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.