My mind is busting.

There are so many things right now that I want to write down, to express and to share with you.

I'll start with my day yesterday. One of the Fisheries officers from work was ski-dooing out to Sitidgi lake (which is about 60 kilometers west of Inuvik) to do some monitoring, so he invited me along (or I may have invited myself...). So there I was scared almost out of my pants driving a big skidoo over trails that were sometimes already well broken in, and sometimes chest high powder. I only got stuck three times. One of these times, I got myself unstuck! I know snowmobiling is not the most environmentally sound practice (in fact it is one of the least...) but I really wanted to get out on the land as so many people here do, so I figured 'when in Rome...' I did not know how physically demanding ski-dooing is. My body is crying this morning. So anyway, the fisheries officer from work has a little camp set up on the shore of Sitidgi, because he will be going out to monitor the fisherman until the ice melts (which he said will be the end of May). I stayed at camp while he went out and did his work, and just about dosed off inside the canvas tent with a bow floor atop the snow.

He returned, and we proceeded to skidoo all the way across this monstrous lake to see a plane. Yes, a plane, which crashed a number of years ago, and is in the middle of nowhere. The reason why this plane (pictured above) is so interesting, is because there is a group of men from Fairview Alberta who are trying to get it from the banks of Sitidgi Lake back home, so that they can restore this special plane. This is not a small task. It is a huge plane, and the area is so very remote. What a wild endeavour.

I was chatting with a couple of the men we met there about their mission - this plane is a 1943 Canadian made water bomber. It was originally used in the Air Force, but when it crashed it was being used as a water bomber by Buffalo Air out of Hay River here in the NWT. This plane is very unique, there is only one other of it's kind in Canada, and this is why it is of such interest to the people who are trying to get it out. Their plan is to put the plane of large skis, dismantle the wings, and drag it out with this funny looking ice machine, of which I did not snap a photo of. I wish these men luck, and pray that they do not rip apart the landscape on their way back to Inuvik on the trail system.

Yesterday I had an amazing, awesome feeling. You know how you feel when you are somewhere natural, somewhere stunning, but you feel sort of like you are one in many people who have seen that landscape? Like you are just one of the many people who have stepped on that rock, who have swam at that beach, who have hiked those trails? Well, yesterday I got a feeling that I was experiencing completely untouched, and unvisited landscapes, and oh, what a feeling. The first photo above gives you that feeling. Utterly pristine.

The weather was amazing yesterday, a comfortable -15ish. As you can see above, we stopped and made a little fire with some dead spruce trees, which are so skinny and short, they are easy to harvest. It was great to have some nice weather, I not once felt very cold. It was an amazing day, and despite my nervousness about skidooing, I am glad I did it, and experienced the land of the Northwest Territories another time.

I have much to say, but will leave you with that for now. Happy Sunday, go feel life today!