Get outta town!

May 30th, 2012
Sunrise: N/A
Sunset: N/A
Temps: 3'C - 19'C (last 24 hours)
Ground cover: dirt, puddles, scrub grass, garbage and a few little tenatious piles of snow.

So I left Inuvik. Already.

Just for a week! I had a lovely time visiting my hubby, moms and friends in BC, and now I am back in little Inuvik. A lot changed in my short time away, but first I have to tell you about my trip.

To the right is an Air North plane at the Inuvik airport. This Hawker Siddeley's notable features include a passenger compartment in the rear of the plane (behind the cargo space), a super steep set of stairs for boarding at the back of the plane, and a malfunctioning propeller. (After a failed take-off attempt they sent us another plane from Whitehorse and fed us pizza.)


Views from the air:

To the left is the NWT terrain, not long after take off.

To the right, are the spiny mountains not far from Dawson City, Yukon. Tombstone Mountain Territorial Park is propably not far away.

I don't think it would take long to fly from Inuvik to Terrace if, magically, there were a direct flight. It was a little challenging to accept that I was esentially flying over my destination at 10:30 am Saturday morning, only to have to continue on to Vancouver, wait several hours, take another flight, and arrive at 2:45 pm.

Parachute anyone?

Oh well. It was a lovely visit at home.

While I was gone, I missed break-up! In a matter of days, sloppy sheets of ice turned into a moving waterway with small icebergs in it. The river is now in full flood, overflowing its banks and backing up into tributaries and neighbouring lakes. Chunks of ice on the side are thick but melting fast, and over the last 2 days I've heard the purring of outboard motors as people eagerly take to the water. Upstream, the Mackenzie River ferry will soon be back in the water and the Dempster Highway will be passable once again.

Spring is here!

May 16th, 2012

Sunrise: 4:23 am

Sunset: 1:23 am

Today's temperatures: 0-1 'C  

Ground cover: old snow, puddles and mud

I know, I know, it's MAY, but Spring is now really here in Inuvik. The melt has begun in earnest, and the Dempster Highway is closed as the Mackenzie and Peel River ice bridges are done for the season. This past Saturday it was absolutely gorgeous out: calm, sunny and warm. It was sun-reflecting-off-snow-and-I-need-sunscreen-or-else-I'm-gonna-burn warm. It was a lovely, lovely weekend.

We took advantage of the lovely weather. A few new friends and I piled into a vehicle and drove out along the Dempster Highway to a look-out over Campbell Lake. We struggled through the rotting snow (some with snowshoes, others without) to a bare, rocky outcropping to enjoy a snack and the view of the lake and hills. We had a few biology types in the group, and they gave the play-by-play of the birds we were seeing, a sampling of the multitude of species that decend upon the Beaufort Delta for the warmer months.

Back in town, the melt was really obvious. The weather network stated a high of 13'C, but with the sunshine, it felt even warmer, and snow was melting very quickly. People were out in cropped pants and t-shirts, and lakes and ponds sprung up all over town. Soon we were enjoying BBQ steaks, salads and wine with a view from our hosts' deck. We could see water collecting on Boot Lake and the Mackenzie River beyond. And, like earlier that day, we observed many species of birds as they arrived for their summer retreat.

Back at the apartment, things looked different. The intersection had turned into a small lake, and the side of the road was a veritable stream, with water rushing down to the river. Patches of dirt and mud were visible where mounds of snow had been only days before. Things happen FAST around here! (And it's about time!)

So yes, Spring has sprung!

And on that note, yesterday we had a stiff wind blowing in from the North, local temperatures plummeted to below zero, and we got some fresh snow to cover up all that dirt.

Sigh.

However, I am going to be away for a week now, and I am eager to see how things will have changed in the time that I am away. Stay tuned...

Interesting Inuvik buildings

May 8, 2012
Sunrise: 5:09 am
Sunset: 12:35 am
Current temp: -5'C
Main colour: white

In the absence of anything super exciting to report at this time, I've decided to do a quick post on some of the interesting buildings around Inuvik. You've already seen the apartment buildings on stilts, but here are a couple more.

To the right you see the "Our Lady of Victory Church," more commonly known as "The Igloo church" amongst Inuvikians (Inuvikyites?). While I have not been here to confess my many sins, I did go to a concert here by Florent Vollant, apparently a well known Innu-Quebecois singer-songer writer, and the accoustics were quite good!

And here we have an example of the famous Inuvik "Smartie Box" rowhouses. This is one particularly colourful sample, but Inuvik has many, many row houses and the come in quite a mixture of colours. Considering that the town in blanketted in snow for more than half the year, it's quite a refreshing and colourful contrast!

