Nunavut Day

Monday July 9th was Nunavut Day.  All government offices were closed and there were a number of events that took place.  Canada AM was broadcasting from just behind the Legislative Assembly building.  Jacquie and I woke up early to watch Canada AM on TV.  It was quite entertaining seeing some of the people we have gotten to know on TV.  The crew did a great job in talking about Iqaluit, Nunavut and some Inuit traditions.  We really enjoyed the broadcast

There were a number of events that took place throughout the day like seal skinning, a breakfast put on by the Rotary Club, an artisan's display and sale to mention a few.

At lunch there were muskox burgers that were being given away, however the line up was huge so Jacquie and I decided not to get in line. 

Then there was one event that took place that happens at many festival's in Nunavut.  We have seen it a few times in Iqaluit.  Local hunters donate a portion of their catch which are displayed and ultimately given away.  A large tarp is placed on the gound with cardboard and plastic over top.  A myriad of different meats are placed on the tarp and the tradition is that the elders inspect and get first dibs on what they want to take and then the balance is open to everyone in the community.  This year there was seal meat, whale meat, Muktuk (whale blubber), walrus, char, caribou, musk ox, bannock and other things that we couldn't identify.  It is actually quite interesting in that all this meat is just thrown out on the tarp for people to take. 

We were able to get some caribou, whale meet and seal fat.  Not sure why we took the seal fat and all I can say is that in the heat of making choices sometimes wrong choices are made.  We tried the whale and ate the caribou.  The caribou was excellent, the whale......... well lets just say, neither Jacquie or I would order it in a restaurant. 

All in all an interesting tradition!

Jacquie's First Fish

We have had the awesome opportunity to go out Arctic Char fishing 3 or 4 times now.  We go out near the mouth of Sylvia Grinell River and fish along the river bank.  We were out last Monday (July 9, 2012) fishing and Jacquie caught a one pound Char. 

It was kind of funny.  On our previous fishing expedition, we had caught each others lines and at that time, she thought she had a fish and got quite excited, only to be faced with the disapointment that she had only caught me.  So, on this trip, she casually said, "I caught you again".  And I said, "you can catch me anytime and if  I'm a little too fast I'll slow down........... however you didn't catch my line because it's not out in the water".  That's when she got quite excited and brought in her very first fish.....ever!

Although we stayed for a little while after catching her fish, we didn't catch any more.  We did go home though and filleted the fish and ate it for lunch.  It was fantastic!  Thanks for lunch J!!!

Fishing for char

Jacquie and I went on our first char fishing trip yesterday (Monday July 2, 2012)  We went out west of Iqaluit to the Sylvia Grinell River.  We were able to drive the jeep within 100 metres or so of the River.  We took the dogs with us, which turned out to be a bit of a mistake because everytime we cast the lure the dogs went in after it.  After trying to get the dogs to settle, Jacquie finally took them back to the jeep. 

There were a number of others fishing at the river too.  And we knew there were fish since one of the fisherman just down the river caught a good size char.  That exited us thinking that we were next to bring in the big one. 

About my third cast, the reel got all tangled up.  I ended up having to cut the line and start over.  In the mean time, Jacquie was casting and fishing up a storm.  In fact this was only the second time Jacquie had ever been fishing. 

When fishing in Nunavut we are not allowed to use live bait, so we had a number of red and white spoons and meps which are spinnng lures.  I was using a meps with a rubber worm and Jacquie was using the red and white spoon. 

In years gone by I have done a lot of fishing, however almost always with live bait.  When fishing for bass or northern pike, I almost always used frogs, minnows or worms.  Anyway, it showed as Jacquie was by far the better fisherman.  My reel kept on getting tangled and after the third time that I had cut the line and re-fitted the rod with a lure I managed to cast out and watch as the line went right out to the end and kept going.  Well, I had no more line to use.  My fishing for the day had come to an end.  :-(

About the same time Jacquie got her line caught on a rock and I thought I would give her a hand.  Well, her rod separated at the join and half the rod went into the water.  Ooops!  While I was thinking about what might be the best approach to this, I handed the rod back to her and she was able to get the lure free and reel in her lure and the top end of her rod.  It ended that the end of the rod was all we were able to catch on our first fishing trip for char, however it didn't dampen our enthusiasm and we expect to be out there again this weekend if the weather is good. 



We will catch some char this summer, there is no doubt about that. 

Photo from web image

An Impromptu Music Extravaganza

This past Saturday (June 9th, 2012) Jacquie and I had the extraordinary opportunity to hear 5 amazing singers and musicians.  While we were out on the land at a small cabin aproximately 4 KM from the Iqaluit airport (See the previous blog) an inpromptu jaming session began that turned out to be amazing. 

Two of the musicians work with me at the Nunavut Housing Corporation.  Tim played guitar and sang a number of songs.  It amazed both Jacquie and I that he knew all of so many songs, from a wide range of genre's, like country, pop, rock and blues.  He has a great voice and is an acomplished guitar player.  Rob plays stand up base which he transported all the way out to the cabin. Jacquie and I have seen Rob play live with a few bands and he is an fantastic base player, one of the best that we have seen.

