At least it's warm out (-5C)...

...but that pesky 50cm of snow that has fallen since last night isn't too much fun.




(posted by Jeff)

Picture Perfect

We booked most of our flights! I'll be spending a few days in Toronto and Sarnia (where I grew up) before meeting Jeff in Halifax. I have 9 days in Ontario as I'm flying down May 10 and meeting Jeff on May 19 (Jeff is coming from Iqaluit for a work thing). I'm really, really excited to see my friends and family.

We'll be back in Rankin for June 17 which makes this the longest vacation in human history. The way we see it is we've gone much longer without going on vacation than everyone we know. We've been here since August and we haven't gone on a single vacation so if that doesn't warrant a month-long vacation, I don't know what does.

Yesterday we tried to go fishing with some friends but it didn't quite work out. We were unable to find a hole to use and we didn't have the right equipment to dig a hole in less than 12 hours, ha. We ended up going on a drive on the land and on the northern side of the inlet and it was enjoyable. We hadn't been up the road since the fall and it was great to see the land again.

Anyway, we were able to take some awesome photos. We really like them, and I think they're my favourite photos we've taken, so enjoy...


Searching for a hole in the ice on Landing Lake. There are cottages around the lake, which is what you see in the background. I love this photo!


Two dog teams did a few laps around the lake, presumably for some qablunaat.


Attention Ford employees: we are willing to sell you this photo. Hahaha...


A Bombadier bringing some stuff back, possibly from Chesterfield Inlet, or possibly just their cabin. I want to ride on one of these so bad.


A polar bear. You can see the gunshot hole in its shoulder.


This muskox has been across the street from the Sugar Rush for a few weeks now.


Close-up muskox head details.

(posted by Jaime)

I did take photos!

Hah... and Jaime says I'd never get photos of Chesterfield Inlet:



I missed some great photos coming into town, but checked my camera and couldn't take anything. This is the Chesterfield Inlet Airport.



The doors of smaller airports in this region have walk-in-cooler (or fridge) doors on them which I find kind of amusing.



This is a photo of the edge of town. I went to get a pop at what I thought was the Northern, and an older man indicated that the Northern was way across town, so I went thirsty all day until I got back to Rankin.



This is the tail end of a Calm Air Cargo plane that left before us. I really wanted to take a picture of the vintage bird I was flying in (A Fairchild Merlin IIIA? ca. 1970?), but checked my camera before it came in!

(posted by Jeff) (with Jaime's help in the photo department)

Spring has Sprung

Look at that weather! I'm not sure why I'm inside right now, because it feels amazing outside. Everytime I take a deep breath of fresh spring air, I half-expect to look up and see flowers and trees. I don't typically miss the foliage I'm accustomed to; I believe this is only the second time I've missed trees (and flowers). The first time was when fall started. I had my mom send me up some orange maple leaves which our cat promptly ate.

Nothing overly exciting has been going on with us lately. We recently bought an ATV from our friend who just moved back to St. John's (hi Christine!). We're anxious to take it out and go for a drive. It's supposed to be nice this weekend too, so if we don't take the ATV out, I'd like to drag my bike out and ride around.

Jeff has booked his vacation and a plane ticket from Iqaluit to Ottawa, since he will be in Iqaluit for a work trip at the beginning of our vacation. My own plans are still up in the air. I had originally planned to fly to Toronto at the beginning of May (before meeting Jeff in Halifax for the start of the actual vacation part), but my employment status (or lack thereof) might be changing shortly. I have a few possible jobs lined up, but nothing confirmed in any way. It's frustrating not knowing exactly when I'm going to be leaving. It doesn't leave me with much to look forward to, ha.

I'm almost done college. I have 7 class days left and I'm pretty happy about it. I'm eager to finish and start working. I finish my Simply Accounting course on April 20th and I think our Hamlet Days start April 21st. I'm looking forward to the games and things.

Anyway, Jeff was in Chesterfield Inlet today and meant to take photos, but I just noticed the camera is sitting on the desk. That's the second time he's done that when going there. Maybe we're just not meant to have photos of Chesterfield Inlet.

The sun has been setting later and later these days, as it's supposed to. It doesn't get dark until 9-ish and I absolutely love it. Jeff has different feelings about it, though, and so I somehow consented to having foil put on our bedroom window (he must have asked me while I was asleep, because the sun in the bedroom doesn't bother me).

I think that's everything from us. In blogging news, I plan to set up an FAQ soon so people can consult it to answer their questions about moving here. We've had an influx of emails lately and I think an FAQ would be more helpful.

(posted by Jaime)