Oh, and Mackenzie is the main street in town, named after, of course, the mighty Mackenzie River that flanks the Western edge of town.

Now this building, well, I'm not really sure what to call this one. An igloo house? It's just down the street from me, and I pass it several times per day on my way to and from work. Apparently it has several rental units in it, and clearly it has a number of skylight-ish windows. With all the light, I wonder how the residents can sleep in the summer time? However, it's probably great for viewing northern lights in the winter months.

And on a random sidenote, I have made a new friend in the last week. So far we have met 3 times on the little trail that I take to work. He's kind of shy, and hard to spot, but he knows how to make me smile. Can you spot him?

I feel he should have a name, but all that comes to mind is "Mittens" or "Boots" and that just feels inappropriate for a bunny in the Arctic. In fact, when I last saw him, I was walking with a colleague who was wearing rabbit fur mittens!

Unfortunately, aside from these bunnies, a squirrel and a few varieties of birds, I have yet to see much of the wildlife that the Arctic has to offer. I have, however, seen the prints of ptarmigan and lynx. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to spot these creatures as well!

Getting ready for growing season

April 29th, 2012

Sunrise: 5:53 am

Sunset: 11:51 pm

Temps (last 24 hrs): -12'C - -7'C

It's official; I'm a "plotter." (Sounds like I am conspiring and up to no good, doesn't it?)

The Inuvik Community Greenhouse is getting ready to open. This past week I registered, checked out my plot, took part in a new member orientation and selected seeds at "Seedy Saturday." My plot might be small, and still frozen solid, but I have big plans!

You might be surprised to read that Inuvik has a community greenhouse and that people are able to grow vegetables, berries and flowers north of the Arctic Circle. I know gardening might not be first on the list of things you associate with the Arctic, but apparently it is a very successful activity.

Why?

2 months of 24-hour sunlight. Things grow!

At the orientation I learned that, squished into mid-May to mid-September, Inuvik has two and a half growing seasons. (Truth be told, I don't really know how a growing season is measured or who calculated this, but it sure sounds like a lot of growing.) Last year, one plotter grew $900 worth of produce!

A group of motivated citizens converted the old hockey arena into the greenhouse in the late 1990s. The main space has been divided into 74 "plots," raised beds measuring approximately 10 feet by 4 feet each. Tools and wheelbarrows are available for members to use, and plotters make their own areas unique by putting up climbing trellises, garden gnomes, scarecrows and other decorations.

Apparently the greenhouse becomes quite a popular gathering place during the growing season. Plotters socialize while working and watering, sit at the picnic benches to have lunch and participate in garden markets where surpluses of vegetables and other goodies are sold. With temperatures climbing above 30'C, it is sure to be a little tropical haven, regardless of what the weather is doing outside!

For more info, check out: http://www.inuvikgreenhouse.com/

Over the next few months, I'll keep you posted as to my little plot's progress. For now, I am looking for tips to make the most of my small growing space. What can you suggest?

Groceries in Inuvik

Arctic Foods

April 22nd, 2012

Sunrise: 6:26 am. Sunset: 11:21 pm.

Temps: -10'C - 0'C.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about the food situation when I prepared to move to Inuvik. I wondered, could I find decent vegetables? Would the prices for fruit be through the roof? Would I find the variety of foods I liked to eat? However, after being here for over a month, I am happy to say: "Things aren't that bad, actually!"

There are 3 grocery stores in Inuvik, as well as the local "Fruitman" who travels to Vancouver and back every 3 weeks or so to bring back fresh fruit, veggies, dairy and other goodies. The result is that you can find a good variety of items in town, and prices aren't always as bad as you might expect for Canada's northernmost road-access town.

Bananas: $5.39 per kilo

While I suspect that my grocery bill is on average 25% to 50% more than it would be in Terrace, I have noticed a few tricky things. First, the prices vary widely between stores - as an example, I noticed that a 6-pack of Mott's fruit cups cost $6.99 in one store, $3.99 in another, and $4.59 in the third. However, no store appears cheaper than the others overall, and I think the locals know which stores have the better prices on specific items, so if you put in the effort, you could save quite a bit of money.



Fruit tray with dip: $9.13



Another tricky thing is that price labelling is notoriously awful. At times, things are mislabelled or there are no price tags to be found at all! However, I have heard more than transplanted southerner say that they don't even bother to look at prices anymore - "if you want it, you buy it."

