Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Good Day to Fly
Friday was a great day for getting into a float plane and checking out two of our fishing camps. It was the first time that I been on a float plane and I think I am hooked! Our pilot James was a fantastic pilot and I loved that we flew low to the ground. Not sure how high we were but you can get an idea from the pictures tonight. Besides our pilot, Stephane and two of our contracted fishermen Andy and Johnny joined in for the ride. Stephane and I wanted to get an idea of what the fishermen need for this year and we needed to check out Ekalluk River.
We flew above the sand covered beaches then James turned a bit to head to Halovik River, also called 30 Mile River. The landing was smooth and once landed we got off the plane to check out the camp. The camp was clean and had a one room cabin for the fishermen. The cabin is pretty old so the plan is to get some funding for the fishermen to build a new cabin. May not happen this year but hopefully next year. The view was peaceful and you could hear the water rushing by. I am still amazed how clear and clean the Arctic waters are and how blue the skies are.
From there we flew to Ekalluk River where James flew over and around the small island camp for us to get a better aerial view. James was very accommodating to us and flew a few times around the camp. We also have another camp upstream, it will not be used any longer so it will be destroyed and cleaned. Some of the other cabins on the camp island will also be torn down as they are old and falling down. James did a great job landing in a very difficult, rocky and low area. The dock was not in the river and since I did not have any high rubber boots on I was voted to stay on the plane while the men checked out the site. I was perfectly fine with this decision.
Once done at both rivers we took the scenic route home, like there is not a scenic route in the Arctic! I knew this land was wonderful but seeing it from the skies gave me another appreciation for this vast beautiful land I now call home. Once closer to Cambridge James told me that he had a treat for me, he was going to fly close to the coast guard ship, Sir Wilfred Laurier, for me to get some pictures of it. We had a fantastic day and the weather couldn't of been better for my first float plane ride.
Jim and Sheila knew that the dogs rip up their feet on the rocky tundra ground so they actually found a grassy spot that has a lack-of-rocks pond for the dogs to swim. So Saturday Sheila, myself, Molly and Blitz headed to the spot. We left Hannah at home as she is still a bit painful from the previous romp. It's a great grassy spot with really no rocks to speak of so we spent a good couple of hours there enjoying the shorthairs and the company of each other.
On my way home I saw Les who is in from Winnipeg and who works for Department of Fisheries & Oceans as a Field Biologist. He comes up here to do research on the Arctic char and we collect samples for him for his studies. We were heading over to Jim and Sheila's home for game night and we invited him to join in on the fun. Jim, Sheila, Marg, Craig, Les and I played some 65 and then Texas holdem. We each put in 20 bucks for poker, well actually Craig paid for himself, Marg and I; Jim paid for Sheila and himself and I paid for Les. It didn't really matter who paid for who as in the end Jim took first place and I took second and we all had a great time.
Sunday Craig took Marg, Sheila and Jim for a boat ride and do a little fishing. Oh yeah, we bought a fishing boat with a trailer and motor. I decided to stay home as I had many pictures to edit and I still needed to pack for my Yellowknife trip. They had a blast and all came home with some fish in hand. Tomorrow is my first appointment for physio and I am hoping that things go well.
Don't know what happened with the pictures tonight, the first two pictures are suppose to be the last two and I do not know how to correct it. My apologies for the mix up.
Talk soon!
Once done at both rivers we took the scenic route home, like there is not a scenic route in the Arctic! I knew this land was wonderful but seeing it from the skies gave me another appreciation for this vast beautiful land I now call home. Once closer to Cambridge James told me that he had a treat for me, he was going to fly close to the coast guard ship, Sir Wilfred Laurier, for me to get some pictures of it. We had a fantastic day and the weather couldn't of been better for my first float plane ride.
Jim and Sheila knew that the dogs rip up their feet on the rocky tundra ground so they actually found a grassy spot that has a lack-of-rocks pond for the dogs to swim. So Saturday Sheila, myself, Molly and Blitz headed to the spot. We left Hannah at home as she is still a bit painful from the previous romp. It's a great grassy spot with really no rocks to speak of so we spent a good couple of hours there enjoying the shorthairs and the company of each other.
On my way home I saw Les who is in from Winnipeg and who works for Department of Fisheries & Oceans as a Field Biologist. He comes up here to do research on the Arctic char and we collect samples for him for his studies. We were heading over to Jim and Sheila's home for game night and we invited him to join in on the fun. Jim, Sheila, Marg, Craig, Les and I played some 65 and then Texas holdem. We each put in 20 bucks for poker, well actually Craig paid for himself, Marg and I; Jim paid for Sheila and himself and I paid for Les. It didn't really matter who paid for who as in the end Jim took first place and I took second and we all had a great time.
