We visited far Northern Canada last September. Flew from Michigan to Edmonton the first day. No way to make connections as far north as we were going in one day. Stayed at the Nisku Inn near YEG - average rooms and a nice restaurant.

Next day we flew Canadian North Airlines to Inuvik, Northwest Territories, with stops enroute at Yellowknife and Norman Wells. Inuvik is @ 50 miles south of the Arctic Ocean (Beaufort Sea) coast. It's a "large" community by arctic standards - population of about 3,000 - it's the regional government/services center. Stayed two nights at the Iglu Inn - basic but clean, and good food. We were supposed to be there only one night but the weather wouldn't allow our bush plane to leave as scheduled.

Finally we took a bush plane (Twin Otter)140 miles into the tundra where we spent a week with an Inuit family exploring the wilderness and wildlife. Saw lots of caribou, moose, wolves, waterfowl, and one day a sow grizzly with two cubs. Temp's were around 50 in the afternoon, 30's at night. We stayed in a "trappers cabin" - warm and dry but I couldn't say much more about it Of course our water came from the river (drank it straight for 8 days with no problems ^ ),and electricity was limited to a small generator for lights at night. The northern lights were out most nights. We ate whale skin, dried fish, caribou, goose. Shared stories and comraderie with our hosts. All in all an great experience!!!!

For anyone looking for an adventure Northern Canada is awesome and beautiful. This was our fifth trip to the arctic and I'll be saving up to go again in 2-3 years.

From one extreme to the other, now will have to get ready for trips to the Caribbean and Key West this winter