Hi Folks.  My wife & I did a similar trip in 1989 as to what Tobin is 
proposing.  We did this trip in 5 weeks, and covered 10,500 km of 
which over 8,000 km were dirt/gravel/shale.

I would be more than happy to share my experiences with anyone 
thinking of this trip.

Harry.

> 
> WHAT:	  Vanagon@lenti Top of the World Tour 1996
> WHEN:	  August 1996
> WHERE:	  To Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada (near the Arctic Ocean)
> 	  This is the farthest north one can drive in North America.  
> 	  There are no public roads in the Western Hemisphere that will 
>           take you higher.  Oh, sure, there are ice roads in winter that 
>           will take you a few miles north of Inuvik, but we'd need a few gas 
>           heaters per bus to deal with 57 days of darkness and temps 
>           down to -50 C (-60 F)!
> WHY:	  You tell me. 
> DURATION: 14 - 17 days return from Vancouver, B.C., Canada
> WHO:	  Tobin Copley & Christa Ovenell
> 	  Martha and Sarah Rubin
> 	  Bradley Prunehead?
> 	  David Schwarze????
> 	  Joel Walker?  (C'mon, you told me yourself how you've always 
> 	 		 wanted to do this...)
> 	  Absolutely anyone and everyone else who wants to join in!  
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Harry Yates, Burnaby, BC, CANADA       e-mail: hyates@bcit.bc.ca
'90 Syncro Westfalia (The Polar Bear)  http://www.bcit.bc.ca/~hyates/ 
'87 Golf Diesel