We are about to embark on the newest and probably... I'm gonna go as far as say... The
most GRAND Overland adventure that exists in North America right now! And...
The Dempster Highway is nothing new! You know, you've been able to get up to
here via a very significant adventure in itself since like 79 give or take! But
you know what? 2 years ago in 2017, they opened up an ocean road. All the way up
to the Arctic Ocean in Tuktoyaktuk. And what that means is the public can now
drive to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Unlike.... You might be thinking oh well, what
about the Dalton? The Dalton is great! Done it before on a hunting trip...
But the Dalton is anticlimactic because you get up to Deadhorse Prudhoe Bay and
you just hit a security gate for the oil fields. That's... Really...Oh wow! And then you
gotta join a tour. That's...It takes a lot of it out of it for me! So this is a
do-it-yourself Arctic Ocean Adventure!.... Here's the sign proving we're heading in
the right direction... Tuktoyaktuk 148 Kilometers...
This is not a good start to a fairly long drive guys! Washboard is one of the most
annoying road features in my opinion!
Well there's the sign! Not super fancy. I'm sure in due time they will have a
very good looking sign! But this is it to start!... We know we're on the right path...
Well as you can probably tell outside; the weather conditions are less than
ideal for the type of recording that we're doing. You know, the windows are
fogged up... It's rainy, it's windy so...It's cold...It's cold but we are gonna do the best we can
to capture cinematic awesomeness, with the very limited angles that we can
provide you today! And even if it was a good day, we legally can't fly our drone
here anymore! Which has been a tremendous bummer! Because the drive up has been
spectacular! But....That's not always what it's about! It's about the journey
and we are gonna enjoy ourselves today! And make the most out of the special
moment as we can actually drive to the Arctic Ocean. I don't know why but it
just makes me happy!....Well we have our first wildlife of the trip. I should say
big-game wildlife. We've seen squirrels and rabbits. But there's a few caribou up
here insisting on....Running along the road! Alright this is weird! These caribou....
Okay, finally they're going into the ditch. But they have insisted on running
along...Oh here they come back!... Oh! we're back! Come on guys!
Just some young bulls guys so...Teenage boys are generally not all that sharp!..Does that
applies to Caribou?...Yep! Come on guys, we're not trying to harass you or stress you
out....Just move along.....Boys!
There we go!
Alright! Oh so as we're travelling along here....
We wanted to chat with you guys about something... Considering like the spirit of
travel... You know, you just pass those Caribou. I remember the first time I saw
Caribou in the wild. And I remember the first time I saw a Grizzly in the wild and
moose...It was such an amazing and memorable experience and... We're from
Alaska. You know, we've hunted caribou for years! We've seen them all over the place.
And it was like oh! It's Caribou. I don't like that response in with in me. I still
appreciate the beauty of the animals and nature but....It's not new and....If you're a
traveler, that thirst for new experiences... It's strong! You know, we've said it before...We
kind of...You know, we're very anxious to start our global travels but....We literally
feel like that game of pong; Just bouncing back and forth between these
confines of North America for the past few years! Which is a beautiful land to
explore but.... At the same time it's old hat and if you have that thirst for
travel and that spirit of adventure....Maaan! You got to feed that monster!
Okay here we are guys, the outskirts of Tuktoyaktuk; Land of the Pingos! Can you
see that? Cool. Yeah, man that is a bumpy road! Sitka is all agitated from it!... It's
such a gift and privilege to be able to visit these native villages and....This
village like literally was detached from the road system up until two years ago!
So.....Everything is going to be changing. Especially with the Northwest Passage
being more traversable.... Yeah, this is a road to the future! And.....Being able to...
Visit this native culture....It's special. We've had plenty of experiences in
Alaska going out to bush villages recreationally..And Beck for work. But
yeah! This is just special guys! Very, very special!
