hike at Slyvia Grinnell Park

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On Saturday I went for a walk with another new buddy, Denise. We took a cab to the start of the Sylvia Grinnell Park trail and then proceeded to walk and talk and take pictures. Michael works on Saturday's so I was happy to have somebody to get outside with on another sunny warm day. The temperature was about 14 or 15 degrees C. The ice had not completely left the river and saw some people were on the ice along the shore fishing. The tide does come up to the mouth of the river and helps clear some of it. When the sun shone on the ice it was a beautiful icy blue colour that only sunshine could give it. Denise and I found many holes where lemmings and birds had been nesting among the rocks. And the flowers were starting to show there beauty after only a few days of warm weather. As we walked we did come across various things like bits of bones, carcasses, fur and feathers. In fact I actually got a picture of a white fox skull. We followed the river for a few kilometres before deciding to head back toward Iqaluit along the road which was parallel to the airstrip. It was a very long walk but well worth it. It is so nice to get outside and breath the clear fresh air and see this year's flora amongst the tundra.

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Photos

Slyvia Grinnell Park
sign at the park

people fishing
these guys are fishing on the ice along side the river but at the mouth where the river and ocean meet, pretty dangerous when the tide is coming in!

Arctic flora
Arctic Willow

an inukshuk
this inukshuk is facing toward Frobisher Bay

bird and lemming tunnels or nests
we found these along our walking trail and lots of them. If you get too close to a nest the birds really raise a rucus!

buttercups
the yellow the these buttercups are startling to the eyes against the tundra

a plane coming into Iqaluit
this plane landed on the airstrip near where we were walking on our way back to town.

view looking toward Frobisher Bay
at the mouth of the Slyvia Grinnell River

a pond
there are lots of little ponds on the land formed by the snow run off..

feathers
we came across these while we were taking pictures

my new walking buddy
Denise

I think this once may have been a birds nest
the snow buntings love to nest along the bank in amongst the rocks

a couple of more fishers
I actually knew one of these people from 14 years ago, Scott, he used to work in the same office as Michael

white fox skull
the reason we can identify this one is because the rest of the carcass was nearby

campers
we came across these campers a little ways up the river

another little pond on the way
later on in the season there will probably be some arctic cotton growing along the edge of this pond