August 2018
Vehicle:
Hymer Aktiv 2.0 Campervan
Notable locations:
Wood Buffalo National Park
Fort Smith, NT
Queen Elizabeth Territorial Park
Hay River, NT
Hay River Territorial Park
I’ve travelled extensively, both within Canada and around the world, and I’ve never felt as far from home as I did in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories.
My daughter and I had driven in a Hymer Aktiv 2.0 campervan for 15 hours over two days to get there from Edmonton, covering more than 1,300 km. Much of it had been on roads where wildlife is abundant and cellphone signal completely absent. It’s not unusual to go several hours without seeing another settlement – or another car, or any sign of human life apart from asphalt and power lines disappearing endlessly into the horizon.
In the Wood Buffalo National Park visitor centre parking lot in Fort Smith, NT, I’m already edgy and questioning what I’ve gotten us into – and relieved that we’ve managed to get this far without incident. And we still have another hour to go, 60 km down a gravel road, to reach the Pine Lake campground where we’re to be completely out of contact with the rest of the world for another two full days.
We turn back onto Northwest Territories Highway 5. Shortly after we pass the eastern boundary of Fort Smith, a small roadside sign indicates that we’ve made the turn south and are finally back in Alberta.
