Cheers to the OLD MAN

Yep.. Pops (aka Dad) had alot going on this year that I have missed. In less than 2 weeks time, him and mom sold the house in Conestogo of 26 years, moved out and are currently homeless while they wait for their house in July (yes they are living at my place too)....

Was all dressed up in A Tuxedo for a wedding...

And retired from 46 Years of Work...

I couldn't be any happier for the OLD MAN.. Too bad I had to miss it all (well glad I missed the 26 year move)..

Love you PoPs... see you July 6th in Inuvik..

Aboriginal Day Celebrations


June 21st.. A holiday for us Northerners!

The High Kick... where they start off on the ground and kick one foot up in the air to hit the seal!

This man named Abel is 68years old or so, Everyone is around the big piece of canvas and together fling him up in the air. And boy did he get really high!







More of the High Kicks and other types of Arctic Games.

No ball game is complete without the AFTER-PARTY...

Everyone's invited to My HOUSE... 157 Gwich'in on the DECK...

Take Me Out To The BallGame...

I was picked up at the airport on June 15th, and told oh get ready there is a ball game tonight. Dr B organized a Baseball Game and BBQ for all the staff in the hospital. I guess it was his turn to round up the troops and get some good hospital spirit going!
As usual, I cannot miss a organized activity, so I went home and had 2 hrs nap and was off down Gwich'in Road to the diamond. To my surprise there was so many people. Not all played ball, but they sure did fill their faces with hot dogs.

All Stars, Courtney, Rick, Jen and Myself...
loving the great weather at the diamond!!

And look what happened...





Things Grew and Grew .. these are pics from when I got back, only 3 weeks after planting













And we have lettuce coming out of our ears. 2 big huge bags of lettuce was picked on June 22nd, and Willie and I are enjoying delicious fresh salads everyday. Oh I love the Greenhouse!! It so relaxing and makes you feel so good just to be in there digging in the dirt!

only 1 month after planting.. wow... well not even 1 month

The Greenhouse...





























A community greenhouse, where you can rent a plot for the season and plant as much as you want. Playing in the dirt is fun. So we went ahead with it all... 32a is our plot.






Planting the seeds... oh lets hope
carrots, beans, peas, raddishes, chives, parsley, tomatoes, lettuce


























Garden Planted.... will it grow!!




And then I left for 2.5 weeks.. and hoped things would grow.. Go Willie Go.. get things growing...!!!

Whitehorse

oh yeah.. before we did the cruise, I thought since Jody was coming all the way from Ontario, I had to show him all the north. One of my favourite spots is Whitehorse. So I took him there for 2nights, 3 days. We stayed with friends I met up here in Inuvik, Annick and Allan. And what great hosts they were. Whitehorse is a outdoors person's playground. It is one spot I think everyone should visit in their lifetime. I would even consider moving there, its that great. Jody agreed with my love for Whitehorse.


Annick and Allan showed us many hiking trails to go on, our favourite being the one Annick drove us to. Way up this winding mountain, we hiked to the top.. well almost top. You could look for miles across the beautiful land. Many Many mountains all over, and you could even view the whole city of Whitehorse. Amazing view from way up there. And thanks to Hero who let me take along the Whitehorse Hikes and Bikes book, we did 3 hikes described in the book. Thanks Hero!!!!









And we even got to meet their newest family member.. Now isn't she cute.. Sampa the dog. What a sweetie.. and only 8 weeks old. She captured my heart for sure!!

SEWARD
only a 2.5hr bus ride south of Anchorage
Seward here we come....

what did we do here.. we did the Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise- 6hrs to view wildlife and glaciers





















it was a bit chilly up on the top deck.. but we were not leaving the top.. too much to see!



























the harbor seals
they were just so cute sunning themselves on the rocks
so so so many of them all over


















another similar boat.. near the glacier, that's why the water is covered in ice pieces.

lots of glacier calving happened on this boat trip












ORCA whale.

yes there were so many out.. pods of orca's
they are beautiful creatures for sure

wow.... amazed once again.












enjoying the glacier.. ME












"northern Penguins"
well that's what I call them, they are actually Common Murres which nest on the sheer cliff ledges









if you look closely you will see 1000's of birds.. many are cormorants

Puffins are darn cute too, but way to fast to be caught on my camera..






We saw so many pods of Orca's, and also 1 humpback whale. Huge whales.. Porpoises swam by the side of the boat through the waves so fast all the time, I think they were trying to keep up with the boat. We also saw a sea otter.. and boy was he a big one. Brown bears on the side by the water, dall sheep on the rock edges and bald eagles all over.

This was a such a great boat trip, I recommend it to anyone who is going to Alaska. We saw so much wildlife it was unbelievable