Arctic Circle July 2003 Main Page.

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July of 2003 I traveled North on my Kawasaki  KLR 650 to Inuvik NWT. 

The Trip

My good motorcycle riding friend Geoff and I planned this trip two  years before it took place. It was originally locked in for summer of 2002. Geoff and I work at the same place and our company restructured just prior to the 02 trip. Our boss cancelled it.  He made it very difficult for Geoff to go and impossible for me.  We re-scheduled for summer 2003. In 03, work forced Geoff to cancel the trip. I was encouraged to cancel it as well. I think the big guy was thinking if he canceled the trip for Geoff, I wouldn't go either. That was all the push I needed to just go anyway, even it that meant by myself. If you don't just do it. It will never get done.

The Arctic Circle. Its easy to explain, but sometimes hard the understand is what really drove me to take this trip.  I've always been a map fan.  Growing up my Dad and I would spend hours studying maps. To this day, for Christmas I always ask for maps or Atlases. As long as I can remember,  I've wanted to go to the Arctic Circle. I realize what the Arctic Circle is and its Solar significance. But really its just a line on the map and once you get there, just a sign alongside the road. But I just had to go there. I tried to Cross the Arctic circle in 1998.  Just before I got there, the Dempster Highway was washed out by heavy rains in the Olgilvie Mountains south of the Circle.  The road was closed for three weeks. Sort of a big deal for me. A really big deal for the people on the north side of the washout. At that time the Dalton Highway was open to the public by permit. I didn't have a permit and figured I'd just have to come back another day.

Summer of 2003 was that day....   Day by Day trip Log

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