D'Iberville Untouched

Eli has been having a lot of fun with my new travel camera, and he's been sending me some more pictures when he has a chance.

Today, he had a bit of a break because the planes were not able to fly.

Too much snow!

These are some more pictures from his Father's Day day-trip to D'Iberville, which reminds me of Tess of the D'Ubervilles a little bit.

Eli:  D'Iberville was an arctic research station last inhabited in the early 1990s. 

The Top of the World

Eli is, quite literally, at the top of the world.

Until the end of the month, Eli is in Alert, Nunavut, which is the northernmost permanently inhabited place on Earth by humans (and not elves). 

Alert is on Ellesmere Island, which is a little hard to imagine as an island because the ice around it is a polar ice cap.

The permanent population is 0, however, it is a military and scientific base, and so there is always some personnel up there. 

All of the Canadian territories boast of being North of latitude 60. 

Yellowknife is precisely 62°30' North, and we are about 400 kilometres from the arctic circle, that invisible line where the sun is up for exactly up for 24 hours on the summer solstice and down for exactly 24 hours on winter solstice.

Right now, Eli is above latitude 80 (and just so you know, 90 is as far as the scale goes). 

Alert is at latitude 82°30'05" north, and is 817 kilometres from the geographic North Pole and Santa Claus, although Alert is actually North of the geomagnetic North Pole, meaning that compasses would behave oddly there.

The girls are beside themselves because Eli is SO close to the North Pole!

Truths About the Cold

It's been COLD here for about two months.

By cold, I mean usually -30.  For eight weeks.

-25 with no wind is, regrettably, considered an awesome day for being outside.

-45 is just mean, and keeps happening with the windchill.  Over and over again.

It think we can all agree that temperatures beginning with "minus forty" should have "freakin'" crammed in the middle:  example:  minus forty-freakin'-five.

Here are a few truths I've discovered about the arctic cold temperatures:

Now, THAT'S cold!

It's been about 10 to 12 degrees BELOW normal temperatures for this time of year for weeks now, and you can imagine my excitement over breaking so many cold temperature records.

Apparently, last winter WAS abnormally "warm."

So, the lakes are frozen, the snow behaves oddly in the cold temperature: 

snow below -20 behaves like cold sand, it squeaks, and it doesn't get removed from the roads, so snow tires really are a necessity.

On Saturday, it was cold, and both Eli and his buddy, Barry, were off and eager to go on a long snowmobile ride... the first of the season.  The girls and I went shopping.

They left around 10:00 am and planned to be back around 3:00 pm, not-so-coincidentally coinciding with the only daylight hours we have right now.

 

Eli was back home by 3:00 pm, and had a warm-up shower before I got back from shopping.

Once I brought my shopping bags inside, Eli casually said,

"So, Barry fell through the ice today."

Doggone It!

Here are four doggy tails... I mean TALES from this past week.

Doggone It #1

Last week, my girls and I walked over to say "happy trails" to a good friend I've made since we moved here, Heather. 

Heather and I happened to meet on the plane when I was returning from Nana's celebration of life. 

Heather was moving here from Nova Scotia, sight unseen, with her dog and two cats and all the clothes she could pack. 

Brave girl.  I can relate.

We, memorably, got delayed in Calgary, and Heather and I sat next to one another on the flight from Edmonton to Yellowknife. 

Heather's dog, Boulder, LOVES the girls because they will play catch with him continuously, and they have piggy tails, which he thinks are pretty fun.

He doesn't have enough fur for piggy tails, so he has piggy tail envy.

"What are you laughing at, Kid?  I'll lick your earmuffs!!" 

Last week, Heather and Geoff moved into their new home in Hay River.

Congratulations, home owners! 

The girls entertained Boulder outside while the movers loaded up the rest of their stuff.

It's a real bummer to lose a good friend so soon, but Hay River is only a five and a half hour drive south of Yellowknife (which is a heck of a lot closer than most of my friends). I think it is the perfect distance for a weekend road trip, wouldn't you say? 

Doggone It #2

Last night, I took Miss G out on a date.

Little Miss A stayed home with Daddy for movie night because...

... this is how she looks during a self-initiated afternoon nap. 

Fever and stomach bug. 

