The Adventures of Lynne

The Characters: Kate and Phoenix Kate is a beautiful, strong and gentle lady that works for the Federal Justice office of the Northwest Territories and is a much qualified Search and Rescue volunteer Phoenix is a 23 month old German shepherd cross that is in training to become a search and rescue dog. He's so smart, and I got to help Kate with his training, by hiding objects for him to search for and by being the "victim" he needed to find. He will be tested in September 2020, to become a qualified service dog Lynne is the grateful adventurer The Setting: Great Slave Lake, North Arm See the north arm? We went along the north shore starting in Frank Channel back to Yellowknife. The route was approximately 130 km. Great Slave Lake is the fourth largest lake in Canada after Superior, Huron, and Great Bear. It is massive, huge, gigantic, magnificent. Kate and I were connected by Mike and we became immediately connected and  grateful to have found e...

I write to you from the Inuvik airport, ready to fly to Yellowknife for a canoe trip with Kate. I didn't meet a polar bear (whew!) , or a grizzly (whew!) but on my trip I did see some arctic creatures. A ground squirrel, tundra swans, ptarmigan (2) and a teeny bit of the backs of some beluga (swimming, not the muktuk I ate) My 5 days at Jak park were very cold (4 degrees at night), raining and windy. My gear got packed up all wet. It's part of the adventure. Now I know that I'm not a wimp!

I've been in Inuvik now for just over a week. I've been staying at Happy Valley Territorial Park which is actually right along the edge of town, so I've been enjoying the activities and events within the town. When I first arrived, I thought that I had made a mistake, deciding to stay for two weeks. Now I feel like it's not quite enough time to absorb all that the town has to offer. For example, when I first arrived I found the utilitarian buildings and lack of landscaping, oddly coloured and unpainted buildings a bit offputting (can I say ugly?). I understand that the buildings are indeed, simply shelters and buildings in which to conduct business, and there is no European standard of pretty buildings and yards. The Inuvialuit people don't really care about these things. Beauty comes to them through traditional ways. Now that I've been here awhile, I have seen the beautiful places. Suddenly, the house with an uncluttered yard and a box of flowers ...