[darstar]

Originally Posted by WestleySpitz

Another silly question here... but during the summer months (June to October), will the road be safe to travel? Not covered in ice etc? I have an SUV, but it's a RWD. I don't really trust myself on icy road just yet. But, i'm and avid traveler as well, so, I want to make this trip once during this lifetime.

No problem with the weather in the summer north of 60. Fact is, can get quite warm, the sun is very intense. I drove the Alaska Hy. in a 1938 Packard one year, so, any Vehicle with a comfortable seat will do....there are some very long days behind the wheel.

[wagonman76]

I've never seen the aurora, but I've always lived where there are hills and trees to the north. Would be nice to see it sometime though.

[UKUKUK]

Originally Posted by darstar

The Dalton Hy. is all gravel. What really gets you is the flying rocks. Windshields go quickly as do headlights and side windows....thats summer travel north of 60.
Winter travel is the best,road wise, like a smooth sheet of packed snow, somtimes ice. Its the blowing snow,white-outs that will do you in......The worst road I traveled was the Liard Highway, in the NWT. All gravel, huge pot holes, and 800 miles long....and I did it in the rain !

It'd definitely be cool to see Deadhorse though!

[WestleySpitz]

when you guys drive that far north, where you do stay? do you camp out or do you rent a cabin? hotel? motel? I used google earth and searched around the great slave lake area, and it seems so much more of a "wilderness" than a city. I want to plan a two/three day trip up there this september.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by WestleySpitz

when you guys drive that far north, where you do stay? do you camp out or do you rent a cabin? hotel? motel? I used google earth and searched around the great slave lake area, and it seems so much more of a "wilderness" than a city. I want to plan a two/three day trip up there this september.

If you are really serious, the first thing to do is Google the city of Yellowknife web site. It is a modern city , mostly all new,wide streets,all city services, and a very high tec jetport. Then there is old town, a real neat place to party, eat, and rub shoulders with the locals. Yellowknife is on the North shore of Great Slave Lake, Hay River is on the SW shore.... All the other areas of the Lake are quite remote and can only be reached by bush plane ( float). The Lake is huge, an inland ocean, quite like Lake Superior, but without the population.
Your options are to go in a camper or motor home( great RV park in Yellowknife), or . hotels/motels in the City, but little outside of that. One of the reasons many folks have a camper, is the distance between facilities when traveling north of 60.
I have traveled the NWT, Yukon,Alaska,and north BC extensively, mostly bringing my living quarters with me, but not always. Yellowknife is the center of the area, a starting point to the bush, diamond mines, gold mines, and the much more. Most of the people who live and work in Yellowknife are Canadians, they fly in and fly out. It is not a huge tourist destination.
The MacKenzie mountains are home to Nahanni National Park and Virginia falls, a once in a lifetime fly-in trip to a very remote and strange place. It lies west of Yellowknife . You can book bush flights out of Ft. Simpson into the park.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by UKUKUK

It'd definitely be cool to see Deadhorse though!

The Dalton is 500 miles of gravel. Lots of truck traffic, and actually little to see along the way. No services except in Coldfoot, its mostly a commercial highway. Much of the oilfield areas are off limits to the public. If you want to see the Arctic ocean, take a plane to Barrow from Fairbanks, they have day trips...its a long day, but worth it.

[WestleySpitz]

wow, i'm putting a prelim plan, but it seems so difficult. If I was to drive, it would be a multiple-day trip cause of the long distance. Losing a lot time driving is also improbable cause I don't have all that much vacation time saved up. Flights into Yellowknife are so expensive (1000 to 1300) with multiple connections. Even if I fly into Edmonton($600) and drive up, it's still something along of 20 hrs.

humm...now i want to go to Yellowknife even more

[jeeg]

I've spent numerous summers/vacations in Northern MI growing up and lived in the U.P. the last four years..... The best display I ever saw of the Northern Lights was actually outside of Grand Rapids back in 2004! First saw them from my in-laws driveway near Hastings, MI (s.e. of Grand Rapids) and yelled for everyone to come look. Then I saw them all the way home (at the time) to Greenville, MI (n.e. of Grand Rapids) where I got my camera and took some pictures that didn't even begin to do it justice. Stayed out there for hours that night watching them.

[darstar]

Originally Posted by WestleySpitz

wow, i'm putting a prelim plan, but it seems so difficult. If I was to drive, it would be a multiple-day trip cause of the long distance. Losing a lot time driving is also improbable cause I don't have all that much vacation time saved up. Flights into Yellowknife are so expensive (1000 to 1300) with multiple connections. Even if I fly into Edmonton($600) and drive up, it's still something along of 20 hrs.

humm...now i want to go to Yellowknife even more

As I said before, distance can be a killer north of 60. The successful traveler of long distances has always been the person who sees the going as an even bigger part of the journey...than getting there. Thats been my way of thinking all these years..... I guess if I was ambitious I would write a book about it all.

[Kid_Niki]

I saw them on 131 north of Rockford in April/May of 1994 on my Prom night. Scared the heck out of me cause I didn't know what they were. I thought aliens were coming to get me