Tuesday, May 26, 2009

-10.6˚C, cold with wind chill.

 

“If you go out to the dump today

You’re sure of a big surprise.

If you go out to the dump today

It’s not only swarming with flies.

 

For every grizzly that lives around here

Will gather there and cause lots of fear,

Yesterday was the day we saw grizzlies having a picnic.”

 So, Graham and I will never go to Deanna and Dave’s without a camera again. Last time it was a spur-of-the-moment road trip to Tsiigehtchic, this time…grizzly bears! BUT, the good news is that on the way to where we saw the bears we stopped at our place to get our camera, thus we have photos.

 They had us over for a barbeque on their deck. Should have been wearing sunscreen, the sun was so hot out there. I worked this morning so didn’t want to stay too late. Graham, Deanna and Dave all work at the pool, so their days off are Monday’s and Tuesdays. Mine are Saturday, Sunday. Point being, I always end up staying up too late when I work the next morning.

 Around nine they drove us home, but mentioned a sheltered spot at the dump where people leave things that can be taken by anyone (one man’s trash is another man’s treasure type place). The dump is where you hear that bears hang out, so I grabbed our camera just in case. They laughed at that point; who’s laughin’ now..

 We see someone we know at the ‘golf course’ on the way, so pull over to take a few shots on the ‘green’. They’re working on planting grass, but people are already golfing there.

To the dump we go. Not much to be found for treasure, so we walk toward the dump part just to stay in the sun a bit longer.

 “There’s one!” a fair maiden says in a lovely voice. (It was me.) Oh yes, there he was. A great big grizz-a-ly bear. Naturally, my first reaction was to run…closer…but, Deanna and Graham growled at me (like bears). So, I walked closer instead. They’ve got all that dump food, they don’t want fresh meaty humans.

 We were so happy that we had the camera. With the long lens, we certainly got closer with that than we could physically. Darn it. We did end up going closer than some of us (not me) would have liked, but he went back over the hill so we had to see if he was coming back.

This was so amazing to see this animal with nothing between us but space…not much of that either.

There are also rumours of a polar bear near town, but that’s still just a rumour, so who knows. I’ll go confirm that shortly. Just kidding, sort of.

The black birds in the photos are ravens, which are huge.

 The Grizzly Tamers,

Jen

 

Grizzly bear at Inuvik dump.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

More Olympic fever hit Inuvik this week. Canadian Olympic swimmer, Mike Brown, came to town for a couple of days. He spoke at both the elementary and high schools. He also got in the pool with the swim team for a couple of hours to work with them.

Afterward, in the community hall, there was a free supper where he spoke and showed videos and photos. Got an autograph, of course.

 Jen

Mike Brown - Canadian Olympic swimmer

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Yes folks, we did wake up to snow-covered ground this morning. A nice alternative to the mud, but it will prolong the mud afterward. Right now it's -3 and tomorrow it's calling for -9. We really were standing outside in t-shirts three weeks ago...

So we lost our furniture and dishes at the end of the month. We had taken the first month furnished and now are much emptier (the apartment, not our lives). 

To take advantage of the extra space, I bought us some badminton racquets and a birdie/shuttlecock (whichever one makes you laugh). We've improved our game immensely and do not miss the chesterfield and end tables. The pots and pans though, those were fun to have. For the time being we make a variety of meals in the frying pan we still have, shh. Oatmeal, spaghetti, anything really. 

Leanne tells me Graham and I could survive living in a cardboard box with nothing but each other...we're close to testing that theory sometimes.

Potless in Inuvik,

Jen

  

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

It’s a little chilly today, but the last couple of days a lot of people were down to t-shirts. It’s pretty muddy out there now with everything melting. We had the daycare kids out at the end of the day…sorry parents, but they love the puddles and mud! The snow is still really deep in some spots but super soft. Some kids have gotten pulled out by the fire department this week. They just drop and get stuck too deep over their waist.

Graham and I got to go cross-country skiing on Monday. Janet, another lifeguard, took us into the Inuvik Ski Club and got us fixed up with the skis, boots and poles. It was so warm that day. Graham wore a t-shirt and fleece but the fleece wasn’t on for long. I got a bit of colour on my face too! The ski club is right next to the road, which was funny because there we were in skis and then people would cycle by on the road, in shorts.

Jen suiting up.

Artsy boot shot. You're welcome Rossignol.

Jen waxing skis.

We met Janet there at 6pm and were out until almost 8:15. Still need sunglasses at that point here, which is great. She taught us some things before we hit the trails (that’s hip slang that only we seasoned skiers understand). She got us to walk with the skis on up a small incline, which Graham did well on, but I almost slid back down a couple times. After we went up, of course, we had to come back down. Snowplow in those conditions, when the snow is starting to melt, is tough to do. I made it down the hill okay…and this it where it all went downhill for Graham (huge pun intended). Didn’t think I could love the man more, but this day boosted it even higher!

Jen wobbling into skis.

I want you to think back to Goofy’s sports training cartoons and if you have never seen them, please look them up now. I laughed watching those cartoons, but this nearly killed me. This first practice slope was the start of many ups and downs on the trail.

First, the stance for the hills (cross-country, but some hefty declines on these trails):
a) legs apart about 4 feet
b) knees buckled in and wobbling slightly for balance.
c) left arm pointed in front with pole dragging behind.

d) right arm stuck straight out behind you with pole in air.

e) waist bent at 90 degree angle.
f) all the while, reassuring your fellow skiers: ‘I got it, I got it.’.
g) be sure to have a 2-fall minimum on each hill.

Pure solid gold. (full permission from my love to post these)

I didn't even see this fall until we were home that night. (I love you Graham.)

Second, standing still:
a) stand next to your wife waiting to go through the tunnel.

b) gently, fall across her skis from a completely stationary position.

The smile after the fall.

But we made it through.

Graham and Janet.

Third, being a good sport:
a) laugh at yourself with fellow skiers.
b) let your wife hold the camera at the bottom of each hill to film you.
c) let her laugh herself to tears and say you’ll go again next season.

The trail we took was 2.2km. We almost took another route, but we came up over a crest and looked downward, Graham and I convinced her to take us an easier way. There aren’t supposed to be crests of hills in cross-country skiing! Maybe next year, right Graham?

There's the stance we were looking for!

I tried my first yoga class on Saturday. I’ve been doing it off and on for a few years now but just at home on my own. There were no headstands or feet behind the head, so I made it through. I think his website is www.classic-yoga.com or .ca.

Until then,

Jen