Leaving Inuvik

We depart under full sun. While Inuvik is not a large place, in 4 days we do feel we have come to know it a bit. We know the hours of the coffee shop, what is in the two food stores, and the menus of various restaurants. Even went in the Mad Trapper Bar to check it out. One great feature is the library. It is a ‘clean, well lighted place’ with with both technical and personal support.
We went to a church service Sunday and it was a somber affair as it was this congregation that lost 4 people on Friday. They were remembered in hymns and stories in a very moving, reflective service.
Later we visited the community greenhouse. People tend their plots from May to October and then it is too cold and insufficient sun. But right now they have nearly 24 hours of sun and everything is growing. It is a riot of green.
We drive a rainy, muddy road, I can feel the four wheel drive working hard as different wheels plowed through the mud. We stop at Two Moose Lake and there is actually a moose there this time as well as the resident two swans. We proceed to the Engineer Creek campground which we skipped on the way up as it is listed as the coldest camping place on the Dempster. Susan thought to remedy this by buying an additional blanket. And it is bear territory. We heard branches breaking in the forrest and our neighbors at the campground report it was a grizzly with two cubs. They are excited but they are in an RV, we are in a tent. We break out the bear spray, put every last trace of food and things like soap and tooth paste in the car and I don’t sleep so well. Susan doesn’t sleep well either but that is because it gets really cold at night. We don’t actually see any frost or ice but it must be about that cold.

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