Travel Day

Well today we just relax and let the other guys do the driving. The current snow storm here at home has caused the "bus" to arrive another half hour earlier. So now it's a 3:45 a.m start.

The good news is the day will be full of challenges...Westjet to Winnipeg departs Toronto 08:35 and arrives locally at 10:15. Calm Air departs Winnipeg 14:45 and arrives at Churchill, then on to Arviat and finally Rankin Inlet at 19:30 Central time. I have people waiting at the airport for me...that is if the weather holds and everything continues on as scheduled.

As the crow flies....approximate distances:

Toronto Winnipeg 1500 km
Winnipeg Churchill 1000 km
Churchill Arviat 260 km
Arviat Rankin 200 km

Very few crows fly north this time of year!

The bad news is it's a long day ahead...but I'm packed and raring to go. Also I willl miss all the college bowl games going on this week...don't know what kind of tv programming is seen there. Is there a video rental or movie theatre or local Legion?

Only time will tell.... and also this site.

Let the games begin!

Happy New Year! Its' 2008 already... and, well, its only 2 years now until Vancouver and Whistler host the world for the 2010 games. The olympics will be here before we know it. The olympic coins are now starting to become circulated. I think I got a Marion Bedard quarter in my change the other day.

The bags are ready to be sealed. A repacking of the "Rough Neck" occurred this a.m. It's quite amazing how you can combine the contents of one box into another and reduce the volume (but not the weight). The top fits on and will be duct taped and tie wrapped before the airbus arrives tomorrow. The was an accomplishment in itself. Any fluids are double sealed in freezer style baggies to reduce their flow on thaw. We'll see how it ships.

So my winter games are only 24 hours away from the official opening. In the meantime enjoy the rose parade and any college bowl games...oh and buffalo has got some sort of outside hockey game today...suppposed to be a classic. Happy 2008 and in february be prepared for that extra day this year.

SO....LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Final Preps

What have I forgot? What is the first thing I'll have to buy since I left it:
a. on the counter.
b. in the fridge.
c. at the store.
d. forgetting that I might need it.

I don't know but today was a swirl...The two tins of tim hortins decaf (I may need it for trade) was purchased minutes before they closed for the next 24 hours. Everything that's semi fluid is packed in baggies should they freeze (yeah right as though that might happen!) and split. Thank goodness for Rubbermade Rough Necks..the north apparently lives on them! Mine needs to be repacked in the a.m. adding the final touches and the rest goes in my suitcase.

This will be interesting...the 4 a.m. niagara airbus pickup wed morning...Can I lift it? Will the airlines accept it? What happens if they don't? I've thought of everything...And anything I can't take I can always purchase at the local Hudson's Bay Trading Post..if they have one...I don't know if they still take pelts...and the are no beavers in the far north...so trapping is out...I have been told that the grocery store takes Visa, though. It's the only place you can buy fresh meat, walk home and defrost it for three days. Today was to be sunny...so it may not have happened.

A few last minute things to add to the collection. The lists are getting worn out and the mind is starting to blurr a little...in the meantime enjoy the new years celebrations....2008 is just around the corner. Talk to you tomorrow.

Getting Psyched

Getting ready for this adventure has been one of balancing the holiday season, work obligations and family time. The good news is that its almost here and the anticipation is something I can't explain. It's long been a hope to see the arctic and get north to the arctic circle. I'll be slightly south of the circle but in the arctic under arctic conditions. They should promote that in those travel ads.

Looking over lists and making sure everything is located, purchased and prepped to go has kept me (and my wife.. thank you) quite busy. There are only a couple of other things to get and then the packing can begin.

Are there enough clothes? Any time we travel, we usually travel heavy. This time it's heavy duty. The boots, the gloves, and the facemask make up only the shell of what's needed. There's almost three weeks to consider. I know what the accomodations consist of but what food to bring (I'll get to that at a later date)?

The good news is that I will speak (at least part) of the language of the area. The currency is familiar and they accept Canadian "AT PAR" which is very important when you live in a border town. They count and measure in metric and the weather reports sound quite familiar except for the proliferation of minuses on each report.

In less than 72 hours I'll be travelling. It will be a new year and new experience for sure. I'll keep you posted.

NO PASSPORT NEEDED

Heading off to an adventure in your own country requires some planning. I've only had three weeks on this one... and with the christmas season, well it' s been hectic. The good news is for this trip I won't need my passport.


I got a new one about three years ago. We both needed new ones. So long before this current wave of rush and stand in line processing that we currently have, we applied for our renewals(now you can get credit for those previously held). They arrived and we went on a cruise to the mediterranean...Barcelona to Rome with 4 countries involved. Each way we flew into Heathrow with Toronto as our start and finish. Inspections and security were tight all the way, remember Italy was prepping for the Torino Olympics.

