Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

TUKTOYAKTUK (Jul 17/98) - When was the last time anyone heard of a motorhome arriving in Tuktoyaktuk?

Travellers Liz and John Plaxton may now be in Tuk with their motorhome after arriving in Inuvik July 6 and intending to leave for Tuk around July 13.

They approached Bob Gully, who recently started a barging business and they suggested he let them drive aboard and float up the river on the barge.

At first it looked like a go.

Then it looked uncertain. And by presstime it was still unclear whether they would get the green light.

Regardless, they intend to be in Inuvik to volunteer for the Great Northern Arts Festival.

"It costs as much barging up and coming back in the motorhome as it would to stay in a hotel here for a week," John says of the viability of barging to Tuk.

These are not the usual Northern visitors.

The couple, both in their late 50s, sold their Kelowna, B.C. home in Dec. 1994, and have been travelling ever since: first to Mexico and Central America.

A year and a half later they returned to Canada and self-published 1,100 copies of a Mexico, Central America and Panamanian handbook for RV enthusiasts.

As baby boomers age and retire, many could take up RVs and travel spurring a larger future market where a small one exists today.

"We're writing a book now on RVing in Canada's Arctic," John says.

"It will be like a journal and will have the costs of 10 to 15 grocery items to show where the price jumps."

For example, he asks, "Why is gas in Tuk 10 cents cheaper than it is here? It's because there are no road taxes."

The couple stress they are not rich. John stopped working as a computer science teacher after his first retirement from the military. Liz was a nurse.

And the two exist on a monthly pension where they budget tightly, yet enjoy the travelling they always wanted to do while they are both still healthy enough to do it.

"We'll do this until it stops being fun," John says.

Both are chipper and appear to have a strong marriage where they spend almost all their time together.

Liz says their long- term plans are to travel across Canada to the east coast, taking about five years.

"We'll spend a few months in each province so we can do two in a summer. We'll probably go south for the winters."