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JULY 13


We did the tourist-y thing. We drove to the Visitor Centre to look around. Bronwyn drove into the parking lot, hit a pothole, and from the roof I heard Kachunka chunk! Keegan had strapped some tubs on the van before he left, or so I thought (or so he thought). All the tubs and the spare tire had slid across the roof rack. I told them to go in while I checked things out, but just as they hopped out of the van, Nature was calling Ezra’s name. They took him inside, but soon returned to inform me the Visitors’ Centre was temporarily out of water and had no bathroom facilities. I had to leave the kids there while I drove Ezra to the crew house just around the corner to use the washroom. When I returned, Naomi was sprawled over one of the displays and the rest were making themselves known. The young girl behind the desk remembered us from last time. Coincidence, I think not.





I took a picture of the kids in front of the giant Inukshuk, a tourist must-have and one of Mackenzie in front of the MacKenzie hotel. The kids stood on the steps of the ‘Igloo’ Catholic Church and I got a snapshot of that too. It’s a major landmark here, one of the first things visitors notice, like the Eiffel Tower is for Paris. Inuvik. Paris. Yup, pretty much identical! It took two years to build using volunteer labour, and in previous visits we were allowed to walk right up into the dome. It has a unique double wall construction to allow ventilation so the ground doesn’t thaw and cause the church to shift. It’s one of the few buildings not built on pilings here. It was built in 1958 for $70,000, less than $30/sq foot. Those were the days! We stopped for ice cream and then went across the street to the library. Raylene was there again and Mackenzie read to her and played with her.



It was very hot and everyone wanted to rest at the trailer. Kenzie offered to babysit, so Bronwyn and I went to “Jig ‘til you can jig no more” dance. Unfortunately, not too many locals came to show off their fancy footwork. A few did though. There’s a mentally challenged man that we’ve seen at every venue, and the dance was no exception. He was the ‘belle of the ball’ and was never short of dance partners. We recognized some campers who spontaneously took the floor during the break and entertained some children there with a hula hoop. Bronwyn was so focused on videotaping her antics that she totally missed seeing the guy balancing a chair on his chin.

It was a breezy enough night that we did S'mores again. Ezra and Naomi, who missed out last time, were not disappointed.