Before becoming a homesteader in the Maritimes I called Canada's far North my home.

The most exciting of my travel adventures all originate in the North. I thought it would be fun to share a bit about my past adventures in the North. These experiences helped to shape who I am today.

This story is about our trip to Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is one of the few work related adventures that @xwalkran and I got to share. Most often only one of us would travel so that the other could stay home with our son.

Destination: Tuktotaktuk, Northwest Territories

Tuktoyaktuk/Tuk-tu-yaaq-tuuq Is an Inuvialuit Community of roughly 965 people. It is located on the shores of the Arctic Ocean at the tip of the Northwest Territories.

We flew in for a community celebration that our company had arranged as an apology. A massive storm had damaged the equipment necessary to serve the community with internet. Due to logistical nightmares it took us an unprecedented two months to get things back on-line. It was the worst outage of our careers.

In the eyes of this remote community having no internet for such an extended period of time was unthinkable. They rely heavily on these services to stay connected with the rest of the world. When you live in a very isolated place the internet becomes an essential resource. It offers not only entertainment but also employment opportunities, distance education and even medical services.

We had booked a charter to ship in some of the final pieces of equipment and with spare room on the plane, we decided to send a team in to make a formal apology and celebrate being back on-line. Everything was planned perfectly. We had boxes of prizes and gifts, hand outs and other entertainment. We arranged for a community feast and the charter was booked.

Unfortunately we arrived at the hangar and the weather was so poor we had to wait several hours before we could take off. We were going to be late for our own party!

Distance from Yellowknife to Tuktoyaktuk: 616 nautical miles.

Weather: Really bloody cold and windy. -35C with a wind chill of -10000 (kidding) it was more like -55C.

Our Ride: The Piper PA-31 Navajo twin engine plane (1969).

Blair, the owner and pilot for Ursus aviation, gave us the safety run down and loaded us all up into the plane. There would be no stewardess or in flight service on this flight.

We calculated that he has cumulatively spent more than a decade of his life in the sky. This guy was more at home in the air (and happier) than he was when on the ground. Some people are just meant to fly and he is one of them.

I got to be the co-pilot. The view up front was breathtaking. I had a perfect birds eye view of the world. I'll be honest though, had I know how bumpy the ride would be I might not have gone on this trip. I am glad I didn't know what to expect.

The winds were strong that day, bordering on a bit unwise to be flying. We were tossed around a lot which is never pleasant. It was quite cold in the plane and we all kept our parkas on while seated.

When you travel in the winter it is important to have warm clothing on your person while flying. We never check our gear because in an emergency you will need them to survive. Always be prepared. @xwalran and I always carry fire starters, ski pants, parkas, hats, gloves and warm boots.

This is one of my favourite pictures. I am busy chatting the pilots ear off. I wanted to know all about flying, his life and of course the plane we were sitting in.

The view from up here is quite a thing to behold.

We are nearing Norman Wells and these are the Franklin and Richardson Mountains. This is one of the most dramatic runways that I have ever been on.

We needed to stop and fuel up in Norman Wells (Aboriginal Name: Tlegõhtî, Slavey for “where there is oil”) in the Sahtu region of the Northwest Territories. This is an oil town, the first oil well was drilled, 1919. Over the past 90+ years, the oilfield in Normal Wells has produced more than 226 million barrels of oil.

The airport was completely deserted because they had the good sense to cancel flights. Knowing that there were no other flights coming through that day we called ahead to get clearance to fuel up. A fuel truck met us as we landed and we were back in the air in no time.

Back in the air on our way to Tuk! I must confess, I was feeling a bit air sick and deep down I really did not want to get back in that plane. I had to show leadership though so I sucked it up and got back in with a gritted smile.

Finally the Tuktoyaktuk runway. The wind was blowing something fierce as we came into land. The runway was hard to see but it was a perfect landing.

The Airport was a welcome sight. It was also closed due to weather.

We unpacked that plane as fast as possible. The truck door was hard to open because of the strong winds. We felt like we were being pushed backwards as we walked.

A few photos of the town as we drove to the community hall.

These homes are near the shores of the Arctic Ocean. You'll notice there aren't any trees or natural wind breaks this far North. When it is stormy you are really hearing and feeling the Earth intimately.

We were finally at the community hall. We had missed the feast but everyone was there waiting for us. Community feasts are really great part of Northern culture. We provided the funds and appointed someone in the community to make it happen. Everyone works together to bring in food and cook the meal.

We were greeted with warm coffee and applause. The children were so excited and helped us bring in the boxes and help us set up.

This is @xwalkran doing the official apology and thanking everyone for their patience. We got yelled at every single day service was out., it was not a fun time for anyone. We were actually a bit apprehensive that we would be greeted coldly. The warm celebratory vibe was such a relief. All was forgiven.

I was forced into overcoming my fear of public speaking when @xwalkran announced that I would be speaking next and thrust the microphone into my hands. People laughed and clapped at my goofy attempt to entertain so it wasn't so bad.

One of the things I have noticed about small communities is the concept of sharing and fairness. It is taken very seriously if someone cheats (puts their name in the ballot box twice for example) it was not taken well. Someone was appointed to oversee watching the ballots as they went into the box and anyone who attempted to cheat was given a hard smack.

It was a fun day for the kids, I involved them in reading the winners names and handing out some of the gifts we had brought (toques, sweaters and pamphlets with an offer for three months of free internet). We laughed a lot and I ended up enjoying being in front of this audience.

We were only able to stay for a few hours. The weather was expected to get worse later in the day and we needed to get home. An overnight stay would have become very expensive because you have to pay an extra day for the pilot and charter. I was disappointed that I would not get any time to explore before we left but we did stop for a quick photo to prove we had made the journey.

The camera was stuffed inside my jacket to keep the battery from draining. The act of smiling was impossible because the wind plastered our faces in strange poses. We each took only one photo and then ran for cover.

Here we are on the tarmac and ready to do the trip in reverse. Everyone was tired but really upbeat. It had been a successful trip and a great adventure.

I sometimes marvel at how eagerly we took on this adventure. We flung ourselves into a frigid tin can in the air without a second thought. Its the Northern way though. If you don't have a few stories to tell about adventurous air travel in bad weather you just haven't quite experienced true North living.

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[@walkerland ]
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