Day 16 – From the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico

Port Aransas
Although unintended, we had travelled to both the Arctic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico during the course of one year. As it turns out they are almost equidistant from our home. It is about 2,500 miles north to Tuktoayaktuk, Northern Territories and it is about 2,400 south to Port Aransas, Mustang Island, Texas.

Sitting in the warm sun on the sandy beach of Port Aransas we compared and contrasted the two bodies of water. 

Tuktoyaktuk, NWT


Both are large bodies of salt water and they border the North American Continent. Also, neither location had a very large fluctuation in tide level. In addition, both the Arctic and Gulf are home to many species of birds, but that is about where the similarities end.




 
Beach at Tuktoyaktuk

While Tuk was literally at the end of the road (the last portion being a 500-mile gravel road) and the Inuit locals hadn’t seen many tourists, the beach on Mustang Island is regularly inundated with large numbers of tourists. 

Beach at Port Aransas on a Saturday

Another difference was that although the wind blew continuously at the Arctic the waves never seemed to get larger, whereas at Port Aransas a night of blowing wind created whitecaps far away from shore.

Port Aransas sunrise



And then there was the whole sun thing. In Port Aransas the sunrise and sunset don’t change a lot during the course of the year. They typically get between 11 and 13 hours of daylight during the year. 



Midnight at Tuktoyaktuk
On the other hand, in Tuktoyaktuk last June, there was no sunset. We just watched the sun circle in the sky. In fact, Tuk has about 56 days a year where the sun doesn’t set. Conversely, there are about 30 days without sunlight up at the Arctic. 

Although we were able to camp along the shore of both the Arctic and the Gulf, each was a very different experience. We feel fortunate to have the opportunity to visit both places.
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