...goodbye ice?? and snow??

Standing under the bridge...looking at the water rushing bye....I'm happy that the snow is leaving the hills... and the ice on the Fiord well it's still there....but in front of my house every day I see more water.....(probably coming from the Duval River!).... Everyone keeps asking me about the temp.... it's warm and sunny most days... between 0 and 8C I'd say...(but its hard to tell.... I'm just wearing a fleece jacket most days and one day wore just my berks to work...without socks!!!)

This photo was taken at around 9:45pm....yep the SUN is just setting behind the mountains...but we have sun pretty much 24-7 now..... :)

Oh to be 9 again!!!

Watching these boys play in the puddles made me smile... Kids spend so much time outdoors here... (just like I did growing up in Haliburton)...Often they are playing games--splashing in puddles!! Sometimes I wish I was 9 again and was able to splash and play in the puddles!!!

Smelling like campfire....

...and LOVING IT!!!! :)

Today there was a potluck/cook out/campfire goodbye to Violet and Wayne...they are leaving Pang and moving to Iqaluit! But I'm sure I'll see them when I go to Iqaluit!

...its not a 'real' campfire without some singing!!

Violet and Me...

Wayne singing a song about the collapse of the Cod Fishing Industry in Newfoundland...

..there was a 'candy' toss for the kids... Violet through candies down the hill and the kids ran to find them on the ground!



It was an awesome evening!! So much fun... to be out in the gorgeous day!!! I'm not sure I can say 'Summer' is here...BUT its on it's way!!!!!

Everyone just eating and visiting!!!!

Spring is in the AIR!!!

...yes that's right...Spring has arrived!!! When I flew in on Monday night I couldn't believe the changes in the ice, snow around town!! Water is starting to run off the hills... creating it's own path--often across roads making them very bumpy... or flooding areas! I have a bit of an extra walk to get to work---the parking lot in front of the GN building is well under water!! The temps have been between +5C and -5C or so....this morning when I walked to work it was raining... and on the way home for lunch it was snow/ice falling down... YAHOO!!! :)

..a brave person driving through the puddle...(there is a driveway--and mushy mud on each side...so you need to be sure where the driveway actually is!)

See the water running? into the parking lot at work.... my house in the distance!

The kids from the neighbourhood have been enjoying it though---riding their bikes through it

..snowmachines are still running---but there's more dirt in town than snow right now!!!

My HOUSE.....

....a new perspective of my house... from the pack ice....while I was watching the Polar Huskies leave- I was able to snap this shot---I live in the one floor unit on the left...

In arriving back in Pang---I was excited... DIRT roads; puddles...definitely spring...

but REALLY really REALLY bumpy.....

Clyde River...

My trip went really well... I didn't get weathered OUT or IN...on any of my travel days---which was AMAZING--but is always a possiblity travelling in the north! When I checked in for my last flight from Iqaluit on Friday morning I got a nice little sticker on the back of my boarding pass that said "may or may not land due to weather" basicly that meant that the airline wasn't responsible for putting me UP in a hotel or for any meals if I had to overnight... although they would book me on the next available flight...(and really because it was a work trip--the hotel and meal thing wouldn't really affect me--other then I was ready to sleep in my own bed again!) I didn't take many photos in Iqaluit I was barely there for 24 hours---and was busy working the afternoon after I landed on Monday; and Tuesday morning before I flew...SOOOO next month when I'm there I'll have to take some more photos!

I love to take photos from airplane windows sometimes they don't turn out that great.. but other times you are like WOW that's amazing!!! the first shot was from out the window somewhere close to Clyde River...the second shot is Clyde River...the black spots are all the houses in town.... pretty sweet shot eh?

This is my home away from home---2 nights at the Qamaq Hotel....it has 6 rooms and was FULL when I stayed there the first night! These hotels often act like 'hostels' and sometimes you get a roommate! Shared my room with the only other woman---who was flown in from Ottawa to do Eye Exams! She and I had some good times---and even are BFFs...(that's Best Friends Forever)...partly because we watched Paris Hilton's British BFF reality show---and well the rest is history I suppose!

I've always loved looking at the pack ice--there's a bunch of it out my window at home and it's neat to look at how it changes.... From what I've been told (and maybe I have this wrong..but I think I understand!) It forms with the tidal patterns--pushing the extra water out of the ice into pressure points that makes these amazing stacks of natural ice sculptures.... I got a photo of myself beside one--thank goodness for timers! Just to give you perspective--some are taller than ME!

Walking around Clyde River, I realized that SPRING has SPRUNG here as well as Pangnirtung... the BIKES are back out; Although Clyde River had a lot more snow on the roads! Kids were out after school riding their bikes, playing road hockey, and talking to me saying "what's your name?" to which I answer "It's Sarah, what's your name?" they usually giggle and say their names and then say..."what's your name?" Oh it's such a fun game!!! :) I took the two girls photo and then asked them to pose in the polar bear hide shot...it's bear season..and there were lots of hides out and about in town.... I flew from Iqaluit with 3 Russian Men that were going out on the hunt---hoping to get 2 bears...they were SOOO excited that on Wednesday morning they got up at 4am--and took an hour and half to get ready before leaving with their guide....ahhhh if only there was a bit more 'sound-proofing' in the walls at the hotel!

All in all I loved my stay at Clyde River ...the people were friendly, I got to meet some fun folk and all the 'work' stuff turned out well too!!! One of the guys who was working on the "Mary River" project for Baffinland was there with a presentation of all the community consulting for the project. He had an information night and I went to it---it was really neat to see all the maps of travel routes, camping spots, places to hunt certain animals! This is a rather 'lengthy post' but I guess I had a lot to say!!!

Roads.....

...April 10th, 2009....icey roads... no snow in sight......