Leg two of the Dempster means more rough riding.

The length of the drive wasn’t too bad today, but it ended up taking a pretty long time due to the sights and events to unfold.

Just north of Eagle Plains is the Arctic Circle. It lies at the 66°33′ N parallel and there is a sign there specifically built so Mokes can be parked in front of it so their picture can be taken. Naturally, with two Mokes of our own, we needed to stop make sure this was done!

It’s worth noting that this was the original goal of this Moke adventure: to get up to the Arctic Circle and experience the Midnight Sun. We now had checked off at least one of those two achievements by reaching this point of the drive.

About an hour up the Further up the road we came to another spectacular lookout point, just a couple hundred meters from the North West Territories border.

Unfortunately, as we came in to stop we noticed that the Blue Moke had a flat rear passenger-side tire! We were also in the notorious stretch of the Dempster that used slate-like rock as the rock-bed the road is made of. This stone is thin and sharp and does have a tendency to shred tires.

Not to worry though, because each Moke carries two fully ready-to-go, and full sized, spare tires. We jacked up the Moke and swapped the wheel in just a couple of minutes. We found the puncture hole, but we also noted that the tire belt was badly deformed; the tire is completely shot.

We grabbed a few photos of the spectacular view and then carried on around the corner to the “Welcome to North West Territories” sign, and then took a bunch more photos!

It’s notable that this section of the drive was significantly colder than any other portion of the drive up until now, and also colder than the remaining stretch going into Inuvik. Perhaps just something about the weather this day, or the particular elevation we were at made it quite chilly so we all donned another layer to keep warm.

About an hour or more up the road, passing by a lot of fantastic views, we reached the Peel River, where there’s a ferry crossing. This is the first of two ferry crossings we have today.

This ferry system is pretty simple and pretty convenient. The ferry has a ramp on each end of the boat and simply goes back and forth across the river to transit the traffic from one side to the other. The wait here was not long at all. No cost either!

Across the river we rolled into Fort McPherson for a quick stop and a fill-up with gas for all vehicles. We also did a quick fill of our coffee mugs at the convenience store and made a few calls back home to friends and family during the break.

Heading on further we came to the MacKenzie River ferry. This ferry does a 3-point route, connecting both the Dempster and Tsiigehtchic where one smaller tributary meets the MacKenzie River. Again, this was convenient and free.

The most notable bit of the remainder of the second half this day’s journey is just how awfully boring it was: three hours of dust covered shrubs lining the straight road that was cut through the North West Territories landscape. It was a huge relief to start to draw closer to Inuvik because the landscape finally changed. It was an even greater relief to come right up to Inuvik because paved roads resumed in the surrounding area!

Inuvik had a great looking welcome sign. They even include a selfie-taking stand that can hold your camera or cell phone to take a timed photo of yourself against their awesome looking sign.

For dinner we went to Alestine’s which is a really unique spot just a few minutes away from the MacKenzie Hotel that we stayed at. They have built out their kitchen in the back of a school bus, and have outdoor seating. This was a unique experience for sure. Their fish & chips was awesome, and was fresh caught white fish from the local area. Yum! (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Tomorrow we go to Tuktoyaktuk! This will be the pinnacle of our trip.

Starting Location & Time	Eagle Plains, Yukon Territory – 8:34 pm
Ending Location & Time	Inuvik, North West Territories – 6:13 pm
Total Kilometers	365 km
Total Time	9h 39m