John Curran
Northern News Services
Published Tuesday, January 22, 2008

FORT SIMPSON - On Jan. 11 we began a journey that would take us along one of the world's most unique road networks. Our trip began at about 7:30 a.m.,with Gord Downie and his Tragically Hip brethren blasting on the CD player, "Got a job, I explore, I follow every little whif..."

The beauty of Northern attractions, like Sambaa Deh Falls in the Deh Cho region, is something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. - John Curran/NNSL photo

Jamming along Highway 3, a nervous energy dominates the atmosphere. It's only about -27 C, so a cracked window helps.

We force ourselves to remember that while this journey to Colville Lake on the winter road feels like an adventure to us, it's everyday life for the people who call the Sahtu home.

(Perhaps seasonal everyday life is more appropriate, at least until the Cece Hodgson-McCauley Highway gets approved for funding.)

During a refueling stop at the Big River Service Centre in Fort Providence, old friends seem to be everywhere.

The Orrs, Bob and his wife Harriet, run the place nowadays, having moved there from Yellowknife more than a year ago.

And who do we find having breakfast in the restaurant? Why it's Jean Marie River Chief Stan Sanguez and his brood, along with master hunter and trapper Willie Sake, all on their way to visit friends and relatives.

Stan and I have spoken on the phone off and on for about four years now, but we've actually never met face to face.

We talk about the changing weather and its impact on a Northern staple: trapping.

"You need the really cold weather to bring out the prime in the furs," he said. "It just hasn't been that cold so far this winter."

Getting back on the road we see the MV Merv Hardie ferry disappear into the fog with one of its last loads of commercial traffic not allowed on the ice bridge - it seems late to us. Stan's right, the weather is changing.

We eventually make the sharp right onto Highway 1 and about 30 minutes later things get real in a hurry.

Ruby Ryan's car is on its roof off to the side of the road and she is still shivering in the passenger seat of Floyd Hopkins' pickup truck. While it's clear Department of Transportation crews are doing a great job keeping the road surface clear, in one split second her vacation plans with her son and even her life were very much in jeopardy. Fortunately her seatbelt protected her in the crash.

After ensuring our help isn't needed, we carry on towards Fort Simpson and our co-worker Roxanna Thompson's place where we'll spend our first night on the road.

Obviously there are a few stops to make on the way as neither of us have ever seen the sights in this region, such as Sambaa Deh Falls.

Our speed is also reduced greatly having seen what happened to Ruby.

At a little after 5 p.m. we arrive in Simpson and call it a day - and a long one at that.

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