Last May we were fortunate to travel through the Panama canal on a cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver, with air travel starting in Buffalo and ending in Toronto. Total country involvement was 5 (including three inspections in various parts of the US). It wasn't until we arrived in Vancouver than the Canadian Immigration people noticed that our passports had never been signed. That quick observsation caused us to changed our ways. We used our pens and signed them there.


Now going to Rankin Inlet, I won't need a passport. For this trip I'm not taking mine. I don't think security will be as tight for people going that far north in early January. Instead, just in case, I'm taking my Costco card.

SNOW DAYS

I got thinking the other day about school life in Nunvut. The thoughts came to me after a local school board was criticized for not declaring a snow emergency or "snow day". They did not close their schools for the day due to inclement weather. Here in Niagara we had about 14 inches of blowing snow over a 24 hour period starting late saturday night. By monday morning, most major roads were groomed...many side streets were not. The school buses were slowed and the Buffalo news told us they had "school bus delays".

My questions start with how do the kids in Rankin Inlet get to school...walk, snowmobiles, quads, sleds, taxis, buses, limousines? I don't know if they have school buses especially in the smaller settlements. Who determines if they have a snow day or is every day treated as one? Maybe they have "wind chill factor" days instead. Perhaps they don't change their habits at all and just continue on as a normal occurrence of life in the "north".

The same thing happens with their air transport system. "Weathering" is a term used to describe the fact that "we ain't going nowhere today". We are going to hunker down and when the weather breaks, then we fly out.

Remember the stories your parents told you about walking ten miles to school in the dead of winter with three foot drifts when milk was 5 cents a quart with a half cup of cream on the top?
Maybe some of this still goes on in certain regions of the country(although I have been told not to expect milk or any groceries to be cheap by any means).

The weather is expected to be sunny for the entire weekend in Rankin Inlet but the wind chill makes it a balmy -51C. It's a good thing school is out for christmas break...no one needs to make the decision on closing them.

AIR MAIL?

The code for the Rankin Inlet Airport is YRT. The town code in air mail language is a very difficult word. “XO CO GO” although Canada Post would prefer you to write it as X0C 0G0. (Just don’t send the Lemon Meringue Pie…and frozen Daiquiris are not welcome at this time of the year either). Cash transfers are however allowed…I just don’t know how YET!

Rankin Inlet, or Kangiqtiniq (“deep bay/inlet” in Inuktitut) is the business and transportation hub of the Kivalliq region. At this time of the year the port depth remains a mystery as the ice is covering. I have yet to find a webcam live feed from the area…perhaps the lens gets iced.

That being the case, the weather forecast for the next few days is quite pleasant….sunny(from 9:44 to 14:34). The moon rises at 18:22 and sets at 11:32. There is now a link available on this blog for the current weather forecast. The wind and temperatures are something else indeed.

Getting there:
Flights to Rankin Inlet are operated by First Air and Canadian North on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It is possible to reach Rankin Inlet in one day from either Ottawa/Montreal--via Iqaluit, or Edmonton/Calgary--via Yellowknife. Kivalliq Air operates flights every day of the week except Saturday from Winnipeg to Rankin Inlet, with a stop in Churchill; Calm Air flies to Rankin Inlet from Monday to Saturday, with stops in Churchill and Arviat. First Air flies directly from Winnipeg to Rankin Inlet on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
As you can see "Getting there is half the fun".

Did You Know?

• The smallest commercial aircraft flying out of Rankin Inlet, NU is a PL2 with 9 seats.
  


• Rankin Inlet, NU has 54 flights departing per week for short haul destinations.
  


• Rankin Inlet, NU has 2 medium sized aircraft departing each week.
  


• The largest aircraft flying out of Rankin Inlet, NU is a 737 with 122 seats.

A WEEK AWAY

The adventure begins next Wednesday. Only seven more sleeps as my niece would say as she counted down to Santa’s arrival yesterday.

The weather continues to be a main question. Will the air be as dry as they say? How much snow actually falls or does it just blow in the wind? The temp here at home is currently hovering around 0 and they predict a high today of +5 (a far cry from last weeks howling storm that dropped about 14 inches which was good prep for me!)

Unlike our snow here which is usually wet (and great for snowballs and packing), apparently the snow there is more granular like course beach sand. It drifts so I am told. I’ll let you know.

My wife’s concern is my keeping warm. My outside clothing, I hope, will meet the need. A goose-down coat with hood and thinsulate face mask. A balaclava that looks like it came from the nights of the roundtable. Thinsulate gloves that fit inside big wind mitts. Overpants to break that wind and those black Sorel boots…good to minus 60F (-52C). I will probably take a half hour just to dress for work in the morning.

