VivaEnduro

2 Years ago there was a spurt of energy exploration in the Inuvik area and the local government pocketed over 60 million on royalties, last year was 0 (zer0).  The source for that stat was an older local guy, but regardless of its accuracy the town shows the pains of some hard times.  Few restaurants remain open and many people have moved on, regardless those that remain are friendly and willing to stop and chat.  Many are bullish on the future and acknowledge living in special corner of the world.

Aside from the troubled economic situation in Inuvik, I have also noticed the not uncommon small town social issues.  I get a feeling of polarization between the native and non-native population especially amongst the youth.  Alcohol abuse appears fairly common and may explain the 12 full time RCMP officers the small town has.  The fun run I participated in had no representation by the native population which was disappointing.  However, everyone I have met has had the qualities of been a good person and its difficult for me to judge their situation as an outsider.

On an unrelated note, I havent experienced the darkness of night since Smithers BC, almost a week ago.  Its great to have endless sunshine, even went for a hike last night at midnight, but it has really skewed my circadian rhythm.  The darkness usually lets my body know its late and starts to wind down, however, since coming to Inuvik I have rarely been tired.  Its well over 30 Celsius during the day, not exactly what I expected from the arctic.  With no AC the short stints of sleep I have taken are not the most pleasant, especially having to wrap myself up in a blanket to hide from the tormenting mosquitoes.  However its part of the experience and these heat waves dont last long.

I’m staying in the Arctic Chalet bed and breakfast.  A great family run group of cabins that are primary a dog sledding vacation destination in the winter. I woke up today and had coffee in the sun room while catching up on emails.

Arctic Chalet

The Arctic Chalet specializes in a breed of white Huskies, primarily Siberian Husky.  One of the dogs had just given birth to a litter of 5 a few days ago, so I was invited down to see the new family.

Shelter to keep away the bugs

Proud Mom

The puppies eyes weren’t open yet, but they would start to get sqeeky if away from mom too long. They will know after about 8 months of these pups will make good sled dogs, if they wont pull, they will become pets.

The rest of the pack is housed in outdoor kennels.

Trips can last anywhere from 1 day to 6 day excursions to Tuk.  This includes getting suited up in traditional furs and muck-lucks – I would really like to make a trip back in the winter to give sledding a try.

In the afternoon I went out to explore the city a bit more.  First I wanted to get as far down the ice road to Tuk as I could.  This didnt last long as the road quickly hits the  Mckenzie river.  After riding to the bottom of Baja, I have now completed the road to the top of North America, can go any further without a boat.

Road to Tuk

I also found it interesting how all the utilities are run above ground.  With the permafrost being so deep there is no way to run these below ground without disturbing the stability of the ground.

Utilities

The towns main water supply is on the hill surrounding the city.

The only building to have a foundation is the Catholic Church, which is shaped like an igloo.  This landmark church is still used today, but the congregation has shrunk dramatically.

Next door was a charity ‘Shine and Show’ fundraiser.  There were a few Harleys, a Vespa and some other motorcycles on display.  My favorite was this Honda XL250 owned by a local named Brian who use to race.  I spoke to him for over an hour and got a lot of insight about the local area.  Brian obviously missed the ‘shine’ component of the ‘Shine and Show’ – really nice guy.  A girl from the local paper came by and snapped a photo of us, I’ll try to get a copy tomorrow.

Brian and his 250

One of my favorite housing complexes in Inuvik is the ‘smartie boxes’.  Its at least an attempt to get some color going in a region that can at times be dark and cold.  They were also featured in a Tropicana commercial.

Smartie Boxes