Going for a Stroll out on the Frobisher Bay

Jacquie and I along with some friends took a stroll out onto Frobisher Bay. It was a cool day, however we were dressed for the ocassion with lined pants and snow pants on top. Jacquie and I both had 4 layers under our Canada Goose parkas as well as hand warmers for our gloves. So even thought it was -24C with a wind chill of -32, we were quite comfortable. Some of the group we travelled with did get cold, however we shared some thermal socks, hand warmers and hats and all went well.



This is the mottly crew that took off for our walk.

We walked for a little over an hour out onto the bay. We were headed for Rabbit Island. Interestingly there aren't any rabbits on the Island, perhaps the wolves got them. When we got out there we found some crevices in the ice caused by the tide. It was fun hiding in them. Here are a few photo's of us hiding in the ice on the bay.



We had a little snack and headed back into Iqaluit. Altogether we were out for about three hours and a fun time was had by all.

Having Fun on Frobisher Bay

Jacquie and I had an awesome experience last weekend (March 24th, 2013)
on Frobisher Bay. We went out with Inukpak Outfitting Inc. owned by Louis-Philip who has a dog sled team and two snowmachines.



Jacquie and I took off at about 10:00AM with a few friends and were out for approximately 4 hours.
Jacquie and I rode on the dog sled on the way out and drove the snowmobile on the way home.

Louis is a big man and perhaps that's why the dog team had 11 dogs. We were told that most dog teams have between 8 and 10 dogs.
Louis sat at the front of the sled, Jacquie sat on the sled and I rode on the rails at the back. Jacquie and I traded places at one point, however I enjoyed riding the rails at the back of the sled.






The dogs were well cared for and well socialized. We have heard that many of the dog teams have dogs that are not well behaved. As a general rule, it is not recommended that you approach them or pet them, however these dogs proved themselves quite friendly. As a testament of how well Louis's dogs are behaved, he said go and get aquainted with the dogs. They are well socialized and don't bite. So, Jacquie and I got up and personal with the dogs:



Louis told us an interesting story of an incedent last year where he and the dogs were going along a trail and he saw what he thought was a huge wolf. The dogs stopped and he pointed the animal out to the clients he had on the sled. Then the animal stood up and lo and behold it was a polar bear. Apparently if you meet a polar bear, the best animals to have with you are dogs. Polar bears have an aversion to dogs. The usual ferocious Polar Bear, who have been known to hunt and kill humans turned and ran when it saw all of the dogs.

At the halfway point we stopped for a break. We had some tea and a snack and then it was time for Jacquie and I to take our turns on the snowmobiles. We had an awesome time. Two hours of driving all over Frobisher Bay. We had gone out about 12 - 15 km's by dog sled, when we stopped. We took off and went another couple of KM's farther out on the bay. We were told that the flow is at about 40 miles and at approximately 20 miles there are open holes where seals gather. That is where there could be some polar bears too. The day before we went out Louis had seen polar bear tracks close to where we stopped for lunch. The good news for us is that there were no polar bears on this trip.

Jacquie and I took turns driving the snowmobile and we sure did have fun:



Our friend had fun too. The picture below is of Monique and Audrey on the sled, with Louis. Lloyd was on the other snowmobile.

Coral Harbour

Around the first of December I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days in Coral Harbour. Coral Harbour is a hamlet 730 KMs west of Iqaluit on the southern end of Southhampton Island. The population is about 850 people.

The history of Coral Harbour goes back many centuries when the Island was populated by the Sallirmiut people, who are believed to have been the last of the Thule Inuit in the Arctic. The Sallirmiut were well known for their short stature, unbelievable strength, different hairstyles, and their unique language. Tragically, they died from an epidemic, the deadly typhus disease, carried by the Scottish whalers in 1902.

Contemporay history began in 1925, when the Hudson's Bay Company established a trading post at the present site of Coral Harbour by combining secondary posts from Chesterfield Inlet and Coats Island.

Just outside Coral Harbour, an American military air base was built in 1941 as a staging point for aircraft being ferried to Europe during World War II.

The site later became a military training area, then a weather observation point, before becoming the current municipal airport.

