INUVIK
The annual Snowmobile Poker Run organized by the McInnes Branch 220 of the Royal Canadian Legion brought in scores of snowmobilers from around the area April 20. Each one was vying for the top hand in the fun, 64-km trek.
Lorne Guy is all revved up for the annual Snowmobile Poker Run April 20. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
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The top prize for the rally was a flight for two people to Edmonton. Trish Allen snatched that up with the top hand of the day, four sevens and a jack. Participants had their choice of any of the prizes.
"This will help go to pay for my Christmas vacation," she said with a wink. "I normally snowmobile a lot, but I haven't been out much this year."
The outing has been a staple of springtime town life for many years, said Derek Lindsay, who helped organize it. Unlike many other events, its purpose is nothing but fun and some prizes for the competitors.
"It's not a fundraiser," he said. "We get the business community to donate prizes and we charge a little for entry to help cover the prizes we have to buy."
"We've been running this for as long as I can remember," Lindsay added. "Thirty years or more."
Lindsay said the run generally attracts about 125 riders.
"There's a lot of people in town and the area who own snowmobiles," Lindsay said. "And they all look forward to this event."
The event was postponed from its April 13 date due to the aftermath of a spring blizzard that swept through the area.
The trail had to be prepared again to keep the machines from breaking through into the bottomless powder snow underneath the icy crust left by the storm.
