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Showing posts from September, 2009

It's winter!

Yep it started snowing last night and while it's quite nice temperature wise I have discovered despite my new soles my hiking boots are quite slippery. Anyway....the boat trip was all right. I wouldn't call it 'absolutely amazing' like the other person on the trip did but it was okay. Luckily the boat was enclosed although still on the chilly side - we went up the east channel of the MacKenzie stopping at the Reindeer station to get out and walk around. Which is a place where a herd of reindeer resided and were looked after - then "harvested". The guide was good and had lived there all his life - he and the other fellow talked about how sad it was that the northern way of life of hunting and trapping and living off the land has ended. I won't say what I thought. Anyway the station was there in the 70's for about ten years and is now deserted. There are still the cabins but they have been trashed by the bears. Guess there are grizzly bear den

I am nuts

I am going on a boat trip along the Mackenzie river today at 5 p.m. That's the only time he can do it - not sure how many of us are going but it won't be a full load apparently. It is going to be cold I am sure so will put on every bit of clothing I have brought up here with me. :) It stays light quite late here. It is really on the wrong time zone the taxi driver told me and so it is dark until about 9:30 in the morning and doesn't get dark until about 10 p.m. We will be out until about 9 apparently. It is cool out there but not windy at least. I guess we will stop at a Reindeer station whatever that is. Maybe where Rudolph hangs out? I walked along to the Igloo church today and was able to pop in before the service and have a look at it - very interesting. I then slithered out before the service started. I will have to find a place to eat this afternoon - had planned to treat myself to a meal at the MacKenzie Inn tonight but they don't open for dinne

Saturday in Inuvik

Well am sitting in the Inuvik library again...they sure don't believe in disciplining their kids here..yikes. They are literally running all over the library. Of course mom and dad drop them off and I gather the library are their baby sitters. It's snowing out there today...just lightly and it's not too cold out. I went for a short walk(almost one hour) this afternoon and explored a few streets - was going to go on the Boot Lake Trail but I saw a bear proof garbage completely pulled over with ripped bags and trash everywhere. It was probably the two legged type of animal that did the damage but it made me very uneasy. So I didn't go far on the trail at all as no one else was around.. This morning I supported the local economy and did a bit of shopping...got myself an original print and also a piece of Inuit art - not soapstone this time but something to hang on the wall. I love it. Inuvik is very different from Iqaluit - Iqaluit was much more what I expected a to

Hi from the Arctic

Yep above the Arctic Circle in Inuvik and got my certificate to prove it! The flight was good - Canadian North is the best. Stopped in Norman Wells so got off the plane and had a break - state of the art airport - well they all are being as people have to fly around here to get most places. My B & B is more like an apartment - I have the place to myself right now and unless someone turns up unexpectedly I will continue to have it to myself. When I got my certificate one of the city managers took me for a tour around town and drove me down to the mighty MacKenzie river. Beautiful. There is a great hiking trail there around a small lake and NO BEARS so will try that out this weekend. Three nights here - my my I was insane - but oh well I will get to know the place well. Hell I am even going to go to RC church on Sunday morning - just so I can see the inside of the Igloo church. I hope the roof doesn't cave in. Anyway I am off exploring the town. This library is a wonde

Bummer

Well here I sit in the Yellowknife library again....at this moment I should be heading out with some sled dogs on a training run but it's been cancelled due to the weather - cold and wet. Apparently the dogs don't like running in the rain...what a bunch of wooses!!! :) She told me if the weather is good I could go out MOnday evening or Tuesday morning before I fly home. It doesn't make me feel better though.....if the cell phone service hadn't been done yesterday maybe I'd have connected as yesterday was gorgeous here. No northern lights last night...it clouded up..... On the bright side the fish and chips at Bullocks Bistro last night were awesome - on the down side I think I left my ATM card there last night. Oh well luckily there is a branch of my bank here and I managed to get a new one. First time I've ever lost my ATM card....So as you can tell it's not my day..... The B & B is pretty good and I love the location - in Old Town and by the la

Blue skies in Yellowknife

Frame Lake, Yellowknife View from Pilot's Monument over Yellowknife Bay - my B & B is right in the middle (pink) Well here I am at the Yellowknife Public Library with a nutso computer trying to update my blog. The trip up here yesterday from Hay River was great - the "bus" was a ten person van with three of us originally - one got out at Fort Providence which I was happy about. (he kept leaning over my shoulder with his beery breath and being my personal tour guide until I put my ear phones on and he took the hint) I met a fellow from our Greyhound trip up in Fields in Hay River and he told me the bus trip was horrific and bumpy, etc. and the worst of his life. Well I kept wondering when the bad part was going to start...I didn't find it bad at all - yeah a bit bumpy in places but I've had way worse. I loved the trip and am so glad I did it. The ferry over the MacKenzie river to Providence was short but fun and seeing Bison on the side of the road was e

