The kids woke up to Daddy kisses and hugs, and that sure got them out of bed in a hurry. Estelle didn't even give him the cold shoulder. The reunion immediately put them into 'special occasion' mode, which could only mean one thing-EAT PANCAKES! Josiah did the flipping of the flapjacks. He is eager to try so many things and take on new responsibilities. Nine is such a wonderful age!
Kurt said his work on Johnson's Point was straight forward and easy. That's not something he can say very often! He intends to add his own experience to my blog. That would be good as I couldn't do it justice. I do know he was doing a clean-up for an old oil/gas exploration site from the late 70's, but I'll leave the details to him.
Kurt and I took all the kids swimming-TOGETHER! What a joy to have a second pair of hands. That being said, one can never predict what activities will transpire when Kurt steps on a pool deck. Not one to follow arbitrary rules, it is a rare outing for Kurt not to be reprimanded by the lifeguards, whom he believes love to wield their illusionary power. His antics were limited to letting Ezra go down the waterslide by himself (against the rules, of course,making a grand head-turning splash on his turn down the slide, and having the lifeguard time him as he swam the length of the pool wearing dolphin-kick flippers, which are two flippers fused together.
We picked up two large pizzas on the way home. Sixty-four dollars. Yikes! We enjoyed them in our screened patio, and then I had a short nap. Too short, but bliss! Then Kurt came with me to the adult swim and we swam side by side. The day was done before we knew it. The only thing that would have made it more complete is if Keegan had been with us too. But that should be rectified very soon.
Jaunt to Johnson Point
Hello this is your guest writer Kurt here to relay a little of my not so eventful working adventure to Johnson Point. You may have seen a couple of pictures in the slide show from there. We are essentially moving 23,000m3 of contaminated soil away from the ocean to a more secure spot, some of it needing treatment before disposal. There is also some demolition of 6 bolted storage tanks, site buildings and filling and regrading of old dump sites. I was there to supervise the excavation and treatment of the soil for the contractor E. Grubens Transport.
The strait between Banks Island and Victoria Island was full of ice when I got there in the DC-3 and just about emptied, then plugged up again with sea ice while I was there. We are still waiting for a barge to bring riprap material and some more equipment which was stranded at Holman last year. In spite of the temperature hovering around 0 and the stiff northeasterly wind coming up the strait, there were some hearty flowers blooming. I had to have Elaine send another heavier layer of clothing so I could stay warm while watching them dig up old burn pits and landfill site, looking for hazardous materials.
Everyone stays in a 30 person camp which was full up for the time I was there. Pretty close quarters, and there is a no drugs or alcohol policy, which is strictly adhered too. Not quite... The crew from Tuk required a little talking too regarding the use of recreational drugs in camp, and the lack of respect this shows to everyone. As an example my Rock Truck driver was making frequent stops where the crew was demolishing tanks and I wondered what could he be doing. Then he would come down to where the hoe was waiting patiently to load and bypass us completely then drive behind a pile of soil we had excavated and sit for 2-3 minutes. I believe he was rolling and lighting up. But how obvious... where are you going to hide in a 30ton rock truck in the middle of the Tundra. They had to start inspecting packages sent by wives and girlfriends in Tuk, before sending them to site. The last flight they returned about four "care" packages. Good thing there dark chocolate isn't banned from camp.
Our "night" crew doing the tank demolition had far better weather than the regular shift most days. The wind would stop blowing and the sun would come out, after the rest of us had all gone to bed. I will be heading back there for 10 days to cross-shift for the project superintendent after teaching a HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations) course in Tuk next week. If anyone has an idea on how to make job safety interesting let me know.
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