exploring. First stop, only a five minute frozen walk from my hotel, was the igloo-shaped Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church:
It said there were tours three days a week at 6pm, and luckily one was today, so I stopped by at 6pm for a tour. Shockingly in the middle of winter, I was the only tourist. Unfortunately the priest was about to head out, and the nice lady who usually did the tour had to run to a dinner for her sister’s birthday. She offered me her phone number, however, and told me to call her the next day and she’d give me a tour any time. True northern hospitality!
A quick look at the inside of the church before heading out:
The hotel seemed to be the most popular dinner option, since there weren’t m/any real restaurants in town per se. One of the two was called The Roost, and TripAdvisor reviews seemed to say it was decent. It was basically a fast-food joint that did a decent takeout business, but it was just me and a group of teenagers eating.
They were having poutine, and I went with the Roost special pizza…just over C$30 for an individual pizza and can of pop. Expensive for sure, but not OMG outrageous. It was at least reasonably tasty, but definitely not gourmet. My arteries would also hate me later.
I felt like a bit of exploring after dinner, and on the walk back was the one bar in town called The Trapper Pub. It was dark, and only about 15-20 people lurking about on the inside…and eventually I got a Kokanee and set to people-watching.
The Trapper was certainly a rough crowd, all local, with quite a few who looked barely able to keep upright. Keep in might it wasn’t even 8pm yet.
Midway through my second Kokanee I heard a crash, lots of loud cursing, and screaming, and turned to see the bartender dragging a drunk patron out of the bar by the neck. He managed to get himself upright, but not for long…and a quick slug from either the bartender or a bystander (couldn’t tell) had him down for the count again so he could be dragged outside.
That was my cue to head out and call it a night. Bit more adventure than I’d bargained for!
After a delightful nine+ hours of sleep, I headed down to the hotel restaurant, which as far as I could tell was the only place in town that served breakfast. Omelet du jour and coffee, with a huge helping of spuds and toast was under $20, so definitely one of the better bargains in town. It was about 9am when I finished and still pitch black outside, so up to my room to chill a bit while the sun came up.
Just before 11am the sun was finally hinting at the horizon, so out I went to start the car for my adventure. Fortunately, it turned right over, and after about 10 minutes was warm enough to start heading out of town.
I had no idea what to expect from the new “highway” to Tuktoyaktuk, but it was fairly well-packed gravel and snow, and I managed to maintain about 80 kph much of the way. Just after noon, you can see how little daylight there still was…and the giant crack in my windshield. This was right after slamming the breaks to catch a picture of a giant caribou on the side of the road, but by the time I fumbled to get my gloves off it had trotted too far to get a pic.
About 12:30 I was almost there. A good shot of the highway and very desolate landscape. No cellphone reception either, so if something went wrong you were really on your own. This probably isn’t the time to remember I’ve never had to change a tire…and had been dealing with some health issues that had me a little uncomfortable to be somewhere so remote….but it was beautiful!
Finally, just before 1pm, I pulled into Tuktoyaktuk. Look at the colours of the sky!
Made it!
Drove through “town” and finally hit my goal…”Canada’s Third Coast” the Arctic Ocean. Today probably wasn’t a great day to think about going for a swim since I hadn’t brought an ice drill!
This was the perfect time of year to visit. Just enough sunlight to have super vivid colours…a couple weeks later it would be 24 hours of darkness, a couple weeks earlier you’d miss the vivid pastel skies.
The Trans Canada Trail aka The Great Trail marker at the Arctic Ocean. It spans Atlantic to Pacific, and branches north to Tuktoyaktuk to the Arctic Ocean as well. Pretty cool!
Driving through town, Tuktoyaktuk really is the “End of The Road”
Station of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, a series of radar stations set up in the Arctic, Greenland, etc to provide for early detection of incoming Soviet bombers.
With just about two hours of daylight left, it was time to turn around and get back to Inuvik before the sun set completely. I had debated staying the night in Tuktoyaktuk, but given the lack of things to really “do” I decided to head back. Highway sign:
Warning! Bear Country! Yogi would not approve – a fed bear is a dead bear! Shortly after this I saw what I’m pretty sure was a bear in the distance, but too far to be sure or get a pic.
The Pingos are another reason people come to Tuktoyaktuk, a mount of earth-covered ice that is evidence of this areas glacial past. Unfortunately, they’re protected and it’s hard to get too close, and this is one of the better viewing points:
Posing with a pingo – you can already tell the sun is setting at 1:30 in the afternoon!
On the drive back…around 2:30pm! Gorgeous sky. I saw a few arctic foxes at this point, but too tiny to get a pic.
Probably my favourite shot of the drive, just before 3pm and sunset. Stunning colours.
…and around the next bend, even better. Absolutely my favourite picture of the trip. Such vivid colours!
Back in Inuvik just after sunset, I decided to stop by the “northernmost mosque in the world” – lots of northernmost this and that!
Stopped by the “Northern Store” for some groceries (mainly water and snacks) and debated buying a fur, but…why? The Northern Store is basically an Arctic WalMart where you could buy everything from groceries to clothes and daily essentials.
Last stop of the night was the Midnight Sun Complex. There was a local craft fair going on that I wanted to browse, plus I couldn’t resist checking out Canada’s northernmost ice rink!
Pictures didn’t seem welcome at the craft fair, and much of what was being sold was fur in every variety. I didn’t have much need for seal or fur gloves, boots, or parkas, but what….it’s public skating time at the ice rink? Now that I’m totally down for!
I only skated for like 10 minutes, but ticking it off was an amazing experience!
Back to the hotel before dinner and getting ready to head out and continue my adventure the next morning.
