Catch up: quiet day at Inuvik

INUVIK, NWT, CANADA

I made my first goal: Inuvik. Not quite by the summer solstice, but just in time for the Jigging Contest on Aboriginal People's Day. Good enough.

The Inuvik "office" at Happy Valley Terr. Park, NWT, Canada

The trip so far has been... interesting. Long. Over 3,000 miles since I left on June 12, with the last 787km over gravel road, also known as the Dempster "Highway."

I'm taking the day at the Happy Valley Park campground to recoup, recharge (literally), and get me and N0MAD rearranged for the next 10 days, which should be a slow-moving camping leg back to Whitehorse, YT. I need to write, do the laundry that I didn't get to do before I left, and move things around a bit in the vehicle.

Serenading bird

As I've been writing here at the campground, I've been vewwy, vewwy quiet, and the birds and animals here have become quite accustomed to my presence.

As I write this, I'm being serenaded by birdsong, but the birds making the music are really hard to spot in the dense willows and birch trees of the park.

I've seen a white-crowned sparrow, a yellow warbler-ish bird, and the bird pictured, which might be a robin. (I retain the right to change this identification)! There has also been what I think is a vole (a tiny, almost tail-less varmint) scampering through the grasses.

It's pretty idyllic, with a view to the nearby lake.

The campground is very quiet, very clean, and  very well-run. In talking with the native ranger, there are "undesireables" who try to come in and mess around -- kids on bikes at 2am, "locals" trying to use the laundry, etc., so they have the place pretty locked down, especially at night.

It's not as inexpensive as the campgrounds in the Yukon ($23.65CA vs $12) per night for a non-electric spot, but I have my solar array to power the computer and the phone, and it's been sunny most of the day. I am content, except for the mosquitoes, which are vicious. They calm down during the day, but return with a vengeance in the morning and evening, like clockwork.

To recap: Whitehorse and Dawson City
The long drive to the Yukon was mostly uneventful, and I'll try to get caught up with some more detailed posts and pictures later, but want to get the past couple of days down while they are fresh in my mind.