She's getting much better though!

Kid Doggie joined Miss G and I at NACC, the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, to see a Ukranian dance performance featuring kids and adults.

Miss G says is was better than "The Nutcracker," which is saying something, considering how much she loves Clara!

Doggone It #3

This morning, Barry came over to visit with his beautiful daughter and his little dog, Von Bon. 

Von Bon is very debonair, and knows lots of tricks, much to the girls' delight! 

"Do you like my snow booties??" 

"How about my yellow parka?" 

The girlies LOVE Von Bon, almost as much as they love Barry.

Barry has three skidoos.

Very important.

I caught Eli playing on Barry's skidoo in the garage this morning... 

He says he was just "testing something," but he was in his pajamas and sitting on the seat making vrrrrrroom noises.

Okay, I made up the part about the skidoo noises, but the rest is true.

Eli's heated garage is preferred place to work on skidoos... 

It's Yellowknife, and it's cold here... 

Barry and Eli bond over many things, like skidoos and fishing and shooting...

That makes them "cool" to the girls.

Doggone It #4

Miss A is so much better, today, than earlier this week!!

So, we bundled up in the sled behind Eli's snowmobile to take in a Northern event.

Check out our snazzy matching snowmobile helmets.

We took the girls to Frame Lake to see Day 2 of the Diavik 150 Canadian Championship Dog Derby, as part of the Longjohn Jamboree this weekend. 

You can see the museum, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in the background (the arced building). 

The girls went dog sledding earlier this month, and they were excited to see a race on the frozen lake! 

It was not freezing (about -10 without a wind chill), so we were pretty comfy. 

We timed it so we got there exactly 11 minutes before the race began to see the exciting start.

They're off!

Each dog team starts in its own lane, then all the lanes merge into one. 

We positioned ourselves right at the final merge position. 

The girls were cheering on all the dogs.

Check out the lead dog on the lead team!

He reminds me of...

Monique's dog Asha. 

How about here?

Do you see the resemblance? 

Here? 

What do you think Asha would think of dog sledding? 

I bet she'd be pretty excited to see the teams running by!! 

Okay, Asha... now you're just showing off...

And that green grass is such a tease.

The mushers were very friendly and waved to the kids and adults cheering on the race along the course. 

It was a pretty spectacular event to see. 

And, the beginning was over in a flash. 

See how Eli strategically incorporated his snowmobile in the background?

He just ordered those blue skis with the red detailing.

He just gets cooler every year.

So, those are my doggy days of March for you.

Pterrific Ptarmigan

Miss G and Daddy share a special bond around Daddy's snowmobile.

She LOVES it.

She loves his boat, too, but there's something special about getting bundled up and spending some one-on-one time with her Daddy and that snowmobile.

So, one day last week, Daddy took Miss G out for a ride in some deep snow.

There was a steep (but short...) drop where they parked, and Miss G got in for a closer look. 

I asked Eli, "Did she go sliding down the bank?"

He said, "No." 

I said, "Really?"

He said, "Really."

(He have very exciting conversations like this all the time... I can tell that you are enthralled.) 

This is photographic evidence that she backed away, after some contemplative meditation. 

Then, they saw a ptarmigan. 

These partridge-like Northern birds are all over the place.

Not too bright, but cute.

And, they have really furry feet!!

I love that. 

This ptarmigan says, "Have a pterrific day!"

"Ptotally."

"Ptremendous."

"Pthat's all folks."

Spring Schmring

The calendar says it's the first day of Spring.

Apparently, Yellowknife did NOT get the memo.

Yes, I know the Maritimes is all warm and sunny and barbecuing everything in sight.

Nanny and Papa arrived back home this morning and looked very out of place in their winter coats.  And, they were barbecuing in t-shirts in 23 degree weather.

Am I ever going to appreciate the Maritime seasons when I move back!

I walked the girls to school this morning.  It was about -23 degrees Celsius with the windchill, but we're so well-dressed, we hardly notice it.

We also have about 12 hours of daylight right now around the Spring Equinox (which is the half-way point between the two solstices).

Eli stayed home today and yesterday with a nasty stomach bug. 

Miss G asked her class to pray that Daddy gets better soon during their prayer time in the morning.