Despite not even being 5pm, it was completely dark, so I didn’t get to see too much on my shuttle ride to the hotel. When I checked in, fortunately, my big box of warmies was waiting at the front desk for me. I’m amazed just how many stickers it takes to ship a simple box….
After settling in, despite the -22 degree temperatures, I decided it would be nice to go for a bit of a walk. The temperature alone wasn’t awful, but it was snowing and a bit windy….probably 25-30kph gusts or so. Lovely night for a stroll, right?
Ended up walking nearly a mile, and by the time I arrived at my destination there was already snow crusted on my eyebrows. It was a nice brisk and fresh walk, but I was looking forward to warming up!
My destination was Northwest Territories Brewing Co. (NWT Brewing) which looked online to have not only a good selection of beers, but also a decent restaurant.
Inside, I was shocked at how popular the place was! It wasn’t huge, but every seat was taken and a few dozen people were standing around too. For a town of under 20,000, it seemed the whole town was here. First, a very nice beer or two to warm up…
I ended up staying almost three hours, mainly because it was cold and dark outside so there wasn’t much else to do, and because I met some fascinating people. Apparently, very few people are from Yellowknife, and many come there for work. It’s experiencing a mini tourist boom, and as a consequence it’s very hard to find labour – many people work a series of part time jobs to keep all the local industries humming.
I also met a couple of cagey characters – exactly the kind you expect to find in somewhere rather remote. They refused to say much about what they did beyond “work in the camps” or “government stuff.” Maybe Yellowknife is Canada’s Area 51…
Back to the hotel in what was now much heavier snow and wind, and was greeted by the obligatory polar bear statue in the lobby. I’m beginning to think it’s a requirement up north to have a stuffed polar bear hanging around.
After a good night’s sleep, I had a bit of time to get breakfast. Why have a boring hotel breakfast when you can wander the town a bit more. There seemed to be a Tim Horton’s, but I can get that anywhere.
There also seemed to be an intriguing local coffeeshop called Birchwood Coffee Kǫ̀ which means coffeehouse in the local language. Again, many of the employees seemed to be from elsewhere – at least one from Europe even – but they had delicious cinnamon buns and coffee so I was thrilled!
I decided to “push” things a little and take the 10am shuttle to the airport, having seen the night before that the airport looked tiny. As we left the hotel (on the left in the picture below) the sun was just starting to rise a bit after 10am.
I was forced to check my rolling bag, despite the aircraft being a 737, which was fine – who knew if it would even have overhead bins! Remember, just because you CAN carry it doesn’t mean it’s carry on!
The snow from the night before was still raging, but if anyone could handle it I figured it would be an airline called Canadian North!
The most fascinating thing is that there was one security checkpoint, but it was only for flights going “south” – meaning Edmonton or Vancouver. All the flights that went north from Yellowknife had no security at all! Only your checked bags were scanned.
It’s been years since I’ve been on a 737-300, and I was hoping for some good ole-fashioned retro goodness!
Canadian North flight 244 Yellowknife, NWT, Canada (YZF) to Norman Wells, NWT (YVQ) Depart 10:30, Arrive: 11:55, flight time: 1:25, flight distance: 424 miles Boeing 737-300, Registration C-GCNK, Manufactured 1998, Seat 2D Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 200,053 Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,892,355
I had managed to finagle my way into an aisle seat in the second row at check-in (no business on this ancient bird!) and despite the load being about 75% today the middle seat stayed empty. Plus, I had an amazing view of the delightful old-school moving map on the bulkhead!
My seatmate was a very friendly and chatty local from Inuvik, who was impressed a tourist was visiting during the winter. She was a wealth of information about all the things I might see and do, including an annual arts and crafts fair which would be taking place over the weekend.
Despite only having a population of about 3,200 Inuvik is a bit of a regional hub in the north, complete with a modest teaching hospital and all. At least if I started feeling any worse there might be options.
Oh, and as my view during boarding showed, the snow was still howling outside and people were trekking it in.
The flight to Inuvik would stop in Norman Wells on the way, and despite the barely 80 minute flight time of the first segment a small meal was offered to all passengers. I went with the sandwich which was pretty good, and all passengers got a bag of chips. Of course, the one person to get Cheetos was the American. I think it was politically-motivated…
When we touched down in Norman Wells only a couple dozen passengers got off, and only a few got on. We were invited to disembark and stretch our legs if we wanted, and I wasn’t going to pass up the chance to see a new airport!
The entire airport had no security, and I was able to walk around freely and explore for about ten minutes. The check-in area:
There was a waiting room with a comfy couch for local elders…
After about 10 minutes it was time to board again. Much less snowy, but colder in Norman Wells. About -26C this morning!
No pictures were allowed on the tarmac in the north, so I had to take the pic above from the terminal, and the one below from the aircraft once I’d boarded. Don’t worry Pearson, I don’t think Norman Wells will be competing with you any time soon for global hub status!
The plane was still about 2/3 full out of Norman Wells, and it was time to continue on our way for the short 40 minute flight up to Inuvik.
Canadian North flight 244 Norman Wells, NWT, Canada (YVQ) to Inuvik, NWT (YEV) Depart 12:30, Arrive: 13:18, flight time: 48 min, flight distance: 278 miles Boeing 737-300, Registration C-GCNK, Manufactured 1998, Seat 2D Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 200,331 Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,892,633
While I love using the Great Circle Mapper website to plot my routes, it’s even more fun when they’re displayed on the bulkhead…complete with both segments!
This segment would be too short for a snack, but fear not – Canadian North did have pretzels as well as water, coffee, or tea available for everyone! Impressive!
Arrival in Inuvik’s one-room terminal was right on time, and while I waited for my checked bag there was of course the mandatory polar bear in the terminal waiting to greet me!
Bag acquired, it was time to pick up my rental car and start my adventure. It was a balmy -32C outside, so hopefully it would start!!!
