Eagle'S Nest B&B Yellowknife

January 12, 2009 *Re-freeze and final thoughts* Back to YK and not sad at this point. Although we did manage to get ourselves onto a lovely Caribbean cruise in the middle of January, it's been good but exhausting. Traveling with sick mini-we's has certainly changed our travel style (which we were more then aware of before we left), but we're still learning that's for sure! So, how did the day go? Again, quite like the rest... here goes! - got to the airport using the ...

... in and spent half an hour chatting with the woman on duty about vegetarianism and sign language. There was no one to help with the bags so I pushed the rolling rack onto the elevator and into my room. Despite the sign on it that asked for it to be promptly returned to the lobby, I left it in my room. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to heft all the bags off and then do it all again in the morning. Such a rebel.

... pointed us to Max's and we found it. Located underground in what appeared to be a Cold War style nuclear bomb shelter. True to his word, there it was "Jumbo eggroll" Yum. It really was huge. We ate one between us and we were totally full. Delish. We walked around town, bought groceries and wine, walked back to the campground and I made a fire while Keith took his own sweet time in the shower.Five hours later, we dined on freshly smoked sausages and soft soft buns.

Thursday: Relay day! Well, as predicted the temperature dropped. The race was delayed until the temps were with in safety margins. The races for the Jr boys and girls were shortened to 2.5 km from 5km. More like a sprint than a middle distance. Great action with the guys and girls starting within two minutes of each other so there was always someone coming through the stadium. It was pretty ...

... plane. We had barely settled into seats before the pilot came out and broke the news that 20-30 bags would have to be left behind in Yellowknife. Apparently with Christmas, everyone had too much luggage and the plane was too heavy. Luckily, we were near the front and Chris was able to ask him to make sure that our bags weren't left behind.

... of Romeo and Juliet 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., with Placido Domingo (yes the opera singer) conducting. Renee Fleming did intermission interviews. It was funny getting dressed in fleece and parka to go to the opera! We will now be getting all the Met operas, and next Sat. the Nutcracker ...

... at Eagle Plains Lodge. Considering that this was the Dempster Highway, surely they would sell tire chains! From this point on, the drive became more and more like the "Top of the World Highway" (Blog 48) with an abundance of spectacular ridgeline driving affording breath-taking views of where the road was headed. Given the scenery, the snowy, sometimes icy conditions, the richness of the colours around me, the beautiful weather and the isolation, there wasn't ...

... aim of passing culture from the elders to the younger members of the community, visual arts, traditional crafts exhibitions, workshops, drum dances, a concert, and a dance. Much of this would have the underlying theme of preserving the old way of life of hunting, trapping and fishing for whitefish and trout. For more information: www.openskyfestival.ca Suffice it to say, had I stayed for the Open Sky Festival I would have found further ...

Today is the first official day of my leave. Returned last night from a 3 day trade show and conference "Start Your Engines" in Hay River so that is how I finished my last day of work. Booked a flight online from Berlin to Tallinn, Estonia, which is only about 8 hours from St. Petersburg by train, so pending obtaining a visa in New York City, I will be in St Petersburg about Oct. 9. My next entry will probably be from NYC!

... timely fashion. At this point we all realize that their jobs are on the line. We each took 2 hour watch shifts through the night, as the waves worsened to 6 foot swells with large rollers and wicked curls and we needed to check the plane every 15 or 20 minutes. By this point we had moved our camp off the beach to shelter ourselves from the winds, and it was a good thing we did because by the middle of the night, our former tent sites and campfire circle were ...