Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

9 degrees and overcast in Tsiigehtchic today.
24 Hours of Sunshine - Is still here!

BINGO TALLY -16 Losses and 2 Wins!
Scrabble Tournament Score 1987 over 7 Games - 1st Place! - Average of 284 per game - not bad!  I play on Facebook if you want to challenge!

The Spring break up adventure has come to a close.  It was actually a really nice time.  I had the opportunity to get to know the people in the community better.

I have lots of pics uploaded of the spring break up and latest activities.

I flew home for my brother's wedding and drove back in a 2001 Toyota Echo.  All went well.  No break downs or flat tires.  Just tired and had to rest swoollen ankles!  It was a long journey but a fantastic ride.  Lots of wildlife including Dall Sheep and Bison.  There was a moose, deer and bear.  Foxes, rabbits and porcupine were also finding their way to the other side of the road.

We travelled to Edmonton non-stop then stopped in Grande Prairie, Liard River, Whitehorse and Dawson. We stopped for a dip in the Liard Hot Springs and saw the Dust to Dawson crowd in Dawson City.  They were a group of motorcyclists who travel there from all over the world for a yearly festival that incudes lots of fun and games. 

The trip from Dawson to Tsiigehtchic is 646 km but took 12 hours on the gravel roads.  The speed you can travel depends on the condition of the road and changes rapidly hour by hour.

The best scenery was at the Tombstone Mountains.  Wow!

Drin Gwiinzii 

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

7 degrees with a few clouds in Tsiigehtchic today.
24 Hours of Sunshine - Here it Comes!  

3 Hours and 10 more minutes than my last blog.  The river is clear...its clear...its clear!

BINGO TALLY -16 Losses and 2 Wins!
Scrabble Tournament Score 873 over three games - I play on Facebook if you want to challenge!

Week two of the ice break up is over.  It was not as difficult as I expected.  The ice break up was late this year and the water is now clear of ice.  The ferry will likely go in the water this week.  It will be three weeks of no road access when it is typically a 4-6 week wait.  People are now crossing the river by boat and using the cars they left on the other side of the river to get to Inuvik.

I have some pictures and video if the ice break up but I have to wait until the 1st of June to post them as I am pretty close to using my 15 GB download allowance per month.

We have been getting mail once a week by helicopter.  I hope that Canada Post does not go on strike!  The mail is so important here.  I got some pics of a helicopter landing this morning.  It was a passenger transport and not the mail service but it was pretty cool.

I have had a hard time sleeping despite blacking out the window in the bedroom.  You just have to get to bed at a reasonable time and not wait for your body to tell you you are tired. 

There was a bake sale this past Friday as there is no more bread in the store.  The event went well and they would like to do it again this Friday.  Fresh plain donuts are a local tradition and taste amazing.  One person made 64 donuts.  They were sold in 10 minutes time for $1.00 a piece.  Not a bad gig.  A loaf of fresh bread goes for $10.00.  That is pretty reasonable considering the cost of the ingredients.

Looking forward to going home and seeing family on June 15.  My brother's wedding is in North Bay on June 18.  I have not had a chance to go shopping for clothes but I will figure something out.  I am not sure if beaded moose hide is appropriate attire...

Drin Gwiinzii 

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom

8 degrees with a few clouds in Tsiigehtchic today.
Sunrise at 4:28 and Sunset at 1:18.

1 Hour and 44 more minutes than my last blog!  The ice is breaking...its breaking...its breaking!

BINGO TALLY -14 Losses and 2 Wins!
Scrabble Score 327 - I play on Facebook if you want to challenge!

I took a walk along the river today.  There was some water flow that created a huge pile up of ice on the road exiting the town.  Check out the pics.

Well I had a lot of Happy Birthday well wishers and enjoyed a cook out in a great spot over looking the Arctic Red River.  I got to try shooting a crossbow!

There is a lot of hunting for water fowl right now.  I could hear gun shots not too far off while I was hiking up Tsiigehtchic hill.

Drin Gwiinzii

Raiders of the Lost Ark

4 degrees with a few clouds in Tsiigehtchic today.
Sunrise at 4:28 and Sunset at 1:18.
50 more minutes than my last blog!  The road is closed...its closed...its closed!

BINGO TALLY -13 Losses and 2 Wins!
Scrabble Score 327 - I play on Facebook if you want to challenge!

(Hint Hint - I need some fun things to do with friends!)

Week 1 - Ice Break Up - Road Closed

The coping strategy is to have a lot of fun and activities over the next few weeks.

Scrabble, Yahtzee. Food and Craft events.  Of course if there is an organizer.

Big flashing green arrow in the sky pointing down at me.

It didn't need a traversable road to get there!

The planning begins and the posters go out Wednesday...I think it will be a lot of fun!

Reminds me of the black out in Southern Ontario when no one had anything to do but actually go outside and talk with their neighbours.  I see a lot of people talking in groups outside already.

Drin Gwiinzii

Searching for Bobby Fischer

-12 with light snow in Tsiigehtchic today.
Sunrise at 4:47 and Sunset at 0:47.
1 hour and 50 more minutes than my last blog!  The ice is melting...its melting...its melting!

BINGO TALLY -13 Losses and 2 Wins!
Started Scrabble tournament today.  My score so far is 327
The person with the highest accumulative score at the end of break up is the winner.

The latest press release on the road conditions.  The crossing here is the Mackenzie River.

