Hello and thanks for sticking around!

I moved into my new unit on Tuesday this past week and still do not have internet or phone access from home. I am hopeful that will change in the next few days.

Iqaluit is great. I'll give you all the details soon.

I have arrived in Iqaluit safe and sound. Of course I have, it's barely a one hour flight. Moved into my new unit yesterday, details on that to come when I get internet access at home...sometime early next week.

Just had to let you know, that yes, it has been snowing. I walked to work with big fluffy flakes falling on me. The snow is not staying around yet, but it has arrived and there will be more to come.

Enjoy your warm temperatures back home and think of me in Iqaluit, trying to remember what box I packed my mittens in.

During this last week here in Pangnirtung I am having mixed emotions. Yes, I am happy to be moving to Iqaluit. Starting a new job is always exciting and I look forward to hanging out with my new friends. But, I will miss this community. In January they opened their hearts to me and their homes and I moved in. I will greatly miss the friends I have made and hope that they decide to come and visit me in my new home.

Pangnirtung. Home to about 1200 people. Home to me for 8 months. A truly unforgettable experience.

Here are a few more pictures from my last couple of weeks in Pang.


At a certain point during the day when the tide is changing from high to low the water takes on this very still quality and with the right conditions the whole town is mirrored in the fiord. Isn't this amazing...


Yes, darkness has once again come back to the North. It has been slowly coming back since the middle of July. Right now the sun starts to set around 8, but it isn't dark until around 9pm and then the sun rises starting at 3:30ish in the am. Every day we have 7 less minutes of daylight. The night I took this picture the entire sky was a pink hue. Everything took on the colour, the buildings, ground, people walking by...everything. You know how a sunset usually happens on the horizon and it seems far away...well, picture yourself standing on that horizon...actually in the sunset.


The annual fishing derby was held a couple weekends ago. With my record for catching fish I didn't enter. Probably for the best, the fish were not biting, but I had a good afternoon hanging out with friends from work and eating smoked char and blueberries. Great way to spend the day.



Taken at the waters edge in downtown Pang.


Low tide. The colours are truly incredible. The water is so clear you can see down quite far. It always makes me want to jump in...but I haven't....yet...


There is a dedication next to this for a gentleman who worked for the Hudson Bay Company for 45 years.


Just more shots from down on the beach near the wharf....entrance to park (end of fiord) in background.


The fish plant in town is a big employer and apparently sells really good, really cheap Arctic Char. I haven't been in yet...and probably won't be now. I've had lots of the fish though and it is very tasty. In my suitcases on Friday when I leave I am taking about 15 pounds of frozen caribou meat....yummy.


This is the local gas station. You go to the Co-op and pay for however many gallons you want (not litres) and they give you a slip. You come down to the gas station and give them the slip and they will fill up your gallon jugs. System works well and everyone who has a snowmobile, four wheeler or vehicle has the hours of the gas bar memorized.


Ali, I took this one just for you...the infamous Pangnirtung Hudson Bay Blubber station. It isn't a museum, just the empty buildings from not that long ago. Whaling is one of the reasons that Pangnirtung was first settled.


There are still signs in most towns showing the presence (at one time) of HBC.


Cruise Ship. It may not be carnival cruise lines, but there are a number of cruise ships that come in every year. I think they are planning on 9 for this year. The boats stay in the middle of the fiord and the passengers come in via zodiac. Some people wander around town, others go into the park to the Arctic Circle...depending on the amount of time they have. It is kinda funny to watch them walking around town...so easy to pick out from among the rest of us...and I don't mean because they aren't Inuks...it is just a way of dressing and an attitude that we seem to have when walking around town. I think that attitude came out pretty strong in me on one of my trips to Iqaluit...in what you would call a 'fancy restaurant' I sat there with my boots up on one of the other chairs...it isn't rude...it is a comfort level that you would never see down south.


Yep...I just can't seem to take enough shots of the fiord and the mountains around it. I will certainly miss the view when I move. I have never lived in a place of so much untouched beauty. I was speaking with a lady today who said..."Oh, PEI, how could you leave such a beautiful place for this?" I laughed and said that this was more beautiful...or just as beautiful...but in a different way.


Just more of that incredible mirror imaging.


And more...are you bored yet?


Like a few million diamonds sparkling in the sunlight.


Low tide in the harbour.


If you are still reading this post...wow and thanks. This is the second last picture....low tide.


I thought this picture was appropriate as one of my last images of Pang....I kinda see myself walking along the path and this is where it took me...where it ends up next...wait and see.

North of Nain is moving this weekend to Iqaluit. I will continue to post about my life there...which will be different than life in Pang has been, but still different from the life most of you live.

Yep, I'm a small town country girl hick. I like my tractors...and I like them big...or at least with a big engine in them. The more power the better...and hey, if they burn something other than just regular gas...all the better. If you've never been to a tractor pull, don't put your nose up until you've been. The roar of the engines the quiet clapping of the crowd, the cheesy comments from the announcers, the hamburgers and fries...it's all good. The excitment of the crowd as they watch and pull for the tractor and driver as they make their way slowly up the track...well, I like it.


