Mackenzie Delta Update

Well, 4 weeks has come and gone pretty quickly I must say. I survived the time alone and now it is starting to get busy around here with fire season just around the corner (lots of new people). Looking forward to doing some training (hover exit, firefighting 101 etc.) this coming week.

There's been some exciting moments to share. I shall attempt to do this in list format Click on photos for a larger version.

1. I got to shoot a real gun. Yesssss! I was able to go to the gun range with the renewable resource officers for a BBQ and some gun shooting (I guess that is pretty redneck). I was able to take a 12 gauge shotgun for a test drive and after working through some of the basics had an opportunity to try my hand at some skeet shooting. I went head to head with the girlfriends for best score and came out on top with 14 of 25 pigeons hit. It was a great time and Andy helped out with my shooting prowess a lot. The second photo on the left is a direct hit on one of the pigeons (see top left of photo for clay pigeon explosion). I hope I can get another chance to shoot later this summer. However I don't think I would be able to shoot at anything that is alive, haven't developed the guts to do that yet. All the guys said that duck hunting is fun though. The BBQ was also delicious and I used the opportunity to chow down. I'm not sure where it all goes, but I can certainly pack it in when required. A good time for sure.

2. Allergies. Holy f*&% they are bad right now. I think it is a combination of pollen from the trees (ironic a bit given my research subject) and the fact that Andy's dog was around one day last week (more so this). I can't seem to shake them and needed to go and get some eye drops because my eyes occasionally just go nuts and I can't see a thing.

3. Ending my semi-retirement from sports using balls. I guess I've played soccer, but that comment was more directed at baseball. I haven't played for a few years (other than wiffle) and it's mostly been the ol' flatball (frisbee) for the past few years. Well due to the lack of ultimate being played around here (trying to change that) I've joined a slo-pitch team as previously mentioned. The EGT (E. Gruben Transport) team is hopefully ready to roll and we'll have some success during the season. Games start Tuesday and I've been training hard to get ready (yeah...sure). I think hitting a home run would be awesome, and I would definitely Sammy Sosa it for sure. I'll keep you updated on the only home run chase that actually matters this year!! Barry who?

4. Games were supposed to begin today, but that was pushed back due to the fact that I probably picked up enough glass off the ball diamond to reconstruct about 4 40s of Vodka. i wish I had a picture of this. Saturday was field clean-up day and so I dusted off my ground crew cap to go and help. In total I think an entire wheelbarrow of glass was removed from the field. Welcome to Inuvik where if slo-pitch is the official sport, underage kids drinking and throwing bottles at the fences in the ball diamond is a close second. Seriously, I think diamonds in places like inner city New York would be more respected than this one. Well once the glass was picked up and the diamond was resurfaced and raked, it looked much much better.

5. First trip on the river took place yesterday. What a questionable trip. I randomly met a guy at the field clean-up and he said he was going out to his cabin after to see how it was after the winter. Well I ended up being the only person along with him who stayed to do some raking and so he invited me along. I was like, yeah what the hell. First there was a quick stop at his house to grab a cooler of beers (along with consuming a couple) and to eat a couple of burgs. Then off to his boat, which floated but was in some disrepair (i.e. the plug was missing so it was replaced by a branch whittled down and hammered into place). Yikes. Too late to back out now though. So we went a nice 30 minute boat ride up the Mackenzie River to Airport Lake and his cabin (disclaimer: his cabin was more like an industrial trailer used in mining camps that he had purchased and moved out this past winter. Needless to say it looks a little out of place). I helped get a little bit of work done around the place. This guy finished 5 beers over the course of the two hours (saving time by drinking two in the boat on the way) so I was limiting my consumption of beer to 2.5 in case I needed to jump in and drive the boat. I suppose he is a Newfie and they can hold their booze. Anyways the boat leaked while we were working on the trailer, so we we needed to bail it out before leaving...superb. A little north wind made the ride back a bit chilly, but we made it back in one piece. An adventure for sure. I heard from my boss this morning that this guy is a known character in town. Nice.

5. In a research update, I am still waiting for some stuff arrive from Arizona for my M.Sc. project and it should finally come in this week. The whole plan of arriving early to capture the beginning of tree growth is kind of shot now though. Hope this won't adversely affect anything. I called the guy from Arizona and I was glad I did because I think he has severe brain damage from all the recreational drugs he consumes (he always sounds like he is high when I talk to him on the phone). He wasn't going to send a bunch of stuff that I required and had e-mailed him
about three times already (spanning February to April) and the he had confirmed via e-mail. Wow. Great business management going on there. Thumbs up. So there should be more river trips coming up soon.

6. A wildlife viewing list that I will try to keep updated monthly.

Lynx, Lesser Scaup, Common Eider, Northern Pintail, Greater Yellowlegs, Beaver, Muskrat, Golden Eagle.

7. The Sens lost. Disappointment reigns supreme. I watched the last game at the Mackenzie Hotel by myself. it was probably for the best. As Jeff Pelton said, I probably had a few tears in my beard. Well I am consoled by the fact that it was still a great season and amazing playoff run that hopefully will be repeated next year. I also hope that all the support I heard about in Ottawa carries through to next year, although I'm sure after they lose their first game next year, the same people who were cheering madly on Elgin St. will be calling to trade Alfredsson again. Idiots. Oh well, looking forward to the off-season.

7. Some pictures from a recent trip (Thursday) down the Dempster. The first was just after a truck passed. With the right conditions, it gets amazingly dusty and you can't see a thing in front of you. Kind of scary when travelling 100 km/h. The second is a photo is of a nice surprise we got when another car passed up also going at high speeds. The jingle for Apple Auto Glass played in my head for the rest of the trip.

Good times in Inuvik. Hope everything is well as always. Comments are always appreciated.

Adios.