Our Friends and summer in Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park - 2014

I know we have mentioned Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park in previous blogs, however this summer it became our "summer cottage" where friends could gather and enjoy each others company. Wonderful about this park, is the ability to locate your spot, erect a tent and the area is yours free of charge. The staff at the park go out of their way to accommodate any requests, deliver wood, and maintenance of the park is second-to-none.

One evening at the squash club - sitting at what we have dubbed the "old folks table" - we discussed the prospect of enhancing our summer. We wanted to create an environment that we can all enjoy and share in the beauty of the north. For many in Iqaluit, pitching a tent and spending evenings and weekends at their "home away from home" is not uncommon. In fact, a common site are the white canvas tents that our group went together to purchase. The site selection was easy. For the past few years, Barb, Kate, Christine (x2), and Daniel claimed a site in the park. Larry and I went out a couple of times last summer and had the fortune of being asked if we would consider joining in on a tent purchase. Of course, Larry and I jumped at the idea. The park is a beautiful place, however there are times you want protection from the elements, in particular the mosquitos. So, Larry and I as well as Scott and Suzy were added to the "site group" and we purchased our tent.

 As you can see, it's a good tent. We (Daniel, Scott and Larry) built a floor from left over construction wood and pallets. We have a set of shelves, table and chairs and all the comforts needed to enjoy our time in the park.










 The wonderful part about our tent site is we always have folks coming out to enjoy in the fun. Pictured are Larry, Bonnie (Front) & Suzy.

The tent also comes with a "tickle trunk" in which we store musical instruments, games and who knows what else you may find by the end of the summer.

As you can imagine, washrooms are not exactly close by and unlike the "south" we don't have trees to hind behind. Yes, we do have rocks, but it just isn't the same. Well thanks to Barb, our site comes fully equipped. For those that don't want to squat behind the rock we offer campsite washroom facilities - toilet, protection from the wind and bugs and all...

Did we mention that we're right beside the river? Well, we're right beside the river. Our site is actually up on a hill and we can sit looking out over the river. Some of the nights have proven to be absolutely gorgeous. Of course, the sun doesn't set but never the less, late in summer you can catch some beautiful pictures.

Most importantly at the site is the camaraderie and friendship we all share. Larry and I have stated it several times, that the folk we have met up here are truly wonderful beings. Our "circle of friends" have been a blessing, and they know how to have fun. Often around the campfire comes out the guitars, spoons, drums and whatever other instruments have migrated out to the site. Its an afternoon and night full of fun. Sometimes I forget whether it's afternoon or night because, of course, it doesn't get dark. The pictures below are the "gang having fun."

L-R Nadine, Suzy and Lisa

L-R Lisa, Scott, and Larry

L-R Barb, Suzy, and Lisa

L-R Christine, Robin, and Barb

L-R Chris, Larry and Kate
missing is Daniel and Christine

A bonus of our site is Holly can come along and we don't have to worry about her; mind you she's getting to the age she doesn't venture very far. Holly loves coming out to the site and once she has done her tour, she settles in and just enjoys the evening. You've probably all said to yourselves - "they're wearing coats, toques, and gloves." yepper and we're okay with that.. !

Thanks to all our friends for a wonderful summer 2014...... awesome memories.....

In the hopes of exploring down under

Admittedly it has been a long while since Larry and I have made any posts to our blog. It seems that the art of being busy has taken over. But, at last we return to the blog and can provide a little update on our most recent adventure - training for an arctic dive.

As many can appreciate, the water up here is, to say the least, cool. It is currently mid-August and the temperature in the Bay is -2c at 40ft. A regular wetsuit isn't going to cut it if Larry and I are to check-off an Arctic dive. We must get our drysuit training. Back in April a notice was posted on Iqaluit Public Service notifications page on Facebook outlining there was a group that wanted to start a diving club. Larry and I were both exited, so we went to the meeting to find out their plan. The meeting went well and we expressed our interest in following through.

Photo credits to Ron Wassink

Quite a bit of time passed and we fast forward to August - the group is ready to start diving. Larry and I have been offered the drysuit certification course and we make arrangements to attend our first session. The group forming the diving club have gone to great lengths to construct and position a training platform in what is known as Upper Base Lake. Upper Base in a small confined lake with it's deepest depth between 20-30' - perfect for training and introduction to scuba events. The week leading up to our first session meant we had to be outfitted with drysuits. Our instructor was very supportive and met with us so that we may try on suits for size.


It's now August 9, 2014 and Larry and I are heading out to the lake for our drysuit orientation and skills check. Skill checks can include: buddy checklist, hand signals (communication signals, flooding/removal and clearing your mask, removing and replacing your regulator, buoyancy checks (fin pivot) and hovering checks. This is a small list but for every diver, skills that should be maintained and practiced often.

Preparing for a dive is important. You take your time readying your equipment and communicate with your buddies/group. This being our first experience with wearing a drysuit, we took a little longer getting ourselves ready. When all equipment is set-up, we have our pre-dive briefing and we have our drysuits on - it's now time to get in the water. What we weren't quite expecting is the entry. What we didn't notice was the "rock garden" we would have to navigate before getting to a depth where we could put on our BC's etc... Needless to say, we discovered a risk that Larry and I would not repeat as the risk of injury for us is assessed too high.

You can see in the above picture the rocks we were facing. We made our way to a depth that was good to put on our BC's, masks, fins and gloves.

It's now time to head out to the platform to do our check out and drysuit skill sets. This is when I realize, my drysuit is not as snug a fit as it should be, water is coming in at my neck-line. I new the drysuit was a little big (in the feet and lots of space), however I wasn't quite ready for the water. I made a conscious decision that I would not go on with the dive, but rather would return to shore.  Larry continued on with our Instructor and I'm happy to report that he had a very successful dive session. Although I cut my session short, Larry and I hope to continue in our pursuit of drysuit certification and look forward to checking off a Frobisher Bay (Arctic) dive.