Waaaay north: reasons for going?
 

So I'm looking at my US balance, and I have enough for 3- 25k tickets.... I was first considering ANC on UA but I've been curious about what there is to do/see in waaaay north parts of Canada (I'm thinking like Whitehorse or Ft. McMurray in the west, or maybe maybe Goose Bay, St. Johns or Gander in the east) for little more reason than the novelty of being in such a remote spot. ;)

We'd most likely travel in early July, and stay for a long weekend (3-4 days).

We've been to ANC before, so I have a general idea what western arctic-type cities may be light. Too bad there's no more AC service to the NWT-- don't think I can use US miles for Canadian North, et al.

I should mention that we're not really nature lovers--- a fishing/hunting/camping trip is not our thing at all.


Thanks!

If you are not a nature lover, I'd wager you are going to find it pretty boring. Not much to see up in the northern towns. I think Whitehorse tries to promote its gold rush heritage but that's about it. St. John's is probably the best bet as you can walk around the city. Gander is just really an airport in the middle of nowhere. Goose Bay is better known as a site for a nearby military air training area. Ft. McMurray? If you want to see (and smell) oil extracted from tar sands.

If it wasn't for the hockey lockout, I'd suggest a game in either Calgary or Edmonton. I was up ip ANC a few years ago in July, and having ~19+ hours of daylight was pretty interesting. I'd be interested to see what 5-6 hrs during Winter looks like.

Jeff

Hmm, early July, in the Northern Canadian wilderness....sounds like you might be just in time for black fly season! And these are really mean ones that love the smell of foreign blood! :eek: :eek: Be sure to bring a carryon's worth of Deet, you're going to need it! :D

Toronto is a much friendlier place to visit in July!

:)

Thanks for the replies so far.

As a little background: our trip to ANC was also in early July, so we experienced 18+ daylight hours there. I grew up in Minnesota so I'm pretty used to the mosquitoes, flies, etc.-- I think. ;)

Re. YYC/YEG/YYZ, I'm thinking that those spots would be fairly easy to reach in the future, but more distant/remote places we would only visit once ever-- on an award-- and that's what I'm looking for with this trip. I've been to YYZ and YUL a handful of times, plus YWG and YVR. Haven't made it to YYC/YEG yet, but I can get there fairly easily given Westjet match fares, etc.

Maybe that helps... but I do appreciate your advice. I promise I'll be a good American. ;)