two more sleeps till we are B.C. bound!

We are very lucky because our weather has been pretty warm over the last couple of weeks. The temperature actually reached 14C the other day. But I have to say that we have had a couple of cooler/cold days when the north wind blows. The mosquitoes actually hung in there until about a week ago. When Michael and I were walking out at the park the mosquitoes loved us. Luckily at the very last minute before leaving for our hike I threw my mosquito jacket/hood in my pack and Michael put the bug spray in his pack. I was very happy to put on the jacket because there wasn't a lot of wind to help us get rid of the blood thirsty varmints!!!! We walked around the park and then went over to the falls on the Sylvia Grinnell River where Inuit of all ages were snagging the arctic char at the mouth of the river and the sportfishers were fishing with lures just outside the 25 yard boundary. It looked like everyone was successful in catching some nice sized char. They weighed 2 - 3 pounds and up but the only thing Michael and I found to feed us were the berries, which were plentiful along our walk. Blueberries, blackberries/crowberries and bearberries which we had to pick by running the back of our hand flat aqainst the ground and pull upwards with our fingers clasp together or we had the option to pick at them daintily from the top (a very time consuming task). I thought they were quite thirst quenching but it would take a long time to satisfy our appetites. The fall colours are starting to come along with the colder weather too. It is so very beautiful out on the land at this time of year.

Last weekend Michael and I walked about 2 kilometers from our place to see Iqaluit's very first Air Show. (see pics) We had a few government dignitaries, namely Peter Mackay from Ottawa and a couple of our local territorial leaders too. The main focus of the show was promoting northern sovereignty. (The armed forces, the navy and the air force were all here these past several weeks and during Stephen Harper's and his cabinet's visit to Iqaluit.) It was really interesting talking to the various pilots of all the different aircraft. My favourite was the CF18, Canada's fighter jet. Each jet costs a staggering 43 million dollars to build. The pilot of this particular aircraft was only 30 years old but obviously very competent. Each person that we spoke to was very friendly and full of information and answered all of our questions so we learned alot about the aircraft that were on display. It was quite a cold day to stand around looking and talking about aircraft so I was very happy that I had decided to wear my long underwear for the first time since being back in the Arctic. Now I was feeling more at home. heh! heh!

I am sure I/we will be getting out for a couple of more walks before we leave on Friday but I/we have had a great summer in one of Canada's beautiful arctic communities. I feel very blessed to be up here once again and look forward to perhaps returning next spring/summer. Bye for now, see you when we get back home! Thank you again for all your notes, letters and comments on the blog, I really looked forward to hearing from you. Love Marj and Michael too!

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