During the 1950's and 1960's, the Government of Canada increased its presence by building a: school in 1955, a nursing station in 1963, and other government buildings and houses ever since.

Coral Harbour Hamlet Office

Coral Harbour is also known for abundant wildlife. The waters in the Harbour attract seals, whales and Walrus.

website photo

I spent 3 days at the local housing office visiting clients. The people I met in Coral Harbour are hard workers and love living in this wonderful little Hamlet.

Local Housing Authority

I enjoyed my 3 days in Coral Harbour and look forward to visiting in the summer and getting to see some of the plentiful wildlife in the area. Thanks Coral Harbour for the hospitality.

Although I saw this sign, my picture didn't turn out - this is a web photo

Matty McNair

While we were at the Robbie Burns night at the legion on Saturday night (January 26, 2013) we had the awesome opportunity to meet Matty McNair. Matty has lived in Iqaluit since 1990 and is both famous and imfamous. She is a wonderful down to earth person that has accomplished so much!

Some of Matty's accomplishments are as follows:
1997 leading the first ever all-female expedition to the Geographic North Pole.
2000 she led an expedition across Ellesmere Island through the Sverdrup Pass.
2003/04 she led two ski-all-the-way expeditions to the South Pole.
2003 crossed the Greenland Ice Cap with her children Sarah and Eric by ski-kites with dog sled support.
2004/2005 completed an unsupported ski expedition to the South Pole, again accompanied by her children Sarah and Eric, who became the youngest persons to ski to the South Pole.
2007 drove a dogsled with Richard Hammond in a race to the North Magnetic Pole as part of Top Gear: Polar Special. This journey was cut short before her party reached the pole because the other competitors reached the destination first.
She is the first American to ski to both the North and South Poles.

In December of 2011 she was invited to Windsor Castle by the Queen and Prince Phillip to discuss her many adventures. She also loves to dance and she invited Jacquie and I to her dance classes held every Thursday night at the Catholic Church Hall. When she was telling us about the dancing she said "I should tell you that I'm here for 2 more weeks and then go to Iceland for 2 months". When we asked her why she was going to Ice land she answered that she was "Pole Training" Now the very first thing that came to my mind was Randy and Liczy and the exercise pole that they have in their dining room (that some affectionately call the stripper pole - Liczy quite often tries to train many of us in the use of that pole, however in the most part, to no avail) The "Pole Training" that Matty is talking about is how to survive trekking to the North and South Pole

The other thing that Matty is passionate about is her dogs. She has about a dozen or so sled dogs in Iqaluit. She has taken a dog team around the perimeter of Baffin Island, about a 4000KM trek.

Below is a link to a Youtube Video about her sled dogs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gS7mdqC6UU



Jacquie and I ejoyed meeting Matty she was so down to earth and very interesting to talk to. While she was regailing us with stories we had to remind ourselves that she is internationally renowned for her accomplishments and a local celebrity.

Website Photo

Robbie Burns Night at the Legion

Last night (January 26th) Jacquie and I went to Robbie Burns night at the Legion. We actually bought tickets for January 25th, however the entertainment Mr. David Francey got delayed in the airport in Ottawa and couldn't make it to Iqaluit until Saturday. Therefore they delayed the evening until Saturday night. The $55.00 tickets bought us a meal and some wonderful entertainment.

Robbie Burns day is traditionally celebrated on January 25th.
Robbie was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He was born on January 25, 1759 in Alloway Scotland and died July 21, 1796 in Dumfries Scotland. He was voted the most influential Scotsman ever born by the people of Scotland. He wrote close to 600 poems and songs in his lifetime. One of the songs that I didn't realize that he had created is Auld Lang Syne.

The event was full of tradition and ceremony. Firstly Scottish Pipers piped in the Haggis

The Pipers that Piped in the Haggis

Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish, considered the national dish of Scotland as a result of the Robert Burns poem "Address to a Haggis of 1787".

Haggis is a savory pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs) minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices and salt, mixed with stock and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours.

This is the Haggis that was piped in during the opening cerimonies.

The Mayor of Iqaluit John Graham, originally from Scotland was the master of Ceremonies for the event.