I have noticed some prices that are comparable to those in Terrace, such as for Alpen muesli, eggs, frozen berries, pasta, some condiments. However, for the foods I normally eat, I find the prices on dairy tough to swallow. A 4L jug of milk runs you about $9.00-$10.00, a container of yogurt is likely to be about $6.00, and cheese is around $15 for 750 g. These prices will soon get much higher, when the "road is out" for about a month in May. Other things are absolutely ridiculous even now, like the beverages pictured below:

(Over $7.00 for 1.36L of SunRype fruit juice, and $9.65 for a litre of Rice Dream)

 

In a few months, I should be able to report on my average monthly food bill, but with care and planning, I hope it won't be too bad.  I say that now though, as a newbie in town, who is not yet used to the food prices and is not yet feeling deprived of anything. I wonder if I too will eventually stop looking at food prices and just buy whatever? (Somehow with my thrifty phenotype, I doubt it!) 

Snow, ice and light

Yesterday marked 4 weeks since I arrived in Inuvik. Already so much has changed! The sun rises before 7 am and sets just before 11 pm. It has warmed up dramatically, with temperatures now hovering around 0'C.

On Saturday, I went for a snowshoe with Genevieve, another freshly imported allied health professional, a physiotherapist from Quebec. We went across the ice road to one of  the innumerable lakes around town, apply named, "Big Lake." You could go forever! We made good progress on the wind-pressed snow on the lake, but attempts at snowshoeing near the trees were foiled by the dry, dry snow - even with snowshoes I sunk in up to my knees! Coming from a coastal snowpack, I thought this weird, but the snow that falls here stays dry and accumulates throughout the cold winter. That same cold is what allows the ice roads to exist.

Because of the cold, we also have permafrost, the deeper layers of soil that stay frozen all year round. This has presented a challenge in the buildings of structures in Inuvik, as the heat from the buildings risks melting the ice beneath it and compromising the integrity of the construction. The result is that everything is built on pilings driven deep into the ground in the permafrost layer, and buildings sit off the ground to allow cool air to flow beneath them. Here is a particularly dramatic example of an apartment building near my own:

Obviously people have adapted well to the challenges of northern living. Of note, I think that there must be as many snowmobiles as regular vehicles in this town, and with the longer, warmer days, this is the mode of transportation of choice that allows you to explore in any direction that you desire. Soon things will start melting in earnest, the town will become quite soggy, the ice roads to Tuktoyaktuk and Aklavik will close, and the ice bridges over the Mackenzie and Peel Rivers will soon be impassable. The Dempster highway will be closed for about a month in May and we too will (temporarily) be a Northern, fly-in community. But for now, it's a wonderful time to be in Inuvik!

The little town of Inuvik

It wasn't like I was looking for a job in the Arctic. It just sort of ... happened. And thanks to some creative juggling and a supportive husband, here I am in little Inuvik.

(Google maps, 2012)

Inuvik's not big, but it's little, and that's sort of nice. With only about 3500 people, it does have a lot to offer, and I am thrilled that the hospital, the rec center, the cross-country ski club, the grocery stores and the greenhouse are all within a 5 - 10 minute walk from my apartment building. If you prefer, you could take a taxi - it's a flat rate of $5.00 anywhere in town. Or you could hitch a ride on a passing snowmobile - even young kids are driving those things around town.

(My apartment building)

(Map of Inuvik, showing my apartment in pink, and points of interest to me in yellow. Adapted from http://inuvik.ca/wp-content/gallery/maps/map-of-inuvik.jpg)

It's only early April but the days are long already, with sunrise before 8 am and sunset around 10 pm. That said, the days seem even longer than that, given that the light lingers longer in this flat land. Coming from the South, the combination of abundant daylight and cold temperatures seems strange to me. While it's been as cold as minus 33'C since I've been here, today's temperature of 0 'C is thrilling, and I'm happy to take my solar-powered energy outside!

(Muskrat Jamboree activities on the East arm of the Mackenzie River)

With an inaugural skate ski around the local cross-country ski trails, I enjoyed an extended period of time outside today. Prior to this weekend, I've been skuttling from one overheated indoor space to another. That said, there's lots of indoor fun: there is a 24-hour fitness center (finally! I can scratch that 3:00 am fitness itch!), several yoga classes, and regular dinner parties. I also look forward to playing squash, getting my hands dirty in the community greenhouse, joining one of the local ladies' bookclubs, and taking part in more community events. The Muskrat Jamboree last weekend involved a big community feast at the rec center, lots of funny games, drum dancing and jigging, TV bingo, and many raffles. The highlight for me was the two and a half year old boy from Tuktoyuktuk who was drum dancing. ADORABLE!!

(aww... this little toddler stole the show. He would go shake people's hands after his dances, too.)

Stay tuned for more Arctic fun! I'm aiming to post about once per week or so.