Monday, March 12, 2007
So long to this cold cold part of the world
Here I am in Edmonton, my latest Eureka adventure almost officially over. I've been ignoring the blog for a few days, mostly due to the fact that I haven't really wanted to write about the fact that I'm on my way home. I get very attached to places, and it's hard to leave a place that has meant so much to me. I'm a different person than I was the first time I stepped off a plane in Resolute, and I like to think my time in Res and Eureka has been a driving force behind that. Eureka and PEARL have been good to me. But there's a bright side to this being my last trip - it means that next year at this time I'll be at least in the process of moving on, and although I have enjoyed my time in Toronto, it is time to leave it behind.
But enough sappy sentimentality! The cable to get my pictures off my camera is deep in my luggage somewhere, so you'll have to wait for pictures, but last night was my last night in Eureka and I spent it very fittingly. A few weeks ago Sal told me about the confluence project, which is a plan to visit all the points where longitude and latitude lines meet on the globe. Since Eureka is located right near 80N 86W, it seemed logical to visit while I was there. We actually cross both 80N and 86W every day on the drive to PEARL from the weather station, though not simulataneously, so it wasn't so long a trek. We headed out after dinner, and after a lot of walking around in circles, found the exact location. Someone has left a geocache there - it had a CD of pictures of the area, some pins, a notebook for us to sign, and now a CANDAC sticker, a Turkish flag, and Tobias' business card. It was pretty cool - albeit geeky - and soon I will submit my pictures to the authorities. To get there we had to drive up a road that is not the main road, and therefore not maintained in the winter. There were some pretty good snow drifts, and we got stuck in one at the top, but managed to push our way out. It meant we couldn't turn around though, so after a successful visit to the confluence point, we tried to back the truck down the hill back to the main road. Just as we got there, one of the wheels went off the side of the road, and after 15 minutes or so of spinning the tires and smelling burning rubber, we called for a tow. I feel this was appropriate for my last night in Eureka. We got back just in time for BINGO, where I had a net gain of 6$ on the night. It's because of my skills in selecting BINGO cards. No luck there at all.
Today we left Eureka in style - somehow the various organisations that require cargo up there managed to get us a 737 to fly (almost) direct from Eureka to Edmonton. We stopped in Resolute to refuel. It took much less time - about 5 hours from the time we left Eureka to landing in Edmonton. (As opposed to a 6 hour flight to Yellowknife and then a 1.5 hour flight to Edmonton.) We were crammed in - with all the cargo they needed to bring up they only had room for the exact number of seats we needed - but it was fun to have a chartered 737. That's just crazy. And to leave Eureka and to not have to worry about a long flight with no bathroom was nice too! Which brings me to Edmonton, and tomorrow if all goes well Toronto and home. To my full closet and my room to myself and vegetarian options and real sunlight and all the other things that I miss when I'm in Eureka. But no ... Eureka.
I'll update when I'm back home, and more pictures will eventually make their way on-line. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time I embark on an exciting adventure....
But enough sappy sentimentality! The cable to get my pictures off my camera is deep in my luggage somewhere, so you'll have to wait for pictures, but last night was my last night in Eureka and I spent it very fittingly. A few weeks ago Sal told me about the confluence project, which is a plan to visit all the points where longitude and latitude lines meet on the globe. Since Eureka is located right near 80N 86W, it seemed logical to visit while I was there. We actually cross both 80N and 86W every day on the drive to PEARL from the weather station, though not simulataneously, so it wasn't so long a trek. We headed out after dinner, and after a lot of walking around in circles, found the exact location. Someone has left a geocache there - it had a CD of pictures of the area, some pins, a notebook for us to sign, and now a CANDAC sticker, a Turkish flag, and Tobias' business card. It was pretty cool - albeit geeky - and soon I will submit my pictures to the authorities. To get there we had to drive up a road that is not the main road, and therefore not maintained in the winter. There were some pretty good snow drifts, and we got stuck in one at the top, but managed to push our way out. It meant we couldn't turn around though, so after a successful visit to the confluence point, we tried to back the truck down the hill back to the main road. Just as we got there, one of the wheels went off the side of the road, and after 15 minutes or so of spinning the tires and smelling burning rubber, we called for a tow. I feel this was appropriate for my last night in Eureka. We got back just in time for BINGO, where I had a net gain of 6$ on the night. It's because of my skills in selecting BINGO cards. No luck there at all.
Today we left Eureka in style - somehow the various organisations that require cargo up there managed to get us a 737 to fly (almost) direct from Eureka to Edmonton. We stopped in Resolute to refuel. It took much less time - about 5 hours from the time we left Eureka to landing in Edmonton. (As opposed to a 6 hour flight to Yellowknife and then a 1.5 hour flight to Edmonton.) We were crammed in - with all the cargo they needed to bring up they only had room for the exact number of seats we needed - but it was fun to have a chartered 737. That's just crazy. And to leave Eureka and to not have to worry about a long flight with no bathroom was nice too! Which brings me to Edmonton, and tomorrow if all goes well Toronto and home. To my full closet and my room to myself and vegetarian options and real sunlight and all the other things that I miss when I'm in Eureka. But no ... Eureka.
I'll update when I'm back home, and more pictures will eventually make their way on-line. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time I embark on an exciting adventure....
// posted by Annemarie @ 12:44 AM 