  Leanne and Tommy were out at the cabin.  Leanne is an ocupational therapist and Tommy is a geologist with the Government of Nunavut.  Leanne played a "drum box".  It was an interesting box that has strings inside of it that sounds very much like set of drums and has a different sound depending on where on the box it's struck.  She uses a set of fan drum sticks, which gives the drum box a softer sound.  She also has a beautiful voice and entertained us with a number of selections.  Tommy is a very accomplised guitar player and picked his way through many of the songs musical interludes with guitar solos.

Tom is in the forground on the right side of the photo

And finally we had a guitar player/singer that was also a good guitar player and had a great voice.  Jason is from the east coast and played a number of traditional down east, thigh slapping and toe tapping celtic songs.



The gang even allowed me to play and sing a few songs.  All in all it was a wonderful time where Jacquie and I were entertained by some excellent musicians and singers.
Here is a link to a sample of the music.    http://youtu.be/aN2hTujO1v0

Thanks to all for the beautiful music and the great time!!  :-)

The Cabin by the River

Jacquie and I had an amazing experience this weekend. We had the opportunity to travel out on the land to a little cabin that is situated on the shoreline of the Sylvia Grinell River.






The Trip out was an experience in itself. The trip was 4 KM and 40 minutes from the end of the Iqaluit airport runway. Our trip took us over the tundra on a path that was the most challenging to drive that we have ever seen. It is difficult to describe the drive out to the cabin. We went though streams, over bolders, up rock cuts, over bog, through mud and along the river at times on angles that we thought for sure would tip the truck.





Tim, one of the two owners who built the cabin, was our driver. Tim has been in the Arctic for 10 years and  he is an amazing character in his own right. He was a champion motorcycle driver in North America in the 1980's and still drives dirt bikes places where you cannot imagine. He is a certified motorcycle mechanic. He is an excellent guitar player and singer as you will see in the next blog, He owns a newer ford F-150 with a 6 inch lifter kit that was definitely a benefit for this trek. He is a very experienced driver who can manouever his truck in ways that go beyond your imagination. J and I had the thrill of a lifetime just making our way out to the cabin.





Once there, the views were spectacular. Adding to the fairy tale type surroundings was the fact that it was snowing hard on June 10th  and the river was raging because of the spring run off. There is a rugged natural beauty that is indescribable. The break-up of the ice has left some beautiful naturally formed ice sculptures along the river and this cabin is situated on the shoreline in the middle of it all.












The cabin is a three room (two bunk rooms and a main area) structure that is fully insulated,heated with a small oil stove and has a propane stove. Tim tells us that in mid winter at -40C, you crank on the stove and within an hour you need to open the windows because it's too hot. There is a small gas powered generator for lighting and any other electrical needs. At this time of year, it doesn't get dark at any time. The sun goes down about 11:00 PM and is up about 2:00 AM  and although the sun sets, it does so just below the horizon leaving us with a twilight rather than complete darkness.





Jacquie and I had an amazing experience and look forward to another summertime visit to the cabin. Thanks Tim for the wonderful experience!

To watch some of our trip click on this link to our trek video  http://youtu.be/0QEB2BjVm8o

Our Wedding

As most people know, that follow this blog, Larry and I exchanged vows and became husband and wife on May 12, 2012. The entire wedding weekend was amazing. We were blessed to be surrounded by our family and friends.

It is easily safe to say that all of our family played a role and contributed to our day. Thank you everyone!!! To our friends and family that travelled long distances to be with us, we can't thank you enough for being part of our special day.





We don't have our pictures yet, however this is a little taste of what's to come. We promitse to post a collage of pictures in the near future.

Polar Bear in Iqaluit

For the first time since 2008 we had a polar bear wander into Iqaluit. According to a friend of ours, that is the manager of CBC north, the Polar Bear came up onto the causway on May 26th. As a side note, the causeway is a finger of land that goes out into Frobisher Bay so boats can tie up during low tide.The Polar Bear came along the causeway onto shore. The polar bear was described as a healthy young male. It probably wandered into town from the pack ice where it spent the majority of the winter hunting seals. It was in the downtown part of Iqaluit on the shoreline when the wildlife conservation officers scared it off with flare guns.

Apparently the bear went back out onto the ice on the bay, crossed the bay and went onto land just south of the oil storage tanks. Although the conservation officers were fairly sure it wouldn't come back, a host of residents went down to the causeway over the next few days to see if the bear would venture back into town, Jacquie and I among them.

Although Polar Bears are seen quite frequently within 5 KM's or so of Iqaluit, it is unusual for them to venture into town. According to the CBC manager, the last one to come into was spotted up behind the hospital.

One of our goals of being in Iqaluit is to see a polar bear in the wild. Although this was an opportunity that presented itself, by the time Jacquie and I found out about it, the bear was long gone. Perhaps next time!



Note: This is not a picture of the polar bear in Iqaluit.