And another tractor....


Yes, even lawn tractors particpate in the tractor pull.


Eager anticipation


Different styles of tractors...most of them have custom paint jobs and are named. This one is called The Resurrection.


There's lots of room for weights to be added to the front of this tractor.


There are many different classes of weights and tractors involved. Most tractors compete in a number of different classes, simply by adding more weight to the tractor.


Once the forward momentum stops, the flag man drops the green, puts up the red and that's the end of his turn. Using surveying equipment attached to the drag and at the end of the track they can see precisely how long the pull was.


Once a year Crapaud has a Truck 'n Tractor Pull...and once a year my dad and I go. We've been going for a number of years now...he seems to think it's a recent thing, I seem to recall it goes back a fair number of years. This is the drag. The tractors pull it down the track (300ft) or try to at least. The farther down the track the farther up the weight moves the harder it is to pull and the heavier it gets.


One of the modified trucks that also pull in the competitions.

The long road home....the subway takes about 40 minutes from downtown crossing (aka Filene's) to Braintree where I stayed.

I cheated...I did seperate posts for all of the pictures with very short descriptions. This post contains only images from the few days I was in Boston....coming up in the next few days, pics from the rest of my vacation...all two of them...and then we are back to Nunavut.


Entrance to Filene's Basement and the subway.


A terrible picture of my fav place to eat in Boston...Bombay Club....yes, even though it was 30+ degrees and the humidy hovered around 90+% I was eating the hottest, spiciest food I could find...and boy was it good.


The best lemonade can be had in Boston on almost any corner. A fresh squeezed lemon, a few tablespoons of sugar, water, mix together and shake over ice....yum!


I spent a lot of my time hanging out around the markets, people watching and enjoying all the free entertainment.


Quincy Market...the food, the fun, the people.


One of my favourite spots to head to in Boston....the Markets.


Connie...this picture is for you. Ah...the shoes. I bought this pair of absolutely adorable blue shoes...platform, raw blue silk, and nice beading across the toes....very fabulous...and one of only 10 pairs of shoes that I bought while on vacation.


One of the clocks outside Filene's...Filene's is closing, but Filene's Basement is still going strong and will not be closing. Thank goodness.


The Frog Pond. During the there are fountains in the Frog Pond and lots of kids playing. I was there early in the morning before the chaos arrived.


These cows were placed all over downtown Boston this summer...an art project of sorts. Each cow was given to a different artist and they all put their own spin on them. This cow was outside the Park Street subway stop.


Court house. It cost millions of dollars to build, but it sure boasts a great view of the harbour.


Just thought this made an interesting picture. I spent this particular afternoon wandering around the waterfront and then went to the Aquarium and an IMAX movie. The movie was great, the aquarium lacked a little.


Interesting display of boys...lol...buoys down at the Marina...North end of Boston.


A little hard to tell on here, but the big yacht has a jeep and a smaller speed boat on it...yep...some people have way too much money.


The Subway map for Boston. I stayed at the end of the line in Braintree...bottom right.

Lobster anyone?

Oh yeah in PEI the lobster is so plentiful that you can leave the traps out on the lawn and the lobsters just walk right up to them....don't I wish.

As most of you know, North of Nain spent part of her holidays back home in PEI with the folks. The following are some pictures from out in the country around where my mom and dad live.


The field next door...yup, thems potatoes.


If you walk to the end of the driveway and hang a left then go another couple hundred yards you will end up looking down this road....which after a number of other turns takes you to grammies. I took the picture fairly early in the morning and you can see the mist still hanging out the hills.


brown eyed susan's


mom and dad's house


lily


more lilies


close up of a holly hock


lily up close


cosmo's..again...upclose...yes, someone was playing with the digital zoom on their camera....

I hope to publish a few pics from my trip to Boston as well...maybe later today if I get around to it. I'm waiting for boxes to arrive from Iqaluit so I can pack up my belongings for the move. The boxes are due to arrive by plane in the next few days. Once I have finished packing I call the local contractor and he will come and drop everything off at the airport and given room and availablity my belongings will make the journey back to Iqaluit.

I don't have a new home yet. I was assigned a unit last week, but I rejected it based on its location. The housing allocation committee only meets once a week and I was hopeful that I would be assigned a unit this past Friday, but the committee decided not to meet. I may not find out if I have a unit until a couple days before I am due to fly out. If I don't have a unit right away my friend Linds has offered to take me in, but I'm hopeful that I will be assigned this Friday...I'd rather not have to live out of my suitcases.

It's Sunday morning and I have candles burning all around the house. The dump was set on fire Friday night and has been smoking most of the weekend. I left a window open last night and now my entire unit smells of smoke. It's a little disgusting and I've been kicking myself since I woke up...eh...not much to do know but wait...that and go make breakfast....

11 feet 7 inches and still growing...

Now that's impressive.


Sunflowers found in my parent's garden in Crapaud. They are almost 12 feet tall and stil growing...no flower yet.

One last look before leaving...

