Sunday 3 July 2011

A Sightseeing Walkabout ...

Inuvik doesn't have many tourist attractions, per se. The one that appears most commonly on postcards is the "igloo church," or Our Lady of Victory Church, as it is officially called. It was built by volunteers over a two-year period, with its grand opening in August 1960. The last time I was here, I went up into the cupola to get a big-picture view of the town.

These houses, called "Smartie Houses," for obvious reasons, are located at the south-east end of town, near where I'm staying. They are one of the first things you see as you enter the town. Rumour has it, there are a lot of Newfoundlanders in Inuvik, so if this reminds you of St. John's ... that's why. My cousin's house is in a fourplex like this one but not so brightly coloured. These houses were originally built as military quarters.

This is the new "Super School," now under construction. It is massive and, when it opens in fall 2012, it will replace the two schools - elementary and high school - now in Inuvik.

Here's something interesting I discovered the other day - the produce truck. I was craving fresh fruit and vegetables when I happened upon it at the other end of town.
The fellow who runs this truck-shop drives from Inuvik to the Vancouver area, fills up his refrigerated transport trailer with all the fresh produce you can imagine, then drives back to Inuvik. Round-trip, it takes him three weeks, and he stays until he sells everything in the truck. He's been doing this, year-round for 26 years! Thanks to this trucker, I have been enjoying blueberries, kiwi and carrots for days!

I'm not sure this counts as sight-seeing, other than you never know what sights you will see walking around town. This lone leg was just lying on the road one day ...

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I want to live in a smartie house. That is all.