Canada 2026

Day 10 August 2, 2026 Hay River Northwest Territories to Yellowknife Northwest Territories 302 miles

The day is mostly sunny but with a strong wind. We had trouble deciding whether to go further north to Yellowknife or go back south the High Level or Manning. Our host was pushing toward Yellowknife because he said the terrain was different and really pretty. It is also the provincial capital.

In the end we decided to go to Yellowknife as the likelihood of getting here again is slim. Well the wind all day was terrible and the road was like a washboard. Keeping the car in the center of the lane was lots of work.

Still miles and miles of burned forest. This must have been a huge fire. We gassed in Fort Providence because that is the only gas between Hay River and Yellowknife. We know we will run out somewhere along the way. We have only gotten about 14 miles to the gallon since we have had these strong headwinds.

We stopped for a police officer who was escorting a wide load. He suggested we stay off the road until it passed. Fortunately that wasn’t very long. They were moving the equivalent of a double wide manufactured home. They were driving faster than either of us would have driven.

Then we came to the big bridge across the MacKenzie River. This river drains 1/3 of Canada into the Arctic Ocean. That means the river flows north which just doesn’t seem right. The Hay River also flows north into the Great Slave Lake which is the fifth largest fresh water lake in North America.

We ate lunch at a pull out along the road. Rob left the back of the trailer open as normal. A crow managed to get in there and begin to open one of the beef sticks and take an empty food container to the ground. We now have a new normal. The pantry will be closed to crows.

A very short glimpse of the Great Slave Lake came into view. We really could not see the full size. It is about 300 miles long.

Off on a dirt road we saw the wide load from this morning. Not sure how much further it needs to go.

We came to another older bridge. They are building a new bridge but haven’t gotten very far yet.

We ran out of gas with 27 miles to go. Rob put in one of the Jerry cans and hopes the gas station is on the edge of town. The landscape has changed slightly. There are now rock formations scattered among the trees. Our host thought these were very interesting. Didn’t seem all that unusual to us.

We were coming into town but no gas stations. In fact we were right down town. We asked Gas Buddy for directions. They were back on a road we had seen coming into town. We headed that way and took the first one we found. They only had regular gas but at least it was gas. The hotels listed in town all seem to be downtown. So we started driving and saw a Super 8. That had to be one of most difficult to get into. The road entrance was so poor that it had to be hurting their business. Then about six Natives kept taking pictures and asking questions. They were profiled as a group looking for trouble to get in to. Some others at the gas station had asked for money. These were the first beggars we have experienced on the trip. So far we are not impressed with this town.