🧵 [1/2] had some friends from down south asking what the drive from #Yellowknife #nwt #canada is like, so I thought I'd share the comments here for public interest sake. vga256's unlicensed lonely planet guide to driving south from Yellowknife:
first, the route that 99% of northerners take. annotated stops below:
https://goo.gl/maps/gfHTRwoVCxzS9ZoSA
roads:
- it's a 15h one-way trip on a perfect day. it's more like 20-25h now, due to the gridlock on the highways due to smoke/wildfire crews/refueling lineups between YK and Fort Providence.
- it's a narrow two-lane highway with no median, sharp shoulders because it's raised many feet above the muskeg/marshes
- no cities in between, just hamlets, villages, small towns and a couple of large ones. the further south you go, the larger the community.
fuel:
- no fuel for the 300km between YK and the next stop in Fort Providence.
- the next fuel stop was normally 150km away at Enterprise, which sadly burned to the ground 5 days ago. so the next fuel stop is now Steen River (or Indian Cabins) 275km away, on the AB side of the border.
- regular unleaded is over $2 / L, and gets down to $1.35 / L as you get closer to Edmonton.
lodging:
- motel/hotel lodging along the way is almost completely booked up with evacuees. many chose to stay in northern AB to be closer to their homes, in case the evacuation order ends.
- most people are sleeping in their cars at major rest stops like the NWT->AB border.