Jan 6 – Inuvik
We woke up early for our trip from Dawson City to Inuvik. It is just over an hour and a half flight but after leaving around 11 am we saw the sunrise in the distance. Our flight was attempting to outrun the sunrise as we were on schedule to land just prior to the first sunrise of the season at 1:42 pm. It would also be short-lived as sunset was only 10 to 15 minutes later. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy sky so we only really caught the benefits of the lighter sky.
Our first stop was at a local park area to get some lunch. It was the third day of the local sunrise festival with lots of activities for family members of all ages. There were a variety of food tents, a warm-up tent and even Parks Canada had a tent serving maple syrup taffy poured over snow.
Kids were gliding down a man-made hill of ice while others were skating on a large ice rink. I was too big of a kid to have a ride on a dogsled but the driver was kind enough to explain to me the art of riding one and how the driver cannot let go under any circumstance as the dogs will not stop. If you slip, then hold on and pull yourself up, otherwise, you are walking a long way.
After the Sunrise Festival, we headed for the tourist information centre. Here they had an informative display talking about the animals and history of the area. We also all received our Arctic Circle certificate to prove that we had crossed the 66th parallel. They mentioned that in 2017 they greeted 5000 guests but after the completion of the road to Tuktoyaktuk’s Arctic Ocean community, they exceeded 7000 guests in 2018. The completion of this road to the northernmost location in North America has led to an influx of adventure seekers with their vans and RV’s to explore the Canadian Arctic.
We ate dinner at Alestina’s. One of only two places to eat in Inuvik. The owner cooked and served the food herself for our group. She has a small one-room building with two tables and just enough seats for our group of 14. The patio above was much too cold for it to be an option for us. She also has to wear a warm hat to bring us the food orders because she has to go outside to the bus parked along her driveway to cook the food. The bus has been converted into a large kitchen. It was a great local connection at the end of a long day in Inuvik.