Eagle Plains is a complex located on a plateau. It was built in the late 1970s at about the same time the Dempster highway was completed. It is completely self-sufficient and self-contained. There is a service station, motel, lounge/bar, restaurant, apartments for highway workers, and a campground. It must have been a remarkable establishment back in its day, but now it is showing the signs of age and isolation. Still, the facilities are clean, if shabby, and the staff is friendly. A tent site cost me $15.75, including free hot showers, and remarkably good food is available at the restaurant at reasonable prices. A beer with a fancy chicken burger (real breast meat with fried onions, cheese, and BBQ sauce), fries, dessert, tip, and taxes came to $23.
I spoke to the server at the restaurant about life at Eagle Plains. She’s a student for whom this is her third summer at the lodge. She says she never gets bored, what with work, hiking, and photography to be done. I asked her if she is more likely to go north or south on her days off and she said north, claiming the scenery is prettier and that there are more services in Inuvik than Dawson.
It was very windy at Eagle Plains, with the evening, night, and morning being quite cool, but comfortable enough for sitting out while dressed in a reasonable number of layers.
I got gas before going to bed and blanched at the cost–$1.39!