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Or maybe how far south those other countries are. 40n isn't far North at all. Remember the Northern hemipshere runs from 0n to 90n and 40n is 40/90 x 100= 44% up..
I was living in Inuvik at the time. Lived up there for 6 months and was there for the shortest sunrise/sunset I've ever seen. The 23 hours + 59 minutes of darkness are hard to adjust to (many locals head down South to avoid the worst of it). The temps weren't however (we have similar winters here).
and Mexico (too young to remember where my parents went).
Last edited by SnowboundwithCabinFever; 05-27-2013 at 10:49 AM..
Cold and dark. I went up with a taxi driver and we took the Mackenzie River ice road. Before leaving Inuvik we reported to the R.C.M.P. that we were leaving, when we expected to arrive there, and we we were leaving Tuk and when we were due to arrive back in Inuvik. The taxi driver drove up there but was too drunk to drive back (and Tuk was a dry community at that time ). I drove back . Will write more later.
Remember I was up there during the time of almost continuous darkness.
Yep almost total darkness and extreme cold isn't probably what you want to see. However the Northern lights were amazing, they seemed to dance when one whistled, and were so close one swore they could touch them (oh and the COLOURS)!
Anyways I arrived a couple of months prior to that but worked most days so light was long gone when I was off. I remember Inuvik had lots of dog sled teams (was warned to stay away from them) and at night their wolf like howls were often heard. The Inuit were very quiet (didn't take to strangers well). One however did make me a Eskimo coat, mukluks and fur mitts (with mandatory dummy strings). Went to Christmas mass at Inuvik's igloo shaped church (not Catholic but what an amazing Christmas service)! Also had Reindeer for Christmas supper (I felt sick over that). Also remember a bar that collected money from people all over the world (people would write their name and hometown on a bill and it was put on the wall). Met a fellow there that could eat his glass after drinking its contents (I keep remembering little things now). Food at the town's one grocery store cost a fortune (was so happy the place I worked for supplied meals).
View wise Inuvik is at the end of the tree line. On one side of town was tiny little Charlie Brown type christmas trees and after that they became pretty scarce. When I went on the ice road, heading to Tuk, the snow was piled very high (at least ten feet) so I didn't see much of the countryside. When we arrived at Beaufort Sea/ Kugmalit Bay, we drove over ice ridges (I wasn't very impressed when I heard vehicles have broken though the ice while going over them). At Tuk the pingos were pointed out to me but I remember they didn't make much of an impression (we did have more light at that time but we had arrived too late and it was dusk by then). However seeing the racks where they hung their meat and seeing bones of whales was much more memorable. Driving on the arctic ocean was still being processed by me at that point (that was so amazing) and I hadn't been the one driving (that came after).
Driving back I was warned to keep to one channel (can't remember if it was left or right now). The taxi driver warned me if I took the wrong one we'd run out of gas before getting back to Inuvik. One saving grace was we had packed sleeping bags and extra warm clothes as well as a little food. Trappers' cabins were at a few points along the river and would have to head to one of them if I had made a directional mistake. I really never started to breathe until Inuvik came into view.
Never saw a polar bear or seal, met the pilots that flew the Distant Early Warning Line, also met the fellow that tested the first Bombardier snowmobile up there. Fellows that worked in the oil and gas field came into Inuvik before heading home (I remember they were warned to give up their guns before heading into the bar to drink). Took care of one uniquely built house that was featured in National Geographic when the owner took off prior to the dark months. Also was given the Fire department's communication system when the fellow in charge and his wife went away for the weekend (oh how I prayed nothing happened when I had that machine).
Alcohol was, and probably still is, a huge problem up there...
Last edited by SnowboundwithCabinFever; 05-27-2013 at 09:34 PM..
Wow, your climate experiences are quite limited...
What can I say, I dislike traveling and heat so it's not likely I'll ever visit any warm climates. Even Poland was way too hot, I think it got up to 35°C when I was there. Just intolerable. I'll probably visit some scenic locations in the Arctic but other than that, simply not interested.
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). I drove back 
. Will write more later.
However the Northern lights were amazing, they seemed to dance when one whistled, and were so close one swore they could touch them (oh and the COLOURS)! 
