Survivor Ellesmere

I was meant to fly to Eureka yesterday, but two things stood in my way. First off, the fog Saturday had meant that the plane from Yellowknife couldn't make it in, meaning the new station manager wasn't here. Second, shortly after he did get here yesterday afternoon, the fog rolled in again, so we couldn't take off. So, here I am, yet again, in Resolute, waiting for a plane. The rumour yesterday was that we'd leave today, and I am anxiously awaiting a phone call telling me we're going to the airport. I just woke up, and I'm hesitant to go downstairs, because I don't want to know if we're being delayed even more. The skies are finally somewhat sunny here, but Environment Canada is telling me light rain in Eureka. Yesterday, this meant fog. Okay, today I am anxious to leave Resolute.

Yesterday was a fun bonus day here with Deb. We went for two walks, one accompanied by the hotel's dog, Nanook. (Who wouldn't pose for this picture.) We walked over to the river, which is also where the kids swim. Now maybe the water is warmer in July, but my hand just about froze off in the thirty seconds it was in the water. Those kids have higher cold tolerence than I. (Which I suppose isn't all that surprising since they live in Resolute!) Nanook is the best trained dog I've ever encountered, which may be the difference between city dogs and hamlet dogs. We let him off the leach, and he stuck close to us the whole walk, running off to pee on things, but returning to us at a breakneck pace. If we stopped for too long to take pictures he would come and bark at us until we started moving again. It was almost like we were being herded. The only trouble he gave was when we chained him up again when we got back. Our second walk was more like a trek, as we walked along the shores of the bay out towards the airport. There are thule rings out there, which we didn't find, but we did stumble across the graveyard. If you didn't know, I really like graveyards. They're always peaceful, and I like reading the tombstones. No stones in Resolute, only white crosses with plaques of varying degrees of weathering. It was still very nice, the graveyard is on a ridge over looking the water. A nice place to end up.

One of the things I like about traveling to Eureka is how long it takes. It reminds you that you're going far, far away from the beaten path, and that there are still remote places in the world. But this is getting ridiculous. Three nights in Resolute? I am ready to get to Eureka and start working!