We had a short driving day today with 128 km (79 mi) ahead of us but
with making one stop to enjoy a view plus the slow driving that the Dempster
Highway demands, we arrived to Inuvik just after lunchtime.
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| Welcome to Inuvik, NWT |
Inuvik is Canada’s northern most town and has a population of 3500
people. It is the homeland to
Inuvialuit, Gwich’in and Metis peoples but has become home to many
non-Aboriginal, as well. Inuvik offers
56 days of continuous daylight during these summer months.
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| Plenty of water on the Mackenzie Delta |
Inuvik, which means “place of people” was first conceived in 1953 and became
official in 1958. It sits on the banks
of the Mackenzie River and amid the ecosystem of the Mackenzie Delta which is
made up of hundreds of lakes and channels that flow north into the Arctic
Ocean.
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| Time to relax |
We made our reservation at Happy Valley Park before we’d left on our
Northern Adventure and would stay for 3 nights.
We got some grocery shopping done, and the prices were a bit shocking,
to say the least! But then again, we
were 500 miles up the Dempster Highway so higher prices were expected. Then we had some time to relax and enjoy the
nice sunny day in Inuvik.
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| Our view from RV park |
The first thing we would do when we arrived in Inuvik would be some
cleaning after that dusty drive as well as some laundry at their facilities in
the park. We did some shopping and some
wandering around town but our visit timing had been planned for the Great Northern
Arts Festival.
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| Dancers welcome us |
The Great Northern Arts Festival has been held annually since 1989 and
is the largest annual tourist event in this vast Delta. The majority of these incredible artists were
from Canada’s north. We were there for
the opening ceremonies and I sure was wishing I had a video camera for the
drums and dance. It was totally
enjoyable and the highlight of my visit, for sure! The Festival was held in the Inuvik Family
Centre, which is a great recreational facility and part of the Midnight Sun
Recreation Complex.
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| Inuksuk in Inuvik, NWT |
This large inuksut sits outside the Mackenzie Hotel in Inuvik. It means “something which acts or performs
the function of a person” and was the symbol used for navigation, camps or
anything wishing to be noted. It has become a Canadian national symbol for many
different places and events. The
Inuksut, pronounces ‘inukshut’ was used in the logo for the 2010 Winter
Olympics, and became a very popular souvenir for many.
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| Utilidors in Inuvik, NWT |
Something we'd not seen elsewhere is Inuvik’s utilidors. These are above ground utility conduits for
water and sewage. The lines are covered
by corregated steel and connect most buildings in town. They are necessary because of the permafrost
conditions, which would prevent underground lines.
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| Sights in Inuvik, NWT |
The Visitor Center had some great displays, one of the muskox which was not something we were able to see in the wild on our travels. The Our Lady of Victory Church,
often referred to as the Igloo Church was an interesting sight to see and a big attraction in Inuvik.
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| Our certificate |
We visited the Town Hall where we were given a free souvenir pin. We also received this certificate which
verifies our travels up the Dempster Highway and another which gives us an
Exclusive Lifetime Membership in the Order of Arctic Adventurers! We drove a long way for this certificate, lol.