I have now learned to play Indian BINGO.  Those are not my words so I can use them.  It is quite interesting.  There is also a game here called Snurt that is very similar to Dutch Blitz.  They use 20 cards instead of 10 in their piles and they can start at one or 13 in the middle.  The piles count up or down depening on the start number but it is basically the same game.

Indian BINGO is a variation of the gift exchange we may have all done with our families and friends at one time.  The dice go around the circle of players.  If you roll doubles you get a wrapped gift from the centre.  The roles continue until all the gifts are gone from the centre.  You keep rolling even if you already have a gift and can collect more.  Once all the items from the middle are gone the packages are unwrapped one by one so you can figure out which one you want to steal.  THEN....the clock starts.  15 minutes!

They started with two sets of dice and put in a third at one point.  The game is simple.  Roll a double and take a gift from anyone.  Keep rolling and keep taking gifts when you get doubles.  What you have when the clock runs out is what you take home.   Well, I was up by five and down to 1 and up to three and left with none.  There were a few things that moved like hotcakes to everyone's pile and it was a blast!  The timers were having so much fun watching they let the clock roll an extra 15 minutes.  My knees hurt but it was fun!

After all that hard work...I ended up with a wooden cutting board.  There were a few ladies in the corner hiding their gifts underneath them but I didn't play too hard core.  The Mother's Day BBQ lunch beforehand was cooked on the fire outside and it was fantastic.

I am down to 100 white beads but the projects are still coming on the other colours that remain.  Trying out a red frog on the project still on the loom.  I have some busy ladies at Community Living Cambridge putting together a bead care package.  Social Committee Rocks!  I am dreaming about light and dark pinks, light yellow and mint green again!  Mahsi Cho (Thank You) Ladies!

Cast Away

-6 with a few clouds in Tsiigehtchic today.
Sunrise at 5:47 and Sunset at 23:57.
3 hours and 53 more minutes than my last blog!  The ice road is expected to break up in the next few weeks!

BINGO TALLY -12 Losses and 2 Wins!

I hope to get to Inuvik this week for supplies before the road closes.  I better get brushed up on my survival skills before we get stranded here over spring.

We had these plaques made to commemorate the elders and had a feast where they were presented with this gift.  It is an engraving in black granite of the two churches on the hill coming into town.  The old one is to the right and the new one has the wooden walkway.  The saying above the churches is in Gwich'in and translates as, "We will be Strong Minded Elders."

Well here is evidence of how I have been spending some of my time.  If you want to send me some beads and a bead loom pattern I will see what I can put together for you.  I can find a pattern online if you know what you want as well.  It has been fun to put these together.  I would like to put the turtle on a debit card wallet and have a string to hang it around my neck instead of carrying a purse around.

Drin Gwiinzii

State Fair

-16 and clear in Tsiigehtchic today.
Sunrise at 7:10 and Sunset at 22:41.
2 hours and 48 more minutes than my last blog!  The ice road is expected to break up by the end of April!

BINGO TALLY -11 Losses and 2 Wins!
There haven't been any games because the licenses are being renewed.
Apparently the party starts again this Friday.

Our Mackenzie River Jamboree is a great Jamboree.  Don't miss it.  Don't even be late!

A lot has happened.  I have put up some pictures of the Jamboree in Inuvik and Tsiigehtchic.  I loved all the great jackets, mittens and boots that everyone was wearing for the occasion.

Warning.  I did put up a pic of some of the mess in the Magic Bus!  I was surprised to receive some compensation from housing for my hard work.  I am very grateful (no pun intented).  I had to replace all the floor registers!

I won a jiving contest and egg spoon race at the local Mackenzie Jamboree.  The guys in the egg on your spoon race were all going too fast and lost their eggs.  One guy did a face plant and the girls were victorious!!!  $50.00 for each of my wins!  Definitely worth joining in the fun.  I will have to watch out that my jive doesn't make it to youtube apparently...:)

I did not do too well at the tea boiling competition.  You have to light a fire and get a pot of snow to melt and come to a full boil.  Apparently matches don't like to burn for more than a few seconds in the cold.  I was supposed to light the matchbook on fire and not just individual matches.

I cooked pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausages for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday at the Jamboree in Tsiigehtchic.  I was with three other kitchen staff and we had to really get organized the feed the hungry hordes.  I made sure to get my breakfast hot the second day instead of getting stuck with the the cold leftovers at the end.  A fun weekend!

I have had some difficult spots to work through lately.  Getting some particular programs in place has been a trying process.  When I did get what I wished for I didn't realize that I had wished for what I got.  Each session is bringing better results but has been emotionally taxing.

The kids at school have asked me if i know that I have white hair so many times that I finally broke out a kit I purchased on Inuvik for $20.00 to dye it.  I can't remember the last time I did it myself.  Poor Southern salon girl!  It turned out well anyway.

I look forward to going to my brother David's wedding to his fiancee Megan in June.  Hopefully I will pave the way for the dogs to come back with me.  I will be in North Bay so unfortunately I will not be able to see everyone but it will be nice to get back for a short visit.

Lots of love.  Lost some steam there in keeping the blog up to date but hopefully things are back on the right track.  I only get 15 GB of data with my internet package.  It is $10.00 a GB after that and there are no larger packages.  Monopoly!  I have to watch my internet use anyway.

Luckily I am getting some movie care packages.!  Thanks...:)

Drin Gwinzii