This is it! The end of the road! Arctic Ocean ahead of us in the campground here
on...The left! Let's check this area out...Looks like
some folks are walking up here...Oh yeah! This is definitely as far as we can go
guys! Pretty awesome! Oh there it is.... That's the sign!
Right there.... Arctic ocean! Ha, we did it! Awesome!...Looks pretty angry today! Oh
yeah!... Okay there's gonna be some wind noise but it's gonna be worth it! This is
it.....We did it! Arctic Ocean, Tuktoyaktuk!
The FUSO rocked it! You gotta love it!...Are you happy?...Quite the journey guys!....So there is camping... I'll
call this a spit of land at the shores of the Arctic Ocean. And it's ran by the
hamlet of tuk.... Rumor has it that it's about $63 a night to
park there! And I know a lot of your jaw's just hit the ground! Maybe some of
you soiled your pants.... But you know what? It is...You're in a remote village! Up
until two years ago, this place was not accessible by Road. So the higher fee is
to help fund the development of a proper campground! We're unsure still whether we
are gonna stay the night because...Here's another odd fact; It was three time zones
in our little journey from Alaska to here! So at home, it's still 12:40 and
literally... You know very soon, we're gonna be back in that time zone again! So it's
like okay...Stay the night or do we knock off some of these miles because...Yeah
it's literally, probably...You know, just under 600 miles back to ahhh.... Dawson from
here. That's a long journey!.....Okay we are in search of some lunch now and ahhh...A place
called; Grandma's Kitchen came recommended from the Eagle Plains
attendant at the gas station or diesel stop or whatever!.... Grandma's Kitchen 33
Ocean View...Is it this little building here?... Must be the blue building!..Okay... It said it had an ocean view!
This is sure to be a unique dining experience!
Hello... Hi is this Grandma's Kitchen?...Yes you bet... Oh hi how are you?..Good thank you...My name's Ben....Hi Ben I'm Julia nice to
meet you!...Antim..Antim that's Rebecca..Hi...Nice to meet you!... Grandma is in there?..Yeah..Cool..Not my grandma but that's great grandma....Are you guys okay if we..Oh, not at all... Film and share this with
others on YouTube?..Yeah you can...Cool thank you!..Yeah, no problem...We should make sure they take apart before we do this....
Well you have Canadian cash still right?
Hello! Hi...Hi grandma how are you?... Good, good! I'm great grandma!...You're great grandma okay....Alright this is the dining
hall right here!...Like totally worth it! Like you're eating in somebody's home!
Yeah I got my drink!..First up on the menu is a traditional dish in the native
culture of the North.... This is Muktuk and it is boiled whale
meat! This in particular is Belukha. I had it once before. But I had bowhead when we
were over in Alaska so... This will be a unique experience for both of us!
Dig in honey!
Okay... I't tastes like really chewy fishy fish...
Okay....You know it's native foods living off the land....It has a really strong tuna
flavor...Okay...Okay now your turn! You're ready Ben?.... I guess it's my turn now!..Mhhhh... I'm always
up for trying something once!... It's not bad.It's just the texture is a little
different than what we're used to!....Yeah
Yeah! Texture is chewy but....Probably great nutrition during the winter months!...Oh
yeah! Really lots and lots of calories deficit... Yeah definitely!
I don't think it tastes bad. It was just a little psychologically hard to get
passed it and into eating the whale.... Well... Lunch has arrived! Not just the appetizer....
This is white fish with fries in tartar sauce and....Beck's got a bison burger!
Alright guys! We were able to share a nice drive to the Arctic Ocean....A little
bit of a cultural experience....Having lunch at grandma's kitchen! I totally
recommend it! Give it a shot! You know you're here....It's all about the experiences! I
think it's still early in the day....We are gonna start our journey back home to
Seward, Alaska. But there are more adventures in store because...We have
local knowledge. And we have places we want to go and places we want to see!
Thanks for riding with us, hit that SUBSCRIBE button and...Hey, we'll see you on the road!