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Living in Northwest Territories:Day 58

Life in Northwest Territories isn't so bad.  We've been living here almost two months.  Shortly after we got to Tuktoyaktuk, we were invited to a the Annual Community Awareness session.  We learned some history of Tuk, met many Inuviauit people, and ate foods that I've never tried before.  We had some smoked fish, whale, muktuk (whale blubber,) bannock (which I have had before,) and Eskimo donuts.  We also went on a tour of the hamlet.  There are about 800 people living in Tuk.  There are no hotels or restaurants here.  A highway to Inuvik is being built.  It should be finished next year.  I'm sure the population, the hamlet, and businesses will increase after the highway is completed.

People are very friendly here.  Just about everyone waves at everybody everyday.  When we first moved here, I thought that the Inuvialuit people managed to escape the Residential Schools that almost destroyed so many Aboriginal cultures more than a hundred years ago, but no, Residential Schools happened here as well.  I feel that the Inuvialuit people were somewhat able to adapt.  Yes, there is alcoholism here, but where isn't there alcoholism?

There are some stores here.  The prices are usually high.  I'm grateful George and I brought a lot of non-perishable items, as well as freeze-dried foods.

I haven't done much writing.  I'm not working yet, but I'm still organizing our belongings.  There's so much I can't unpack because there isn't enough places to put everything.  Hopefully soon I'll find a place for things, maybe find a job, and get back to working on my second novel.

 Tuktoyaktuk has the largest pingo in Canada, and the second largest in the world, the largest is in Alaska.

Living in Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories

We've been living in Tuk (Tuktoyaktuk) for three days.  It's cold!  (I'm always cold, anyways.)  The people of this hamlet are kind, friendly and generous.  My son, Will, keeps finding really cool rocks. He's even found what looks like geodes.  I'll have to do the research on geodes in the Arctic.  

George started work today at the college.  We'll see if I can get a job soon. We're getting the car barged over tomorrow.  That'll be good since there's a lot of useful items stored in the car.  Maybe our furniture will be here on Thursday.  The house we're renting has furniture and what-not, but it would be great if I had my own bed, bedding, dishes, pots and pans, etc.  My slow cooker would be appreciated, that and my measuring cups and oven mitts...  

Might as well be moving to Mars...

It’s been a while since I wrote in my blog.  It’s been a very trying, difficult and mostly horribly painful year.  George has been the best part of last year and this year.  Mike and I separated in the new year of 2015, we learned of Scott’s tumour shortly after that.  George and I spent more time together, luckily for us, he was able to take me and Scott to Thunder Bay for Scott’s radiation.  Unfortunately we weren’t able to save him.  His tumour shrank but then another tumour developed beside it.  George, Will and myself are about to embark on an adventure.  I only wish Scott was here and well enough to experience this with us.  He’d love this.  We’re moving to Tuktoyaktuk, North West Territories.  George will be the instructor at Aurora College.  Our plan is to buy a motor home and travel to his house in Newfoundland.  He went home in July to pick up stored food item, like freeze dried pork, fruits and vegetables, bacon bits, and baked apple jams, canned cheese, jarred moose, wine, and box after box of provisions.  Food is expensive in Tuk, since it won’t have a highway until the Fall of next year.  Me and George went shopping all last week for more non-perishable foods.  Hopefully we’ll have enough to last all winter.  We’ll actually keep an inventory, then Next summer we’ll shop again.  We’ll be able to order what we need, but I don’t know how much the shipping will cost.  George left yesterday for Tuk.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a short way of getting there.  He’ll have to drive all the way to BC, then YT, then NT.  Same when we travel to NL: from NT to YT, to BC, to NL.  We will be traveling the country every summer…I’m so sorry, Scott.  I can finally give you what you’ve always wanted…but you’re gone.  :(

Chocolate Mug Cake

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Scott Flight's Passing

http://www.stevensfuneralhomes.ca/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=3539775&fh_id=14031http://www.stevensfuneralhomes.ca/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=3539775&fh_id=14031