October 31, 2008

We've had a busy first week in Pond Inlet. It's been quite different trying to figure out what to eat for our dinners as they have a full restaurant available at the hotel we are staying at and boy do they know how to load our plates!! There's nothing like heading out into the cold winter weather with a belly full of warm food after a good night's rest on comfy beds. The weather here has been a blustery minus 30 C with the wind chill.

Apparently we should be on the look-out for bears as we walk around town. Colin peered in a side entrance today where a fresh polar bear hide was laying. Apparently the fellow had spotted it near the bay just down below the houses........right near where we have been walking. Damon is all excited and can hardly wait to see a polar bear. We are not so anxious.

Don't have too many good pictures to share, as we find our camera heavy to carry around and the weather hasn't been cooperating.

Inns North where we are staying
in Pond Inlet.

Seal skins stretched out.

A house made of culverts.

Culvert house entrance.

Alex after a long day at work.
Happy Halloween!!

October 26, 2009

Our week off work went by like a flash and we headed to Ottawa on Sunday to fly up to our next destination - Pond Inlet. Our crew of 8 has now expanded to 9 and has split in two in order to accomplish our inspections more efficiently. Besides missing the other half of our team, the other disadvantage to this division is that we will no longer be able to visit every community in Nunavut. Our only hope is that someone on the other crew will start a blog so that we can enjoy the sites and stories associated with their journey. What do you say, guys!?!

The weather flying into Iqaluit was fine and we were anxious to have the last leg of our flight over with. We were not pleased to discover that the weather ahead was not looking very good and about 1 1/2 hours into our flight, the pilot informed us that he was turning the plane around. So after a full day of traveling we came to a full stop in Iqaluit.

Since our next attempt at landing in Pond wasn't scheduled until the following day, we had some time to lounge in the morning, visit people at our head office, and take a tour of the Legislative Assembly where Colin's brother likes to spend his days as an MLA. The Legislative Assembly is a beautiful building filled with some fantastic artwork and we are always impressed whenever we get the chance to visit.

Below are some pictures of our tour, our final flight into Pond Inlet and the awesome hotel room that we are gratefully enjoying:

Doors leading to/from the assembly room.
Iqaluit, Nunavut

Legislative Assembly.
The chairs are covered in sealskin.

Ron and Colin admire the mace at
the Legislative Assembly.

Close up of the mace.

When the assembly is in session,
the mace rests on this stand - across the upheld hands.

The Speaker of the House's chair.

Damon takes over.

Alex's turn.

Marble drum dancer.

Beautiful wall-hanging and carving.

Polar bear carving.

Caribou tufting.

Apparently a 17 year old carved this
caribou antler in one piece.
Incredible!

Close-up of antler carving.

Flight view from Iqaluit to Pond Inlet, Nunavut

Settled in at Inns North in Pond Inlet.

October 12, 2009

We arrived in Gjoa Haven late on Friday evening. Once again the hotel is full so we are living in a spacious 3 bedroom apartment. It is a real luxury this time since not only do we have beds and furniture, but there is also an extra bathroom. The kitchen is large and Damon has been cooking up a storm for everyone. Our Thanksgiving dinner consisted of a ham, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. Delicious!

Most of our team is sick with a cold or sinus infection. The weather has been cold and windy and progress is slowing down as a result. We hope to be home by the weekend.

The town of Gjoa Haven, Nunavut

Gjoa Haven scenery.

An old pink house - no wonder it is abandoned!

Waterfront houses in Gjoa Haven.

Row of houses in Gjoa Haven.

Our accommodations -- the unit we are staying in
is the end one at the right.

Cute dog.

Caribou antlers.

Fish and caribou hide drying.

Grizzly bear hide.
Apparently grizzlies do come this far north.

Muskox head in someone's front yard.

October 7, 2009

Not much to write about. Have been busy working and fighting off a flu or cold. Am very distressed to hear Christmas tunes blaring from the kitchen. It's not even Thanksgiving yet!!!

Current temperature is minus 4 C with a windchill of minus 11 C.

Our accommodations.

Bright coloured houses in Spence Bay or Taloyoak, Nunavut

Taloyoak scenery.

October 5, 2009

Our scheduled flight out of Kugaaruk was delayed a couple of hours on Sunday but we finally took off late in the afternoon. Unfortunately the airline forgot to mention that the weather was not good in Taloyoak so our landing was redirected to Gjoa Haven. We had the choice of staying there or heading to Yellowknife -- an easy decision since Gjoa Haven was lacking in both available hotel rooms and beer.

Since we have never been to Yellowknife we were looking forward to some sightseeing. Our only chance was right after breakfast, about the exact time when the fog rolled in so thick that all the morning flights were delayed - including ours. We left Yellowknife late in the morning and after stopping in Gjoa Haven and Kugaaruk, we finally arrived at our destination around 4:30 this afternoon -- approximately 24 hours after our initial departure. Normally it would only take 40 minutes.

There are no available hotel rooms in Taloyoak (Spence Bay), so the 8 of us are camping it out in a 2 bedroom unit. Colin and I called dibs on the utility room so we are enjoying the luxury of shelves to store our stuff on. Hopefully the foam mats that were purchased in Yellowknife will make our sleeping bags a little more comfy!!

Current temperature here is reported as minus 3 C with a windchill of minus 10 C.

Airport terminal in Kugaaruk, NU

Explorer hotel in Yellowknife, NT.

View out of our hotel room.

Yellowknife scenery.

October 4, 2009

Pictures from our Sunday morning walkabout. Of course we went to church!!

Church plaque - see church below.
If you click on the picture above,
you might be able to read some of it.

Old church built in 1941. The tower was added in 1952.

Old stone house.

Please don't jump Larry. It's not THAT bad.

Kugaaruk scenery.

Kids at play.

October 3, 2009

We should have our work here in Kugaaruk completed by the end of the day. Tomorrow we will be taking the scheduled afternoon flight to Taloyoak. From what we hear, the hotel is full but we are hoping they will feed us while we camp out in a vacant unit. Here's a few things we saw this morning on our walkabout:

Ice moving into Pelly Bay.

More ice.

Part of a dog team kept tied up outside.

Adorable puppies.

The temptation to adopt this little one
was hard to overcome.