Last day in Hay River

Later today I will head off on the bus to Yellowknife - not arriving until about 11:30 p.m. I wish it was earlier but what can you do....the bus goes to Enterprise and meets the folks that have come from Edmonton. Yesterday Eilleen and I did the 10 km town walk. We did it in two parts - the 5 km part that goes out to Great Slave Lake - well to the ice road into the lake actually. Which is not an ice road right now! The actual path goes by the river but it is frequented by bears and Nancy herself won't even go down there. I think she referred to it as "bear alley". So we walked on the road. Not as pretty but much safer. Eilleen said if she had done the walk by herself she would have done the path - not me - I am not very brave when there are animals around that could at the very least make me drop dead with fear. This time of year they are foraging for berries and other things to get fat for their winter hibernation so are out there. Nancy only walks that route

Walking in the driftwood

Walking along the driftwood Tom cooking the "dogs" Just back from a spectacular walk on one of the Great Slave Lake beaches. It was wonderful. Quite windy today and the wind was "bracing". But what fun! It was called "Last of the Summer Walks" and was a Volkssport Event with the local club here. There were 9 of us - 10 including Sheena. I am a bit driftwood challenged so wasn't exactly hopping from log to log but managed to get around without breaking anything! (it wasn't pretty but luckily no one was behind me!) Mostly it was just walking along the beach - a bit too cold today to walk barefoot though! Afterwards we settled into chairs sheltered from the wind by a couple of the vehicles and had Spruce tea (made from Spruce branches - delish) and a weiner roast over an open fire. Kudos to Tom for the "dogs" and Bruce for the tea! People who walked by got tea and hot dogs as well - everyone here is so laid

Waterfalls and fish

Sheena by a beaver pond on the path between the two waterfalls Alexandra Falls This morning we relaxed while Nancy attended a staff meeting. At noon she came back and got us and we went to fisherman's wharf in Old Town. They have a farmer's market there on Saturdays and we had some delicious home made fish and chips - with fish caught in the lake. It was great. Then we headed off to Enterprise which is about a 25 minute drive from here to walk at Alexandra and Louise falls. When I traveled there in 1973 it was a horrible gravel road but it is paved now and a great drive. I kept looking for bears as it's not unusual to see them in the ditches but no luck. Anyway we walked the short distance to Alexandra Falls (accompanied by Sheena, the husky mix) and then on to Louise Falls. They are both beautiful - Alexandra Falls is higher than Niagara Falls. It was a fantastic walk through the forest with the sound of the falls in the background. By then the weather had cloude

Flashback to the 70's

I am here in the north now. I flew up to Edmonton on Wednesday and had about 40 hours there - had a great visit with Colleen (my sister) and we even went for a walk together (and she outwalked me - shame on me!). Had a couple of wonderful meals. It was fun. Then I met Eilleen at the bus depot at midnight on Thursday night and off we headed north. The ride up got more beautiful the further north we got with golden trees amongst the green pines. At Indian Cabins (right before the NWT border) we stopped for a break and the fellow in the shop was so excited that we were from Regina (he lived there for a while) that he gave Eilleen a free hot chocolate and gave me a great deal on some note cards I had bought. People up here are so friendly. The driver stopped at the NWT border and let us get out and take photographs. Nancy was there to meet us upon our arrival in Hay River. She brought us back to her home where we met her husband Tom and their husky cross Sheena. (so goodie...I ge

I'm back!

It's been a busy summer of working (have to pay for my adventures somehow!), dog sitting, and walking. I did a couple of short two day walking trips in June but other than day trips was pretty well confined to home. However things are changing!!! Last weekend a friend and I headed to Medicine Hat, Alberta for a walking weekend put on by the Albert Volkssport Association. It was so much fun. We walked the coulees in Medicine Hat which were beautiful. I have only ever cruised through Medicine Hat by car or hound and never stopped to explore. What a pretty city! I am thinking it would be a good place to go train for a few days when I finally book that elusive trip to Nepal I've been dreaming about for years. We also walked in Elkwater in the Cypress Hills for a day. We stuck to the low level walks which were 6 km each. Enough for me at this point. I got some great shots. My friend Dorothy shocked some Cypress Hills rangers I am sure - they have cameras up in the fo