Sunday Craig took Marg, Sheila and Jim for a boat ride and do a little fishing. Oh yeah, we bought a fishing boat with a trailer and motor. I decided to stay home as I had many pictures to edit and I still needed to pack for my Yellowknife trip. They had a blast and all came home with some fish in hand. Tomorrow is my first appointment for physio and I am hoping that things go well.
Don't know what happened with the pictures tonight, the first two pictures are suppose to be the last two and I do not know how to correct it. My apologies for the mix up.
Talk soon!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Starvation Cove
So here I sit at my computer desk with a cup of hot steaming green tea, a box of Kleenex, a garbage can beside me to discard the Kleenex, some cold medication and the Shorthairs laying beside me. Yes you guessed it I have a cold. I really dislike colds in the summer months, mind you I hate having a cold any time of year. My throat felt a little off a few days ago but I thought maybe allergies as it is so dusty up here. It sometimes feels like a desert. Today I finally came to the conclusion that it wasn't allergies and threw my hands up in the air and surrendered to The Cold. I am hoping it is short lived as I fly out of here on Monday and I really dislike colds when flying. I am heading to Yellowknife for medical, you see we only have a Health Centre here and are limited to what is available. They (the doctor and nurse) decided to fly me out to have some physio on my ankle/leg as it is still bruised, swollen and hurts at times. Remember this 'accident' happened in June. So the kind government of Nunavut is flipping the bill for the flight (I only have to pay $250.00 return flight) and my hotel stay for one week. I fly out on Monday, have physio Tuesday to Thursday and return back on Friday. My appointments are in the morning so I will have all afternoon to shop shop shop. I will keep you all posted on my progress.
August long weekend was the last long weekend of freedom for Craig as he was called back to the North Warning System Site and they work Monday to Saturday including holidays. The lead hand up there retired so Craig was the first one on the list to call. He had to make some tough decisions as he was starting to like his Saturdays off but when he weighed the pros and cons the pros won. We made the best of the weekend quadding everyday. We made plans with Marg and her husband Wayne to head to Starvation Cove. I have never been and it took about 2 1/2 hours of quadding time to arrive at our destination. It was a spectacular drive except when we hit the river at high tide. YIKES!!! Marg and Wayne were already across when Craig and I arrived so I made Craig go first, you know if he didn't make it why should I bother. ha ha I had some instructions from Marg before our trip and she mentioned a few times if we hit the river at high tide LIFT YOUR LEGS!!! Yeah I forgot. I was so nervous about going across I totally forgot to lift them up and then wondered why do my legs feel so wet. You could say I was wet from my knees down but lucky no water really got into my boots. The pictures of us crossing the river are courtesy of Marg and Wayne.
By the time we hit another smaller river I was dry so I thought I better get myself wet again. I was a little chicken to go across the second river so I decided to find a lower spot and just drive across it. Well the low spot ended up being a very low spot as my quad, camera gear and I started to sink on my left hand side. LOVE my Pelican Case, I don't leave home without it. I stayed on the quad (couldn't leave my camera gear) and Craig and Wayne with the help of Marg's quad got me out. It was actually alot of fun getting stuck but because the quad sunk so did my legs, needless to say I got really soaked this time. So wet were my pant and boots that once we arrived at Starvation Cove I took off my pants, boots and socks and stayed in my tights for the rest of the day.
Starvation Cove is the great little hide away that is only accessible by boat or quad. Legend has it that some Inuit came to the cove to hunt for muskox and caribou and starved to death as there were not one to be had. We packed some muskox burgers, hot dogs and treats for lunch and thank God we did as we also did not see any muskox or caribou. Thanks Wayne for starting the fire and for cooking the burgers and hot dogs. Upon our arrival we met up with Doris, Nicole and Andy who arrived about 1/2 hour before us. Soon after Doug, Anna and crew came by boat and Bella and Karen and their kids arrived by quad. We stayed for the afternoon and then headed back home at low tide. It was a spectacular drive home as we could drive the quads along the sand covered beaches. At the river we headed up to Augusta Hills and then back down by the ocean.
This past Tuesday was the memorial service for our friend Monique who passed away in May. She wanted it to be more of a celebration of her life and if anyone knew Monique there would be no religious ceremony. Before her death she planned her celebration and she went out with a bang. Craig and I were honoured to be asked to do the food for the service and we ordered in Monique's favorite finger foods from M & M Meat Shops and I made some of her favorite dips that I sometimes brought over to her home. The service was held at the Elks Lodge and she made sure that everyone had a drink or two on her. Thursday family and some of her friends either flew or boated to Bathurst Inlet with the remains of Monique to lay her to rest at one of her favorite places on this earth and Doris' childhood home. Rest in Peace my friend it was a pleasure to know you.
