Week One with Nana & Papa

Craig's parents arrived safely last week and we have been busy ever since.  Craig took the time off while they are here but I am still working, preparing for our annual char harvest.  They have explored the town and I do not think there is much more for them to see in our little village.  We headed out with the dogs on Saturday, a cool day to walk the tundra but they were troopers and didn't really hear them complain. 

New flowers are blooming just about every day

As you can tell it was a bit cool but everyone looks happy

 

Yesterday we met up with our friends, the Bartas and headed to Mt. Pelly, mom was my passenger and dad was Craig's.  We parted ways with our friends at the sign going into the territorial park and after showing Nana & Papa around we drove to where the Bartas were, fishing of course.  They never caught anything but it was fun to watch and especially watching Emily dodge the ice floats going by.

 

Mom enjoying the beautiful weather and Emily fishing

Look out Emily!

Lots of ice break-ups

 

Today after I was finished work we drove out to Old Town.  Our first stop was the famous Maud, she was named after Queen Maud of Norway and was built for Roald Amundsen for his second expedition to the Arctic.  He did not make it through the Northwest Passage and after 6 years she ended up in Nome, Alaska.  The Hudson Bay Company bought the ship in August of 1925 and used it as a supply vessel in Cambridge Bay.  In 1930 she sank and now the Norwegians have plans to lift her and bring her back to Norway.  You can read about her journey back home at http://www.maudreturnshome.no/

 

Craig, Mom and Dad in front of the Maud

This old Singer was recovered from the Maud

The Norwegians made this stone cairn a couple of years ago to

honour the spot where the Maud sank.  Here is mom adding her stone to it. 

The workmanship of this cairn is amazing - I'm thinking it will be here for a very long time.

 

I love all the old relics in Old Town but I think that The Eagle is my favorite.  The ship was purchased by Father Steinman in 1954 from Tuktoyaktuk resident, Johnny Norberg. Father Steinman had planned on fixing the boat but he was transferred to another community before he could repair the ship.

 

 

As you can imagine the Commander gets a little dirty driving through mud, water and dirt. The following two pictures are of Craig throwing a bucket of water on us to clean the windshield.  The other picture is my 'partner in crime'.

 

 

When we took the dogs out on Saturday I had brought some Canada Day flags for the dogs to model and today I took a pic of them with holding the Canada Day Nerf footballs.

 

Proud Canadians

What says Happy Canada Day more than a couple of

GSPs sitting on the tundra wearing Canada flags.

 

Tomorrow we plan on heading the beach, yes I said the beach!  Stay tuned.

 

Talk soon!

Mt. Pelly or Bust!

I know I said I wouldn't post another entry until Craig's parents arrive but we took the quad and the side by side out today, first time this year, and headed towards Mt. Pelly.  'Word on the streets' said that the road was open right to the park, so as Miss Molly as my co-pilot and Craig on his machine we headed out.  After some fun water puddles and bumpy road we made it.  Molly did look at me a few times when I got her a bit wet going through the water. haha 

 

Every year a pair of ravens nest on top of the sign entering Mt. Pelly and this year we finally seen the chicks.  The nest is not only huge but it's amazing how they built it out of anything they can find including bones, antlers, fur from caribou and muskox.

 

Mt. Pelly entrance

If you look closely you can see one chick

I wanted to climb the sign to get a picture of the chicks but Craig wouldn't let me, instead he climbed up.  I had the settings on my camera just right but somewhere between my hands and his the picture was taken in b&w.  Might have to return before they fly away.

My co-pilot Miss Molly

Miss Molly with the vast tundra behind her

With these warm temps the purple saxifrage are emerging everywhere.

 

On the way home we stopped by Freshwater Creek to take some pictures.  Just a couple of days ago there was still ice on the creek.

 

The bridge at Freshwater Creek

The green tone is the ice under the water - one of the graveyards is to the right

Flowing fast and furious

Spring run off into the ocean

 

After being out for a couple of hours Miss Molly was pooped so we decided to try Blitz in the Commander.  You see Molly is an old pro at riding but Blitz has never rode.  I needed Craig's help as I couldn't find the harness to hook him up so Craig was the passenger holding onto the leash.  Blitz did really well, never pulled or tried to jump out of the back.  This ride took us behind the Dew Line to check out the road to see if it was dry and clear. 

 

He looks so little in the back of the Commander

Now that's one happy dog!

 

If anyone of you wonder what a GSP birthday hangover looks like...well here it is!

Talk soon!

Happy Days

There are two reasons to be happy on June 21st, one is the summer solstice and the other is my Princess Warrior, Miss Molly's birthday!  She turned 12 today and she can still beat up her baby brother Blitz, run like the wind and act like she is only 2.  I made some bacon cheddar dog treats for her special day and after a play date with Blitz this morning she slept while I cleaned the house.  We waited for Craig to get off work to head out on the land with them for some birthday celebrations.  We have this great spot that we go to where there is hardly any rocks and two small ponds, a perfect place for the short hairs.  There was still ice on the ponds with water on top and that didn't stop them from going in and playing in the water.  Below are some pics of the birthday fun we had.

 

Molly waiting for the fun to begin

 

Bacon & cheddar birthday treats!

Blitz jumping for joy

The birthday girl

Not sure why they both look so smug

She found a small stream

Walking on water - hmm ice

Standing on the ice in the pond

 

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of meeting Jordin Tootoo.  In case you don't know who he is, he is a NHL hockey player who was born in Churchill, Manitoba but raised in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut.  Every year he makes his rounds in Nunavut and speaks to the young kids, lucky for me I'm considered a kid too. haha 

 

 

Today is also summer solstice but it really doesn't matter to us living up here as we are in 24 hour day light.  We haven't actually seen the sun for a while but today it finally showed it's bright face and it felt so warm out. 

 

In the wee hours of Tuesday we experienced a thunder storm, which is unusual not only for the Arctic but also for this time of year.  So with the warmer temps and with the amount of rain that fell Cambridge Bay had some flooding of roads.  The hamlet had to fix the road, the only road that leads to the airport as it washed out on one side. 

 

Our road to the airport that washed out

Mitik Street flooded - notice the heavy fog that day

Water goes through this hole...

and comes out the other side.

 

With the weather starting to warm up the flowers are starting to bloom and the tundra is coming alive from a long cold winter.  While out today we seen a couple of bumble bees flying and some spiders coming out of their winter dens.  It always amazes me to see the purple saxifrage emerging even if there is still snow and ice.

 

The moss is turning green

I believe this is the flower of the Arctic Willow

Purple Saxifrage starting to bloom

It is the first flower on the tundra to show off its colour

 

We are getting very excited for Wednesday to come as this is the day that Craig's parents arrive for a 2 week visit.  Their room is ready and so are we.  It will be so good to have them here and I am sure there will be many postings of our adventures together.  My next posting will be of their arrival to our home.

 

Talk soon!