She's cute.

Daddy... not so much.

You should hear the moaning and complaining...

Oh, woe is me.

At lunch today, Miss A's preschool teacher found me to tell me that Miss A was having some tummy trouble, too, so Daddy came to get her. 

(A freakin' blessing teaching in the same school as my Lovely Little Ladies.) 

So, after school, Miss G got to hang out with some of her friends in a teacher-friend's classroom while I taught after school Drama to the middle school Drama Club. 

Then, we got to enjoy a Mommy and Miss G walk home in this lovely spring weather.

It warmed up enough to snow, isn't that nice?

Not only did it snow, but the wind whipped the fine powdery snow around to make it look and feel incredibly blustery and stormy.

I love my parka.

It does not smell like fish.

(The "Idle Free Zone" is not observed when it gets below -30 or so... just thought you ought to know...)

Do me a favour, and think of me before you make any complaints about your weather, will ya?

I'll let you know when Spring arrives... in a few months...

Piloting through Yellowknife

Like a good son-in-law, Eli bundled up Nanny and Papa to take them sightseeing when it was -35 degrees with the windchill (March 14th).

It was quite cold one they got to the top of Pilot's Monument. 

It's on top of the "rock" in Old Town, and you can see a lot of Great Slave Lake (in the background), including Back Bay, Yellowknife Bay, Old Town, Jolliffe Island, the city of Yellowknife and Frame Lake... though it all looks just snow covered in the winter. 

Nanny and Papa were cold, but wanted pictures to document it. 

You can see the Snowking's Snow Castle (the square over Papa's shoulder, and the ice road to Dettah rinding across Great Slave Lake behind Nanny.

This is a slightly closer view of the Snow Castle.

Yesterday, the whole family went on an excursion to see the Buffalo Hangar.

Does it look familiar to you? 

It's the same, very same, hangar where they film the Ice Pilots NWT series for the History Channel. 

(Yes, we met Mikey, and caught a glimpse of Sophie the Dog.)

It's much bigger than the hangars Papa is used to in Miramichi! 

The girls were so very excited to visit the planes... many of them from the WWII era. 

The film crew was hanging around, but nothing too exciting was being filmed while we were there. 

I know the girls liked it.

I know that Papa loved it. 

Here, the maintenance crew was doing a routine check on every moving part of the plane.

I don't know what kind of plane it is.

It is green. 

Miss G was suitably impressed, and would politely ask Peter, our host (a contact of Eli's through work) when SHE could get inside a plane. 

It was pretty fun to have a chance to take pictures inside the hangar of the planes.

They are amazing! 

Buffalo Joe, owner of Buffalo Airlines and the star of Ice Pilots NWT also collects antique cars, which tickled Papa's fancy. 

Papa wanted a picture standing next to each one.

This is a 1951 Ford.

This is a 1949 Mercury.

I know it because it is on the license plate.

This is 1939 Ford.  Not a typo.  1939. 

Mickey Mouse was inside this plane! 

If you do watch the show, you might recognize this plane. 

They just aired the episode where this plane is purchased on EBay.

It's shiny and red and yellow.

There were lots of amazing pictures to take! 

These propellers are from the recent controlled emergency landing a Buffalo plane did in Yellowknife.  The landing gear would not descend, so it landed on its belly.

This is that plane outside the hangar.

Peter said that they have removed all suspect parts and are rebuilding or replacing. 

The girls got to see some planes landing and taking off at the airport from this vantage point. 

And, they got to visit the inside of this plane, to the girls' (and Papa's!) delight.  

Papa had lots of questions, and Peter was very knowledgeable.

I like Pete's coat... do you?? 

(This is called "foreshadowing.")

In we go... It's a good this Papa is wearing his new fur hat!

He shaved any hair he had on Tuesday in honour of Uncle Staff's brain surgery.

That's dedication when we're talking windchill! 

The girls got cosy in the cockpit. 

Miss G, pilot. 

Miss A, pilot. 

Yes, the girls had fun! 

So did this little boy!  

We did make a pit stop in the gift shop, where Papa bought himself a new black and green Buffalo jacket, just like Peter's.

Gee.

I wonder what Papa's dream job would be if he lived in Yellowknife?