September 30, 2009

As great as it was to visit our old home and friends in Arctic Bay, it is nice to say we have landed safely in Pelly Bay or Kugaaruk. We had a lot of homes to get through in Arctic Bay and we worked a lot of long hours trying to get them all done so that we could fly out today before the bad weather was expected to arrive. Everything fell into place and when we left Arctic Bay the skies were still sunny.

Our charter was late arriving at the airport but the taxi driver was kind enough to hang around for an hour so that we had a warm vehicle to wait in. While the charter plane was a different one we were happy to see the same pilots, Chris and Brad, again. These guys know how to manage a smooth landing and even more importantly, they have a great sense of humour -- obviously if they have to put up with our group! Colin had the privilege of sitting directly behind the pilots today and was able to help guide them in the landing.

Unfortunately the weather in Kugaaruk wasn't as nice as it was in Arctic Bay. In fact the winds had increased substantially and this fact was not relayed to our pilots until our approach. Colin had a clear view of the runway and found that it kept disappearing to the side whenever a big gust of wind blew. He was able to help the pilots by waving his arms around, pointing the plane in the direction of the runway. I'm also pretty sure the yelling helped them pay particular attention to where they were going. Despite the swinging motion from side to side, we experienced another smooth landing. Boy those guys are good!!

Since the weather was so nasty blowing snow around, the only picture of the town that we took was a picture hanging up in the local airport terminal. It's posted below.

We lucked out and the early morning flight made it out of here so we managed to snag the last 4 hotel rooms. If that flight hadn't gone, then we would have had to look for other accommodations. Another night of beds, showers, and warm food -- what a delight!

View of Arctic Bay town site from road to Victor Bay.

Victor Bay, Nunavut

Another view of Victor Bay

Iceberg in Victor Bay

Campsite at Victor Bay.

Campsite at Victor Bay.
Komatiks in front are pulled by dogs or skidoos
to transport people and their goods on the land.

Interior of plane we took from
Arctic Bay to Kugaaruk.

Town of Kugaaruk or Pelly Bay
Picture from airport.

September 27, 2009

We had a busy day trying to get all the exterior inspections done before the snowy weather hits. Tomorrow we'll start knocking on doors to complete the interior portions. Unfortunately most of the northern population seems to prefer the night life, so we can't start very early.

Woke up this morning to see the oil freighter sitting in the bay. It finished unloading this afternoon and has left already. Took a few more pictures of the area:

View of oil freighter from Ron's porch.

King George mountain.

View of Arctic Bay from Ron's house,
early in the morning.

View of oil freighter from behind
the church and nursing station.

Arctic Bay, Nunavut

Arctic Bay, Nunavut

September 26, 2009

From the air, it seems like we live in a huge world.....but then when we run into people in remote places miles away from our little speck of the earth, it makes it seem like such a small one. It ends up that the housekeeper at the Southcamp Inn grew up in New Carlow which is just outside of Bancroft. She gave us her parents address and suggested we look them up. Apparently they utilize quite the solar panel system and we are interested in checking it out. She thinks her parents will be in for a shock to learn that we met their daughter up in the arctic. Unfortunately I wasn't on the ball when we met her as we should have taken a picture with her for proof!

We left Resolute Bay around 10:00 am and landed at the new Arctic Bay airstrip around noon. It was only an hour flight, but with the time change it sounds like 2 hours. We have always flown into Arctic Bay on jets which are unable to land at the airstrip close to town -- they have to land up in Nanisivik which is quite the distance from town. It was a real treat on the smaller plane as our pilots gave us quite the sightseeing tour over town!

The temperature low for Arctic Bay tonight is minus 11 c. Expected high for tomorrow is minus 6 c.

Town site of Resolute Bay, Nunavut.

Cliffs at entrance to Arctic Bay.

Arctic Bay is called Ikpiarjuk in Inuktitut,
which means "pocket".

Town of Arctic Bay, Nunavut

New airstrip at Arctic Bay.

New Arctic Bay airport terminal.

September 25, 2009

We had a productive day today and are on schedule to head to Arctic Bay tomorrow morning, weather permitting. Colin's brother Ron was on a schedule flight from Iqaluit to Arctic Bay yesterday but the plane wasn't able to land due to fog, so they landed here in Resolute. We were pretty surprised to have Ron knocking at our door last night!!

I guess the hotel in Arctic Bay is full, so some of us are going to take over Ron's house while part of the group will likely have to bunk out in an empty housing unit. Arctic Bay is a larger town so we expect to be there for several days. Ron was nice enough to give us his spare set of truck keys last night so if we get the chance we may take the group touring.