The weather had been really nice up to today when the skies turned to clouds and the temperatures dropped. It feels like a late prairie fall and the days are starting to become shorter. It is really hard to find flowers any more as most have lost their petals and gone to seed as another season is close to an end. It will not be long before the snow falls so I will have to soak in all of the vitamin D that I can.
The weather had been really nice up to today when the skies turned to clouds and the temperatures dropped. It feels like a late prairie fall and the days are starting to become shorter. It is really hard to find flowers any more as most have lost their petals and gone to seed as another season is close to an end. It will not be long before the snow falls so I will have to soak in all of the vitamin D that I can.
Pictures today are mostly from Starvation Cove with a couple at the end of the 'boys' fishing and of course of our canine companions.
Talk soon!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
The fish was this big...
Yes the fish I caught was a good size one, an 8lb lake trout. I wouldn't have caught this fish without Rudi and Todd. She gave me a good fight and I thought at times that I might loose it. I kinda started at the end of this fishing story so let's begin at the beginning. Last Sunday, Marg, Wayne and I decided to head out to Greiner Lake while Craig and Jim tested Jim's boat and motor on the bay. "Greiner Lake (15 m above sea level) is in an area that has risen from the sea within the last 1,300 years. It has a maximum depth of 11m and a maximum summer temperature of approximately 8 °C." Great temps for Arctic char and lake trout. So off we went on our quads to Greiner Lake, thank you Marg and Wayne for taking it easy as I am still not 100% on my quad. On flat surfaces I am fine but when out on the tundra I like to still take it slow and steady. Anyway back to the fishing story. So here we are fishing from the shore and I use the word fishing very loosely. From a distance we see a boat approaching us, it is our friends Rudi and Todd, who work for First Air. Had a short talk with them before they headed back onto the lake but within a few minutes they returned and told us to get into the boat. Don't have to ask us twice. So the 5 of us had a great day of fishing, laughing and telling stories. We all caught fish and yes some got away and I think we only lost one hook. I was known to the First Air boys as the Fish Goddess because of my job but now I have another name, Momma D. Long story...Thanks again guys that was one of my favorite days so far living here in Cambridge Bay.
Craig and I have been taking the dogs out for tundra runs alot this past week as the weather has been good, beside the monster mosquitoes and a day or two of rain. We found a good spot for them as the land is pretty flat and there are many small ponds for my water dogs. Blitz is loving chasing the birds and digging at the holes that the lemmings make. Molly does her own thing which is usually hunting when we are not throwing the ball for her. Hannah joins in on the fun when she thinks the Shorthairs have found something interesting. I am lucky so far as they haven't found any nests or babies, remember there are no trees up here so the birds nest on rocks or the ground. The tundra does a number on their feet, some of the rocks look like someone sliced it which makes the edges very sharp. My friend Petra gave me a name of some great booties which we may have to purchase.
The Arctic skies are beautiful this time of year as the sun is starting to set. Well not really sets as it doesn't get dark yet, rises about 2:30am and sets about 11:30pm. You heard of the golden hour for photography well it is pretty much the golden hour all of the time right now. Love the lighting at this time of year for pictures. There hasn't been ice on the bay for a while but this week the winds picked up and some amazing chunks of blue ice floated into the bay. Another excited thing that is happening on the bay this week is that the seals showed up. I could sit on a chair and watch these sea characters fishing all day long. Very hard to photograph but I included one picture in tonights post.
Wednesday evening of this past week Craig and I headed towards Mt. Pelly, the road had been washed out from the spring run off and they have finally made it driveable. Far from being a good road but at least you can now get to the other side of the river. During our ride we found a pair of sand cranes and I did get some pics of them but will include them in another posting. Marg and Wayne invited us for dessert that evening so after 9pm we headed from the land to have dessert. Wayne brought up some fresh picked Saskatoon berries from their farm in yes you guess it Saskatchewan. Being from the prairies there are some things that remind me of 'home' and Saskatoon berries are one and I prefer them over blueberries any day. Thanks for inviting us over for a little piece of heaven.
From their deck we seen a boat in the distance so we took the long way home. The sail boat was actually coming into Cambridge Bay so we waited patiently for her arrival. Of course I had my camera with me and the skies were amazing that night which made for a perfect backdrop for this grand boat. Found out it was Mike Horn's Pangaea Expedition, what a great boat for my first sighting. He was only here for one day and I missed him sailing off, could only see him from a distance with full sails blowing in the wind. Amazing! For more information about this expedition check out his site at http://www.mikehorn.com/ Trust me it is worth the look.
Tomorrow we head to Starvation Cove, about a 2 hours quad ride past Long Point. We will meet up with Marg & Wayne and who knows who else will join in on a day of fishing and fun. Wish that Sheila was back from her medical leave but we will SEE her soon and I am sure that she will SEE us more clearly when she returns. I just may have another post this weekend but for now enjoy the pics from this past week.
Talk soon!
Friday, July 29, 2011
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