Tuktoyaktuk and Tsiigehtchic

August 19-25

Wow, a week already. It could be difficult to give you the condensed version, but I’ll try. Kurt called on Thursday (19th) during Lynn’s yard sale for the church to say he was coming back early. After supper in the teepee and some food prep for Friday, EstelIe and I were off to Inuvik. We arrived at 1:30 am and slept at the crewhouse.

I left the kids alone overnight because Kurt had arranged for me to meet him in Tuktoyaktuk! Tuk is a small community situated on the coast of the Arctic Ocean, 180 km north of Inuvik. The baby and I took the DC-3 charter plane in the morning. It was a half hour flight and Estelle amused herself on her first plane ride by playing with one of the window screws. Kurt was waiting for us upon arrival. He finished up his sampling while I picked cloudberries. We ate lunch at the Gruben camp, toured the hamlet with Kurt’s coworkers, Ryan and Tina, and I dipped my hand in the Arctic Ocean for the first time. It gave me pause to think about where I was on the planet.

We drove out to look at the pingoes, unique landforms only found where there is permafrost. The one we saw, Ibyuk Pingo, is the tallest in Canada. Then, it was back to the airport for our flight back on a Twin Otter. However, it did not turn out to be a simple affair. The pilot loaded the quad trailer, before the quad, contrary to recommendations, and so there was only room for 4 passengers. There were 5 of us. He was in less than a conciliatory mood after loading the equipment, and said, “I’m leaving now. I’ll take four of you. Figure it out.” We had a moment of crisis. Kurt offered to stay behind, but our credit cards were packed in a bag already loaded so he couldn’t pay for another flight. That wasn’t going to work too well. Jeremy, from the work team, offered, but Tina said Franz Co. was responsible and couldn’t leave him. And the pilot said again. “Four people. Let’s go.” Just then, the logistics coordinator, Roger, in Tuk said, “Hey, there’s a charter plane going back empty. One of you can go on there.’ So Jeremy went, and Kurt came with me. And no one had to pay for another seat. Thank the Lord. In spite of the hair-raising experience, it was a glorious flight home. The skies were clear and the view of the Mackenzie Delta was awe-inspiring. I feel blessed to have seen it and even more blessed that I have a husband who made it possible for me.

While I was touring Tuk with Kurt on Friday, the Hanthorns left for a week-long camp in Whitehorse, and we are living pseudo-lives for the week. Mackenzie is taking care of Sarah and Annah’s dogs, Keegan has Joel’s dog under his charge, Bronwyn is filling in at the Tent and Canvas shop for Sarah, Josiah and Keegan are going to swim team while Annah and Ruth are gone, and Kurt led the music at church on Sunday.

I’m so glad Kurt was here to move the trailer and clean the daycare. It took us two days to do a thorough clean. Ten people can do a lot of damage after living in one place for a month. We moved our trailer into the Hanthorns yard. (We had to leave the daycare because school starts on the 26th). Since we moved, we gave some oranges to some girls who were hungry, a fellow came by for a drink of juice and a visit, and I gave a lovely lady, Rose, (whom I met at church) a ride to her cabin. We are happy to be the alternate stop in the Hanthorns' absence. I am sure I am only beginning to realize just how much they have given of themselves to their community.

On Sunday(23rd), we went to Tsiigehtchic (SIG-a-chic) to watch the Canoe Races. We caught the last one, the kids played in the sand and we had a picnic. There were also free caribou ribs, arctic whitefish, and potatoes roasted on an open fired for everyone. We walked to the point to look at the view. We saw the ferry coming over to our side and we hightailed it down and we caught it just in time to head back to McPhoo. It was a nice day.


For those of you interested in the church building project, a finishing carpenter, Kevin, was here for a few days, and installed the bathroom sinks and door frames. He was a really nice guy. Paul did some painting and Wayne (Lynn’s dad), who never stops working over there, is getting ready for the plumber to come this week. Kurt and Keegan helped Wayne and another teen, Brandon, with the skirting today. It’s slow going but progress is being made, step by step.

Kurt got a call for a one day job on the Horton River, so he headed back to Inuvik tonight, with Rose as his passenger, and he'll be back tomorrow night. It's good the kids got to see Kurt. Ezra was just saying before Kurt got back, "I miss my Daddy." And Evangeline chimed in, "Ya, I don't have a daddy no more." Heart-wrenching, isn't it?

O ya, Kurt got me wireless internet at the Hanthorns. There are about 40 new pictures in the album!