New flannel shirts, some long johns with high tech design, and a new fleece jacket complete the outfit. Will it be enough? Only time will tell. There are still more questions racing around in my head. They will have to wait. It’s Boxing Day here in Canada and I’m at the store til 6. Those gifts cards will be burning holes in peoples pockets!

It's Christmas Day!

It’s been a busy day…stuffing the “big bird”… and getting it into the oven. The tables and chairs are set to go…the family arrives within the hour. I have a moment to think about what those in the north are doing this a.m. What will it be like in the north?

At this moment, we have daylight in Niagara and there is none (at this time of day) in Rankin. There are no trees to speak of, so I ‘m told, and the bays are currently frozen. Will there be a snow goose in the oven today, a roast of caribou, or perhaps an Arctic char. Is this day celebrated at all?

The jolly big man with the red suit is just a neighbour…a local telephone call. Perhaps that’s why he lives there. Maybe it’s no special day to those in the north. What if he enjoys that anonymity? Maybe the folks living near the North Pole consider him just another person with a job to do…albeit, one who changes the attitudes of many in southern climes for a short time.

His sled is pulled by some reindeers instead of dogs or that more recent invention called a snowmobile. I think in the name of economy Santa is a smart guy…He’s been “green for years”. What with the price of gas down here hovering at a buck a litre…what will it be there? Do they get a break because they have to order in March for the delivery by the great sealift when the sun becomes stronger and the ice breaks? Do they get the same price locked in for a whole year?

What happens when the stocks get low in April and May? Are there gas stations and do they compete with price wars if they have a surplus in order to empty their storage tanks in anticipation of their annual delivery? What are the road systems like? Do they plow or just drive on top as needed?

There is lots to find out about and lots to do today before everyone gets here. So I must leave now and say I hope your Christmas is Merry. As Tiny Tim once said “God bless us everyone”.

No TIM's for you !

There is a certain feeling at Christmas which is quite different from those at New Years...At New Years, we are often thinking of the hopes and dreams that lay ahead or the year having recently closed. Christmas, though is a time for family, friends good food and sharing…Last night was Christmas Eve and after church, we shared good food and caught up on what was new and old since the last gathering.

The wide eyed anticipation in a child’s eyes as she prepares Santa’s plate, not forgetting those “reinders” as well. Oft times, our own childhood is seen through the eyes off a child and we remember Christmas’s from our past.

Travelling home we passed a few Tim Horton’s that were “dark” as they say on Broadway. It’s eerie to think that the entire nation will be deprived of their “double doubles” for a full 38 hours…worldwide. From the North Eastern States in the US to all ten provinces and two territories they are closed until 6 a.m. on Boxing Day. That is everywhere except Kandahar and Nunavut.

Now we all have heard that there’s a Tim Horton’s in Kandahar (their drive through must be interesting…wide enough for a troop carrier yet constantly checking the state of their
garbage pail and that laneway for IED’s). Nunavut is a different story however. As Canada’s newest territory, they have nun…..er none. You heard it here!!!! There is not a Tim’s in Rankin Inlet nor in their territorial capital of Iqualuit. Neither has Whale Cove or any other town or settlement up in that part of the Arctic. I’m doing my part, though, by taking a couple of tins of Fine Grind to the north with me. I’m afraid they won’t sell me their frozen doughnuts to take….something about quality control….and the fact that the local Mounties may confiscate them as contraband.

So here’s to our troops stationed around the world and especially those gals and guys serving proudly in Afganistan. Keep safe…we are enjoying the fruits of your labours as we have for generations. While some may not agree with the deployment, your efforts help to “keep the true North strong and free” as we sing so often, eh?

Merry Christmas to all. Your local Tim’s opens at 6 a.m. tomorrow and remember that they also close early New Year’s Eve…so stock up.

Reactions are Mixed...am I surprized?

The reaction to my announcement of this adventure is, to say, MIXED as you can imagine. The support is still strong at home...and also at the store...but there it varies slightly...one person thought I had stood up too quickly and the blood had never returned to the brain...but they were pleasant about it. Another was eager to hear all about it. Several have mixed thoughts...and one co-worker when I told him the news asked me if I had lost a bet to someone.
Many have suggested medical treatment for obvious reasons...also in a nice way.

Although its supposed to be +4C here at home today and it is the first day of winter officially...the longest day of the year in this hemisphere. At the Arctic Circle the sun should be below the horizon all day long. There will be light there but no direct sun...that's the official version for "the land of the midnight sun" for the summer solstice at least

I'll be at 62°48'56.06"N Latitude but still about 4 degrees south of the Arctic Circle with Longitude as 92° 4'55.09"W. Get those globes out or visit (http://earth.google.com/) and put the world in perspective as they say. This is a far cry from our house at 43°37"01.83' North Latitude and 79°07'15.78"West Longitude in Niagara.

