Today was our first - and hard-earned - full day of rest.  We
stayed in a hotel for only the second time on our trip, and this one
was pretty fancy.  They didn't even seem to mind the massive
cloud of filth we brought in with us.  We had hot showers, a comfy
bed, and Internet access!  Talk about spoiled!  We spent most of the
day lounging and staying out of the rain, but we did manage to
wander out and snap a few pictures for your enjoyment...
Inuvik has a paved road - our first one in two
days - but most of them are still dirt.  The
nearly 4,000 residents live in these raised row
houses with above-ground sewage lines to
prevent freezing in the winter.  Yummy!  
(You can see the lines in the postcard above.)
A little break in the
rain convinced us to
do a little exploring
around town.  This
is the famous Inuvik
Igloo Church.  It was
all hand-built
without blueprints.  
We've seen pictures
of the inside and it
looks gorgeous, but it
wasn't open to
visitors when we
stopped by.
This is a common
"trademark" statue of the
native Inuits of the Mackenzie
Delta.  They were used to
mark the coastline of the delta
rivers and the Arctic Ocean.  
Travelers and fisherman used
them as reference points and
they navigated the
surrounding waters.
This is probably tied for our
favorite picture from our trip.  As
you can imagine, Inuvik is a very
small town.  The main store in
town in the NorthMart, which is
kind of like a WalMart.  Unlike
WalMart, the NorthMart is counted
on to carry absolutely everything
and anything that the townsfolk
may need, including off-road
vehicles.  We were surprised to walk
in the door and see three quads -
one with an outboard motor on it -
but when was the last time you
saw a Honda CRF50 on a men's
underwear display?  This has truly
been a once-in-a-lifetime event.