Monday saw us heading back towards the beginning of the Fiord to wait for our ride back to Pang. The day was great and the walking went much faster than on the way into the park. This is because it is all down hill and we knew we needed to get back in time to catch our boat or wait for the next tide.


So much to see and explore.

It would certainly be interesting to hike the entire park. It takes most people about 10 days. Obviously I would need to practice and get a little more fit, but still it would be an amazing experience.


Time for a rest

We were all pretty tired coming on the end of day 4 and rests were frequent, but short. Long enough to rest our backs and grab a sip of water.


From where we came, looking back along the trail.


Saying good bye. As we left the park I kept looking back, not wanting to forget a single minute of the trip. As we got closer to Pang a large dark mass was noticed in the water, it was a huge school of kaplin. So many fish that it turned the water black where they swam. And close behind a group of seals chasing them down for a meal. We chased the seals and watched them for as long as possible before they disappreared and we headed ashore.

It was close to 11pm, the sun was high in the sky and I went home feeling absolutely elated at the whole experience.

And so ends our trip to the park.

When we last heard from our fearless explorers they had just reached the Arctic Circle and were congratulation themselves on having reached this incredible geographical location....and they didn't stop there, they kept going till they reached a summit known as the 'rock garden'.

It's Saturday night at the rock garden. I'm exhausted and figure that if I had to walk one more step I would fall flat on my face...and so we set up camp, made supper and then fell into the tent and into a deep sleep.

Around 3am we awoke to loud rumbling noises and three heads poked out of the tent (picture golphers or groundhogs popping up out of the ground) anxious to see if we were about to be crushed by the rock slide occuring close by. Luckily it was not the mountain face that we slept under that was falling, in fact it was a small fall from across the river. The curvature of the mountains and the valley created an echoing effect.

At 3am in most parts of the world it is dark and the stars shine brightly. Above the Arctic Circle at the beginning of July the sunshines brightly. As I keep reminding everyone...I have been enjoying 24 hour daylight. (Allow me to enjoy...it is starting to get dark again...) You know how when you are camping it starts to get chilly just before dawn...well, as there is no dawn it doesn't get chilly. In fact sometime between 3 and 5 with the way the sun was shining down on our tent the heat inside became almost unbearable. The outerlayers of sleep clothes came off (but not all of them!) and the vents were opened as much as possible to allow the tent to cool down. Truly a first for me.

Camping up North provides a number of different challenges that I have never experienced before....I'm a down East girl and camping generally involves driving the car to your numbered spot that has the requisite electrical outlet, flat surface for tent, fire pit and picnic table. At some point during the night one gets up and walks down the lighted path to the flush toilets and in the morning enjoys a nice shower. A $19.99 tent from Canadian Tire and your Walmart sleeping bag are more than adequate. In the North where perma-frost exists, a good tent is a must as is a ground sheet. Inside the tent a mattress of some type is required and a good quality sleeping bag. The mattress helps to keep the frozen ground from freezing you during the night. And the trip to the girls room during the night involves a treck wearing sunglasses (and checking for polar bears), while one meanders down stream from the camp site and behind one of the many rocks that mark the landscape. There is no shower except to splash oneself from the stream with ice cold water...refreshing.

So, Friday night we landed in the park and spent the night. Day two we hiked about 13-14km to the 'rock garden' and pitched our tent. Day three we headed to a glacier across the river...see pictures below for day three.


Washing dishes...you shouldn't pollute the water in the park, dishwashing detergents are frowned upon (but not forgiven)sand makes a great cleaning agent. Swish a little sand around in the dishes and everything comes clean.


In the distance Thor. On the left is a HUGE rock. Above the shadow the rock goes up about another 10 feet. HUGE!


3am


One of the many rock garden images I took


A little greenery among the boulders


Our little tent amongst the big rocks. I took over 300 photos in 4 days...it was hard to show only a few


Crossing over the river to get to the glacier. The mountain at the end of the river (centre of pic) is Thor. An amazing mountain to look at.


The bridge is narrow and swings from side to side as you cross it...kinda like the one they used to have at Rainbow Valley.


A view from the top. Sunday morning before heading down the hill and then back up to the glacier.


Looking ahead to where we climbed


View from the top of the hill/bottom of the glacier


Taken at the glacier


The air takes on a colder feel the closer you get to the glacier, the run off was very cold and very tasty. The blue inside the glacier is truly magnificient and should be seen up close by everyone.


I did it! Taken once I had reached the glacier. It was at this point I started contemplating my first tattoo...haven't done it yet, but I'm still thinking about something special to mark the weekend on my body the way it marked my mind.

North of Nain is back in the North.

I just flew in tonight and boy are my arms tired....no applause please...thank you...I'll be here all week....Ok, I'm a little tired and my brain isn't off vacation mode yet...but I have news to share.

I am the new Recruitment and Retention Specialist for HSS in Iqaluit. So, North of Nain is moving, September 1 to the big city. For my die hard fans don't fret, the blog will continue and you can learn about life in the capital of Nunavut.

Give me a few days to get my stuff unpacked...so I can pack all of my belongings for the move...and then I will update you on my vacation and the new job.