The closest settlement that I can find so far is Whale Cove to the southwest about 80 kilometers. We are approximately 400 kilometers south of the famous Distant Early Warning (or DEW) Line Early warning system established in the fifties during the tensest part early in the cold war. In fact Dewline Line Radar sites CAM-D and CAM 3 are almost due North. Many interesting photos about its history and construction are available here http://www.lswilson.ca/cam3.htm Check it out. For the whole story http://www.lswilson.ca/dewline.htm It was officially working fifty years ago. I was seven at the time...ouch.

So where is this "RANKIN INLET?"

Located in Canada's newest territory (NUNAVUT) on the western shore of Hudson's Bay, the hamlet or village known as Rankin Inlet, thanks to wikipedia, is:

The town was founded by the owners of the Rankin Inlet Mine, which produced nickel and copper ores there between 1957 and 1962 from an underground operation. The mine was the first case of Inuit miners in Canada. Since the mine closed several attempts to develop an alternate source of income for the town were unsuccessful. These included a pig ranch in 1969 and a chicken raising venture in the 1970s. Both animals were fed a diet of local fish which unfortunately gave the meat an unpleasant flavour. It was also common for the animals to freeze to death or be eaten by polar bears.[2]

As of the 2006 census the population was 2,358 an increase of 8.3% from the 2001 census.[3]

The hamlet has a land area of 20.24 km² (7.8 sq mi). The community is served by the Rankin Inlet Airport, and by annual supply sealift.

Rankin Inlet can be known by several different names (Inuktitut: Kangiqiniq; or Kangirliniq, meaning deep bay/inlet) is an Inuit hamlet in Nunavut, Canada. The 2008 Rand McNally Road Atlas shows a new name of Kangiqsliniq, but its status as official is not known. It is on the western Hudson Bay and is the regional centre for the Kivalliq Region.

How it Began!

So the whole thing began about two weeks ago when I got a phone call at the camera store (where I now work part time) asking if I was still interested in doing a locum for the xray tech in Rankin Inlet. I still do relief work here in the city on occassion for one of the local clinics (I retired from the hospital about 2 years 8 months ago but who's counting ??). Prior to that I had a couple of xray grads go there to work for a short time. More about that later.

January is usually a slow month in retail after the christmas season so I jumped at the chance. It's always been a dream to visit the Arctic...probably more so lately...when there is so much talk about what is going on there longterm.

My wife has been very supportive of me in this venture...truthfully....making sure I have the appropriate winter gear and clothing to keep me warm. She does, however, keep asking me "Don't you know anyone who runs a clinic in Bahamas, Bermuda, Florida or Mexico?" So that she also experiences some of the joys I have actively been clearing the freezer for her. We'll see if she tries it!

Winter camping as a teenager was an experience...staying overnight in a tent with the wind whipping around and the sleeping bag somewhat frozen in the morning. My cold feet were something else. We didn't know to dress in layers in those days...we just kept piling the clothes on until we were.

My other coldest experience came at this time of the year. After school, I worked at a small grocery store, Eke's Meat Market on Queenston Street across from the hospital and delivered groceries on a bicycle. Two doors up was Fosters' Ice Cream...Bob and Mae Ewart ran the place and I can remember those free Ice Cream Bars that were being hand made down in the production area. It's forty years since this happened but that Christmas I was sent to help sort and label the frozen turkeys that we kept temporarily in Foster's huge walkin freezer before the customers picked up their ordered birds. It was cold..my ears were tingling even with a toque and the heavy coats worn by the ice cream staff. By the way, Foster's had the best Black Raspberry Milkshakes that were ever made...nothing today compares.

Plans Finalized

I am a Medical Radiation Technologist from Ontario. I have agreed to do a locum for three weeks in Rankin Inlet Nunavut at the local medical centre there.

Apparently, the travel is being finalized and as of today I leave January the second for almost three weeks in the Arctic. Don't know all the details yet but am awaiting the ticketing info.

Have been watching the weather of late, here's a link:
http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/71083.html

You'll notice that the sun rises this time of year at about 9:30 a.m. and sets at 2:15...and the temp on the weekend was a high of 24 C and a low of 28C ...the minus this time of year is understood.

My boots are good to minus 60F...so they will be tested. This is the arctic with Global Warming...what did it used to be like?

The research so far shows that the native people have very little calcium from their diet but extreme muscle mass....should prove interesting for my xray images.