Life in Inuvik, Northwest Territories

Here’s a shot of workers shoveling snow after the blizzard.

Strong winds continue today, with gusts about 50km/hour.

This shot also gives you an idea of the darkness in the morning just before 9am.

Here is the keyhole at the office. Cold temperatures outside.

Inuvik is one of many communities hit by a blizzard today.

Winds were gusting to more than 90 kilometres an hour. Many people who tried to drive were getting stuck on the roads, and both the schools and government offices shut down.

These photos were taken today around 6pm

The sun is back!

It had been about 30 days since people in town had last seen it.

Now the days will continue to get longer by a few minutes a day.

Last night around 11:30, Inuvik’s electricity went out for about a half-hour. This is the second outage this week; the other one happened earlier this week and lasted about an hour.

Most of the power currently comes from turbines burning natural gas; however there is a diesel backup system. (It might be used more in the future, as Inuvik is looking for a new source of natural gas.)

The Inuvik Regional Hospital and other places have backup generators in case this happens.

Here’s a section of the town’s utilidors, which looks like a big red bolt.

The utilidors need a lot of repair in some parts, they are getting old…

Parks Canada recently set up a videoconference between Grade 4 students in Inuvik and Vancouver.

The BC class was on a field trip at the Vancouver Aquarium. They were learning about the arctic and got to ask a few questions from the young people in Inuvik, and vice-versa.

The Vancouver children were impressed to learn about the lack of sunlight this time of year, how cold it was, etc.

A neat little exchange.

Here’s the sun-glow starting to appear on a lazy Christmas weekend…just before noon.

Stanton’s is one of Inuvik’s three grocery stores. They carry produce, dry foods, cans and bread which they sell frozen.

It’s an excellent store which is geared a little more towards large orders. Most people bring their cars and stock up on boxes of food.

The ice crossings which intercut the Dempster Highway recently opened, which means we have more fresh food coming in.

A small group of people take Inuvialuit-language courses at the recreation centre every week.

Here are some signs, with colourful reminders of words and phrases.

During the winter it’s always a good idea to get active. Inuvik has great gym facilities which are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The passes are only about $40 a month and you get a magnetic swipe card. You can stop by any time. There are treadmills, weights, rowing machines, presses, stair machines and more.

It’s always nice to see a dog with a well-built and roomy doghouse. Often here you see dogs tied to posts and exposed to the elements.

This one even has a name tag and lucky horseshoe. To whoever did this: well done!

Northern lights were swirling above Inuvik recently. The mosque (now installed a year ago and counting!) has a bright spire with a crescent moon.

Making an ice road sometimes means flooding with water. You add a few inches. wait for it to freeze, and then repeat later.

Here, a crew outside Tsiigehtchic uses a water sprayer across the frozen Mackenzie and Arctic Red rivers, to solidify the ice crossing for the winter season.

The short sunlight hours — we’re almost the darkest time of the year now — mean a lot of driving with headlights on. This photo was taken around 4pm, but it was as dark as the late night.

There isn’t much noise as you walk around Tsiigehtchic, pop. 120

The little town has an amazing view of the Arctic Red and Mackenzie Rivers, and it’s also known as a fishing village in the summer. There is a post office, a school, a skating rink, a local Gwich’in Band (with Chief) and a small store. Also new this year is an Aurora College centre for adult education.

This time of year there is a beautiful pink hue to the sky during long sunrises. Some friends and I took a car to Tsiigehtchic on the weekend for some sightseeing.

The sun was still very orange around 1:30pm…and it was dark by 4:30.

“Enjoy the freedom before they notice we’re gone…..”

Spotted on the way to Tsiigehtchic: Looks like a motorist lost control for unknown reasons and skidded off the raised Dempster Highway. (The highway is on a raised platform made of gravel, so the traffic will not disturb the permafrost underneath.)

Here’s a quiet view of Inuvik in the November snow. We’re now hitting tmeperatures of minus 30 celcius.

People often ask me about the price of groceries and food in Inuvik.

Therefore: I present my grocery bill from last Saturday!

I’ve highlighted fresh foods in green, and two items I found expensive in red.

