Music at Muddy Midway

JULY 28-AUGUST 3

Wow. We’ve found some time to breathe and I’ve found a place to blog. Sarah works at a canvas tent shop and said I could use the internet. The kids are still swimming. Bronwyn went to public swim time so Evangeline and Ezra could have a go. I think there were more kids than water, and Evangeline could not cope with the chaos. She cried the whole time. Ezra handled his fears more admirably. He asked, “Bronwyn, could you please take me to a part of the pool where I won’t get kicked in the face?”

Annah invited Bronwyn to join the swim team, and she jumped at the chance. It’s four nights a week! At least, it’s only a block away. She might even get to compete in Inuvik, and they going to be outfitted with matching swim caps and suits- at no extra cost! The team is called the Bumblebees.

Ike and Michele left on the 29th. In the afternoon, Bronwyn painted a Northern landscape with Michele in her trailer, while Keegan helped in the church. Bronwyn, Keegan, and Boo were an hour late returning from their Bronze Medallion class. Their instructor, wants to do a three hour class instead of two. We ate supper with Ike and Michele and then we said our goodbyes. As soon as they drove away, Josiah said, “Now, I want to go home.” Naomi chimed in, “Ya, me too. I miss Pumpkin.” Leave it to Naomi, to think of the cat first!

It was very hot for about 3 days, between 24-30 degrees. We were uncomfortable, but the bugs must have been, too, because they became sparse. The kids were glad to be able to swim. Keegan and Joel were fortunate to have an individual swim lesson. Their instructor, Robert, is so passionate and serious about not just learning the skills, but mastering them, so he’s been pretty tough on the boys. I think it’s good for them, but I saw how Robert could be intimidating. I went to pay for the lesson, and he said to me, “Lesson? What lesson? When did we have that conversation? Last week?”
I replied, “No, you told us yesterday to come.”
“Oh,” he said, “I got about 2 hours of sleep last night, I can’t remember anything I said yesterday.”
“Do you want us to come back another day?”
“No, no, I’m here all day anyway so let’s do it now.”
All-righty then. After all was said and done, Keegan said it was a very good lesson.

I finished cleaning the school after the last of the workers left, and Lynn and I both got a laundry basket of books from the library for the kids. Hopefully, Diana and Josiah will have lots of opportunity to practice their reading.
The weekend of July 31-Aug 2 was the Midway Music Festival, 40 km south of Fort McPhoo. On Friday, Bronwyn, Keegan, Mackenzie, and Josiah went biking in the morning with the Hanthorns and their cousin, Abby. Josiah kept up with the bigger Hanthorns. Having bigger wheels with Kelsey’s old bike really helped! In the evening, I drove three people from town to Midway, because just over the ferry, Lynn realized she did not have enough fuel, and had to turn around, so I took her passengers. Sarah, Annah, and Joel started walking down the Dempster until they caught a ride from someone. Helen, a lady from church, invited us to her tent and I tried her duck soup. The whole duck gets thrown in the pot. We watched some square dancing and jigging and we got home at 2:30 am.

On Saturday, Joel, Annah, Ruth, Judah-Ben, Jesse, Bronwyn, and Keegan all headed down the Dempster on their bikes towards Midway. Lynn followed after them an hour and a half later to check on them. It was a good thing too, because although the morning was beautiful, it started to rain. No-it was a downpour. Jesse, 6, went 11 km to the ferry, before Lynn picked him up. Joel and Annah made it the entire 40 km without incident, but the rest were caught in the rain. Keegan and Ruth got drenched just before the last downhill to Midway. Judah and Bronwyn got the worst of it. She had missed the ferry with everyone else on it, because she had stopped twice, trying to refasten her makeshift snack bag. But it was just as well, because Judah was thankful he didn’t get left behind. The road is extremely hilly, and she kept thinking Midway would just be over the next hill. She thought that about 11 times. Lynn finally caught up with them along the emergency airstrip. Judah could go no further. His wheels were caked with an inch of mud. Mackenzie and Abby were in the van with Lynn and they cheered the cyclists on. They encouraged Bronwyn and she made it the rest of the way. What a trooper. By the time I arrived with my little ones, Lynn’s mom, Muriel, Esther and Jadynn, everyone was wet and cold. I dragged out the extra coats and blankets and soon everyone felt a whole lot better.

The Gwich’in set up their canvas tents, teepees, and cabins and Lynn’s friends, Connie and Susan, let us warm up in theirs. There was a woodstove in the middle and it wasn’t long before we were too hot. We moved to a nearby teepee with a barrel stove and roasted burgers and smokies. When, Susan, saw me with Estelle, she put Estelle on my back, covered her with a shawl, and fastened a leather baby belt under her. She was cozy and I remarked, “It keeps my back warm, too. I should have tried this a long time ago.” Susan said, “Well, don’t have another baby just to keep your back warm!”

Lynn stayed late with her oldest and Bronwyn, Keegan, Mackenzie, and Josiah. Keegan and Bronwyn both tried square dancing and had a good time. I drove home and took Lynn’s mom, and Esther and Jadynn with me. When I pulled out on to the Dempster I turned right, but the van went left. All the rain had made the road like ice. We slid towards the opposite ditch. Just at the last possible moment, the van straightened out. Fortunately, the rest of the ride home was uneventful, but we did take it slow.

We went to Midway again on Sunday after church. Being Sunday, Paul was able to come with us, too. Keegan decided to stay home, so I left Ezra and Evangeline with him. Amazingly enough, even with all the rain, the road was still dusty. It sure runs off fast. We hung out in the teepee again and ate lunch and Bronwyn and I tried swan meat. It did NOT taste like chicken; it was more like roast beef. We had hot tea steeped over the fire, and with a little sugar, Naomi and Diana were converted to tea drinkers. It helped that it warmed them up too. Naomi was in her glory as she picked berries the whole weekend- black currants, blueberries, and even a few cloudberries (called ‘knuckles’ by the Gwich’in). Cloudberries look like white raspberries, but taste similar to apples. Berry picking was the one think Naomi was insistent on doing again in the Arctic. Mackenzie and Diana joined in the fun. Josiah found $10 in the mud and that made his day. Bronwyn danced again in her moccasins with the Hanthorns and had a blast. It was another very late night. Due to all the excitement of the weekend, we did a lot of sleeping and I washed a lot of muddy laundry.