Today we started driving towards Inuvik on the 737 kms of gravel road called the Dempster Highway. The morning began with a thorough scrubbing as we didn’t know when the next shower opportunity would arise. The van was dumped and filled with fresh water and fuel as there are very few services and fuel options on this stretch of highway. The first fuelling option is 369 km in!

After breakfast we spent 3 hours updating our blog since we were three days behind. We stopped at the Danoja Zho Cultural Centre and learned about the Tr’ondek Hwech’in people, the original people of the Klondike River. A 14 minute video introduced their culture and language and talked about their interaction with the white people that came during the Gold Rush. One focus of the museum is the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Residential School Program where young aboriginal youth were taken from their families and culture and forced to adapt to the culture and values of the white people, often enduring abuse in the process.

Next up was the Dempster Highway Information Centre where we picked up our Dempster Highway Passports and enquired about further information on tours to Tuktoyaktuk. We then went to buy bear spray and a bear bell just to be safe in bear country.

By now it was late afternoon and we had a quick chicken taco before setting off on our Dempster Highway adventure. A few kilometres into the trip we discovered a crack in the windshield.

Our campsite for the night is at the beautiful Tombstone Mountain Yukon Government Campground, 72 km into the highway. We celebrated with a fine home cooked dinner and called it a day.