Variety pack of Oatmeal: (big box): $8.10
Box of cereal (double size) cranberry almond crunch: $10.64 on sale.
Bag of medium-size oranges (4lbs) $4.99
Bag of potatoes (small ones) 2lbs $4.99
Dry crackers, Ryvita brand. (small box) $3.75
Mixed frozen vegetables, 1 large bag. $6.06
Sobe juice drink, 591ml, $2.99
Grapefruit $1.31
Fish burgers (mahi-mahi) 1.36kg $26.73
Cucumber (one, English cucumber, good size) $4.99
Fresh vegetables for salad (mix bag of broccoli and cauliflower) $7.69
Six bagels $4.60
Three peppers (red, yellow, orange) $5.99
Loaf of 12-grain bread, $6.55
2 litre carton of milk, $7.95
Iceberg lettuce (one head) $2.49
Frozen juice can (concentrated pink lemonade) $2.16
Jar of dill pickles, 1.5 litres $8.91
Plum sauce, 500ml, $5.05
White chocolate chips for baking, 225 grams, $5.57 
Raisin pie, pre-made in box, $5.31
Frozen orange juice concentrate, one can: $4.37
Vegetarian egg rolls, pack of many (1.3 kilograms) $14.59
One can of coconut juice, 520ml, $2.55

I love using a bicycle to get around Inuvik. It’s cheap and easy since everything is at most ten minutes away.

The question of course, is what happens in winter?

This winter — meaning, from now until May —-  I have a challenge to keep using my bicycle. I picked this “cruiser” style bike at a garage sale earlier this year. It’s very heavy but it seems sturdy.

I think having only one gear will be helpful since it won’t jam with ice.  No pad brakes to jam up either….just pedal backwards to stop.

I store the bicycle indoors at work and at home, so it’s never locked outside for more an an hour maximum. (Let’s say if I am shopping at North Mart.)

So far, the results have been great! Inuvik has a very dry cold and I am very impressed by the grip of my winter tires.

Here is the setup I’ll be using this winter:

1. Big luggage rack in the front (for carrying briefcase, bags, boxes, etc.)
2. Basket in the back with blue, waterproof bag (contains: chain for locking, pump, spare tubes, wrenches, etc. All the tools to fix a flat.)
3. Winter tires! Got two “ice spikers” from Mountain Equipment Co-Op which have metal cleats. They’re expensive but work better than I imagined.

I’ll be posting updates and photos now and then.

…and of course, I am proud to wear a helmet!
 

Getting dark out here in the mornings….

Edit: These photos taken around 8:45am

It turns out, utilidors are filled with blue insulation, so that water can flow without freezing up.

The first snow of the year always arrives in early October.

This time, we had a good blanket of a few inches. It’s going to stay until at least May.

Lookin’ good!

Aurora College has an Environment and NAtural Resources Technology Program.

Here, students learn how to check data on weather-monitoring stations. These can be scattered around the arctic, to get information about rainfall, temperature, wind speed, etc. Information is obtained through a USB slot.

The data helps climatologists and other sicentists learn about the north.

I like the blocky architecture of this new government building.

It’s interesting because it’s not symmetrical. Also, corrugated metal siding seems to be the new standard for buildings in the arctic.

Seven thousand kilometres, five-and-a-half months of paddling and they arrived!

www.transcaneauda.ca

Here’s one of the newest members of the NWT Legislative Assembly, Alfred Moses, with his parents. The 34-year-old won the election for the local riding last night by five votes, 216 to 211 over the closest competitor.

Alfred said he wanted to create a healthier community.

Inuvik is split into two electoral districts: Inuvik Twin Lakes and Inuvik Boot Lake.

Last night, candidates for Inuvik Boot lake had a debate. Pictured here are: (from top) Paul Voudrach, Chris Larocque, Grant Gowans, and Alfred Moses.

In the riding of Inuvik Twin Lakes: Robert C McLeod has been acclaimed.

The most Canadian thing you can imagine: Young people yelling “car!” and moving the net from the road.

I am back from vacations in Ottawa. Today while cycling in town I saw a fox. He was too quick to catch in a good photo.

As you can see, the fox’s camouflage is especially useful this time of year, when leaves are a mix of yellow, orange and brown.

Here are a few favourite pictures from this year’s Great Northern Arts Festival: Kevin Floyd of the Inuvik Qaqaq club is shown building a traditional boat frame, made from green wood.

Usually such a boat would be covered with watertight seal-skin, but this year they were covered with a polymer. The boats are light and you can lift them with one hand.

Also shown is the inspiration for the boat: An archive photo from 1903.

There is a lookout point alongside the Dempster Highway as you arrive in Inuvik.

It offers a beautiful cliffside view of a lake, with pine trees growing seemingly out of rock.

Don’t miss it!

Always nice to see dogs “being dogs,” allowed to roam around outdoors and explore the world.