The Mayor of Iqaluit, John Graham, doing the Celebratory carving of the Haggis

Another interesting presentation during the evening was a recounting of Robert Burns life and some reading of his poetry by a very Gaelic Scottsman as shown below.

Admittedly, I only understood about every third word the gentleman said, however the presentation was interesting anyway with a certain amount of dramatic presentation to the reading.

We then had the awesome opportunity to eat the traditional "Robert Burns" day meal, which was haggis, turnup, potatoes, Scotch Egg (which is a hard boiled egg with pork around it in a breaded batter) and sherry filled trifle.

This was the second time I have had Haggis and although it seemed a little better than the first time, its not a dish I would go a long way out of my way to eat. Overall the meal was good. The Scotch eggs were amazing and the trifle excellent. ( I don't think it had anything to do with the fact that January is Jacquie an my non-drinking month and you could definetly taste the sherry)

The evening finished off with the fantastic music of David Francey. He is a Scottish Canadian that moved to Canada from Scotland in 1964. He currently resides in Perth Ontario. He played a mixture of his own music and Robbie Burns tunes. He has a beautiful voice and was accomanied by an acoustic guitar and mandolin.

Jacquie and I very much enjoyed the evening. It was only slightly dampened by the disco music and loud banging base coming from the main room in the legion. I really don't know why they couldn't turn the music down? Anyway, Jacquie and I had a wonderful time. The ceremonies were interesting, the food good and the entertainment exceptional.

Baker Lake

While I was travelling from Repulse Bay to Rankin Inlet before Christmas, I had a stop over in Baker Lake.

Baker Lake, is a hamlet of about 1800 located 320 km inland from Hudson Bay, it is near the nation's geographical centre, and is notable for being the Canadian Arctic's sole inland community.

In 1762, Captain Christopher of the Hudson's Bay Company sailed up Chesterfield Inlet and named the Lake for Sir William Baker, one of the Governors of the Company.

The Hudson's Bay Company established the first trading post in the region on the island called Ookpiktuyuk, southeast of the present community. In 1924, a post was built at the present site, and both the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches built missions nearby in 1927. In 1936, the HBC moved their post to a site near the current airport. They operated the post out of the building that is now the Vera Akumalik Visitor Centre. People began to congregate around the missions.

During the 1950's, when caribou were scarce and starvation threatened, the government moved people from their inland camps to Baker Lake. Six traditional groups of people now live in Baker Lake. They remember and have preserved many of their traditions of the past. Currently 91% of the population are aboriginal.

Also, Baker Lake is well known for its arts and craft community. Distinguished artists and studios promoting arts and crafts, such as the Inuit Heritage Centre, the Jessie Oonark Centre, and well-established independent art galleries are assets to the community's arts and craft industry.

Baker Lake also has a huge natural resource industry, which has a significant impact on the economic development of Baker Lake. The development of the Meadowbank gold deposit, has already created numerous local jobs. In fact, many workers are flown in on a two week cycle from Arviat, Rankin Inlet and yellowkniffe indicating that even more opportunities are available in town and at the mine site, approximately 70 kms from Baker Lake.

Although my stay in Baker Lake was only a few hours I very much enjoyed it. The community and people are friendly and welcoming.

The only other thing that I did notice about Baker Lake is that it was very cold. The temperature while I was there was -55C with the wind chll.

Thank you Baker Lake for your hospitality. :-)

Giving up our Storage Locker

Prior to moving to Iqaluit, Jacquie and I rented a storage locker. This allowed us to store a lot of the furniture, books, and miscellaneous stuff from our property at 30 Broadway.

When we purchased our new property at 7 Broadway (see previous blog) we had a place to store all of our stuff

So a bunch of our wonderful friends helped us remove all the stuff from the storage locker put it on Dean's Trailer, in the back of Scott's and our car and take it to 7 Broadway. Thanks to all of those who helped us on moving day!

We then took all of the stuff that was stored in the storage unit and placed it in the crawl space at the new house. A lot of work that was made easier by the many hands that helped.

The other wonderful advantage of having the new house is that our little RIO is also stored there.

Thanks again for all of your help; Dean, Bonnie, Scott and Donald. You guys rock!