Tour of Iqaluit

For this post I thought I would take you on a driving tour of the city.  You know, point out some familiar sights, describe some of the local neighborhoods.  When JJ and I first arrived I have to admit all of Iqaluit looked the same to me. We went for a drive with a local realtor, who was pointing out various areas on our tour. At one point as we were driving up into the plateau he told us we were entering the newer section of the city, which was more affluent.  "How can you tell?" I said from the backseat.  Maybe not my best moment, but I really did feel that most of the houses were similar in appearance: somewhat small, no front or back yards to speak of, no gardens, all constructed with siding (no brick, wood, stucco, etc.). Everywhere really looked the same to me. It doesn't now, of course.  Let me show you!

We'll start our drive downtown, then head over to the beach and the graveyard, up the hill to Legoland, out to the Plateau, then back home to Road to Nowhere. Most of the photos below are mine, but some have been carefully curated from elsewhere on the web. I can only do so much with my iPhone (plus, the evening and spring pics are really nice).

Let's go!

Narwhal Plumbing and Heating van. We've had these guys
out MANY times to fix frozen pipes this winter.

On your left is Northmart. 

Nakasuk elementary school.

This is kind of a cheat, because you'd have to get
out of the car to see, but most commercial buildings have metal
grill stairs. Snow just falls through them.

Our local thrift store. Run by volunteers
and only open Friday afternoons.

The big orange and green building is a local landmark.

This is an absolutely gorgeous shot taken by a fellow blogger. Downtown at twilight.
(Note: twilight could be 2pm, could be later in the evening.)
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This photo of downtown in spring is gives a great sense of the city.
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Downtown also is home to the post office, Arctic Ventures, The Snack, and numerous government buildings. You'll notice there are no traffic lights. Everything downtown is within easy walking distance, as long as it isn't winter. Which it usually is. Then it's too cold to stroll around (though some people still do it).

Let's head over to the Lower Base. The Lower Base is an older end of town, and includes the houses numbered (roughly) from 100 to 300's. It also includes the beach, and the graveyard. (And Grind and Brew, a great pizza joint!)

The graveyard.

Standing on the breakwater looking back at the city. In the summer there would be water between
where I'm standing and the houses.

Someone stuck a bunch of old Christmas trees in the rocks and snow here
on the breakwater. For those of you who don't know (ahem, Florida people), to the right and left of the breakwater
  are some rocks, and then what looks like more snow-covered rock. It actually isn't.  That's what happens when sea ice forms, due to the waves and tides. It's not smooth ice, but is very bumpy and rocky looking.

Beach front properties.

Cold, lonely boat.

Grind and Brew! Fantastic little pizza place. More on this place coming
in a future post.

Let's head on up the Ring Road to The Plateau (JJ thinks the road is called Queen Elizabeth Way, but no one calls it that). This neighborhood was built on (anyone?) a plateau! There are mainly homes here, but it also has a pharmacy. I've heard there is a coffee shop, or at least there used to be. It is the newest area in town, and is seen by some as the most "uppity", or "hoity-toity". Others claim there are too many houses and they are all crammed together. That said, it's an area with nice little children's playgrounds, and one heck of a view.

Houses on the plateau.

View from the Plateau in the dark (at night? Maybe!).
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Around the Ring Road again we go! As we make our way over, check out the photos of a couple of places along the way.

Iqaluit. Accessible to all.

"What do you mean, finish shovelling the deck? The door opens,
doesn't it?"

I first heard our neighbour use the term "Legoland", and assumed she had made up a cute and funny name for the homes on the other side of the lake.  Turns out no-- this area of town really is called Legoland.  You can see absolutely see why.

Legoland in spring.
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And finally we'll turn back and head up the Road to Nowhere.  Road to Nowhere neighborhood is off the Road to Nowhere (these names make sense, don't they?), and is a mix of apartment buildings and stand alone homes. Its not as new as the Plateau, but there is a children's playground, hiking trails, a lake, and a lot of young families living here.  Plus, its our neighborhood, so obviously it's the best one.

Our neighbors' house down the road, where two of Captain Jack's friends live.

The house on the left is our house!
(Note: I am not taking photos while driving. I have pulled the car over. I'm not crazy!)

You may have noticed wooden bins at the end of every driveway.  These are for our garbage bags and are collected regularly. (The wood lid keeps out pesky ravens and foxes.)  We don't have a regular garbage day. Trash is collected whenever "the guys" get around to it. You are only allowed to put black garbage bags inside.  We made the mistake of using an old recycling bag once when we ran out of garbage bags (the recycle bags got brought up by mistake from Thunder Bay). The recycling bag (full of trash) was left behind in the bin when the trash truck moved on. Another time we used a white kitchen bag. It too, was left behind. Apparently there is no limit on size or weight, or number of bags, but items MUST be in a black bag.

One of Buffy's best friends. We call him "Garbage Dog", because we don't know his name
and he sits on the garbage bin all day.

Two of Captain Jack's friends next door have child-size snowmobiles. He is so jealous.

The park in our neighborhood. The kids throw the swings up to wrap the chain around
 the pole. Otherwise, your butt would drag on the snow.

Iqaluit is divided into different little neighborhoods. These are divided more-or-less according to when each was constructed, and consist of Lower Iqaluit (made up of the houses in the 100-300's. Includes the Beaches and the Graveyard), Downtown (600's to 1000's), Happy Valley (400's and 1600's), Tundra Valley (2400-2500's), Tundra Ridge (2600's), Legoland (2700's), Road to Nowhere (4000's), and the Plateau (5000's).

Here are a couple of pics of other neighborhoods:

Happy Valley.

Heading into Tundra Valley.

Hope you all enjoyed the tour!  Up next: Coraline's figure skating Ice Show is happening this weekend.  So far, it's been a bit of a disaster!  Curious to see what happens? I am!  

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