Since we've been working so many hours, it is hard to get out and see the wildlife. Luckily there's a few animals that hang out here at the hotel, as you'll see in our pictures.

Current temperature in Resolute is only minus 8 C.

Resolute Bay artwork.

Resolute Bay, Nunavut

Cute husky puppies in Resolute.

The large yellow building in the background is the

Southcamp Inn - where we are staying.
Andrea is in foreground taking a
house picture with tablet.

Colin makes a new friend.....



and introduces him to our crew.

A muskox greeting.

September 24, 2009

We are happy to be writing this entry from a comfortable hotel in Resolute Bay - complete with beds, hot water for showers and fabulous cooks -- all the luxuries we were lacking over the last couple of days. Our morning went well in Grise Fiord and we were able to hop aboard the plane shortly after 12:00 noon. The flight was approximately one hour but because of the time zone change, we arrived in time for lunch in Resolute Bay.

Once again, our pilots offered us a chance for some sightseeing. They started our flight off low so we could snap some shots of the icebergs floating below. Unfortunately it was a cloudy day so not too many of our photos turned out. When we flew above the cloud cover we were greeted by a warm sunny sky and most of us had a good nap.

When we descended through the clouds towards Resolute, the weather situation was considerably different. The cloud cover was low, it was snowing, and our plane immediately started icing up. Half of the windshield completely iced over and only one of the pilots was able to see out. When we got off the plane, both the wings and the props had a thin coating of ice. Despite the weather conditions, our pilots continue to give us smooth landings.

This afternoon, our group completed a few of the condition ratings and we hope to be finished tomorrow. Since this is one of the nicest hotels to stay in the north, we hope we'll be able to stay one more night here before we head to Arctic Bay. I hope to get some more pictures of Resolute tomorrow.

Current temperature here is minus 5 with a windchill of minus 11.

Grise Fiord, Nunavut
from plane at takeoff.

Scenery near Grise Fiord.

Icebergs near Grise Fiord.

King Air 200 - cockpit.

Our charter plane - King Air 200 - in Resolute Bay.

Airport terminal in Resolute Bay.

September 23, 2009

Today was a productive day as our group went to work across town to perform the condition ratings. All went relatively smoothly and we were able to complete all but 3 units which we hope to gain access to tomorrow. Due to the short runway and our heavy load, our pilots informed us that they would have to split the group up and do two trips. So half of our group headed out to Resolute Bay this evening while the rest of us stayed behind camping in an empty unit.

Unfortunately when we arrived here, the hotel was booked and operating without a cook. The Housing Association gave us an empty unit which the 8 of us have been camping out in. Luckily we had been warned to bring sleeping bags. We all pitched in and bought a few pots and utensils to prepare our meals with. Unfortunately the only store in town (the Coop) hasn't been getting much produce in due to a lack of flights, so the shelves don't offer a lot of selection but our stay is short, so we won't complain. We've already heard that the accommodations in Resolute Bay are much better - a hotel complete with cook. We can hardly wait!

Ocean view from town.



Town of Grise Fiord, Nunavut.



Street life in Grise Fiord.



Cute church.

Three narwhale tusks.

September 22, 2009

Our great adventure traveling the territory of Nunavut started yesterday with a morning flight out of Ottawa. We landed around noon in Iqaluit and began preparations with the rest of our crew for our early morning charter to Grise Fiord. Our crew of eight will be traveling to every community in Nunavut to perform condition ratings on the social housing units.

Our morning started off with a cab ride to the airport around 5:30 am. We were in the air within the hour, aboard a King Air 200 owned by Air Nunavut. It is the largest plane that is (with a few modifications) able to land in Grise Fiord -- the most northerly community in Canada.

The reason it is difficult to land in Grise Fiord is due to the short runway that runs between the mountain range and the town. The landing involves flying directly at the mountain with a sharp 90 degree turn at the last moment. Apparently the pilot was saying that there are only 2 runways in the world like this.

Thankfully our flight was uneventful and we enjoyed a short stop in Pond Inlet for fueling the plane. There was lots of cameras flashing as we all took in the beautiful scenery. The co-pilot seemed amused by the crews' sight-seeing bent and offered to fly us over the mountain pass. He made this offer in the airport where a few people were waiting for another flight. One fellow complained that he had never flown over the mountain pass and wanted to know if he could get on our flight -- but of course, all the seats were taken!

Here are a few photos from today's experience:

King Air 200 in Pond Inlet, Nunavut



Our crew at the Pond Inlet airport.



Inside King Air 200.



Pond Inlet, Nunavut
The town is on the top-most point.

Mountain range near Pond Inlet.

Bylot Island - mountain range near Pond Inlet



Mountain range.



Approaching Grise Fiord.



Ocean approach to Grise Fiord.