The road home...

After landing in Ottawa, I checked in at the Adam's Airport Inn. I decided to stay over a night in Ottawa to repack my vehicle, which had been parked since July, and start fresh in the morning - here is where the interesting meets the not so interesting.

Driving from Minnesota to Ottawa, and back, saved me a few hundred dollars and gave me the time to acclimate myself to the change in pace - both going and coming back. My first day on the road took me to Escanaba via Sault Ste. Marie. The line to cross the border was long and made even longer by a "random vehicle inspection." Regardless of innocence something about getting singled out for a check at the border makes me nervous. The "is there anything you'd like to tell us before we start the search" look you get from the vehicle inspector is unnerving and being lead away from your vehicle to a very brightly lit, whitewashed waiting room is disorienting. In addition I've had to pee for the past 45 minutes, but flashes of "Midnight Express" kept me glued to my icy cold, steel bench while I waited. I was hoping they weren't mistaking my "need to use the bathroom fidget" as a sign of guilt. After about 20 minutes I was on my way. I thanked the inspectors, what else do you say, and made my way to a gas station and a much needed bathroom break.

Instead of dropping more money at a motel I slipped into the parking lot of the Wal-Mart in Escanaba, MI, curled up in the back of my van and drifted off to sleep to the hum of motorhome generators and semi-truck refrigeration units - not nearly as bad as it sounds.

Now only halfway home, I awoke early, stopped for coffee and a bagel and made the final push. With few stops, and lots of driving, I'd be home by early afternoon. I'd been listening to an audio book, The Pillars of the Earth, since leaving Ottawa and the final 1,000 miles slipped by quickly bringing me back to Minnesota around 2:30pm.

My family was at an open house for a friend who had just moved and so I made this my first stop. It was great to see a few friends and hear that they'd been following my blog. It has always been my hope that people would find this adventure interesting and follow.

I hadn't missed the Minnesota August heat/humidity or the Summer road construction projects, but spending the evening with my family and sharing stories of the past several weeks was priceless. I was back!

jim

Final days on Baffin Island...

A bit more south of north...

Not wanting to overstay my welcome, I flew from Clyde River to Iqaluit yesterday afternoon. As the saying goes, fish and house guests start to stink after awhile, and I was no exception. I was packed for camping, not for staying in a house and my limited amount of personal hygiene refreshments was quickly becoming exhausted.

It had been raining non-stop for over a day in Clyde and although I'd kept busy with outdoor projects, work on Jake and Shari's cabin, moving dogs, etc, it felt good to leave the rain behind. The streets were muddy, rain water soaked everything and the chilly, moisture laden arctic air gets in your bones when you're out and not active.

The evening before I left, a family of 4 arrived via sailboat to Patricia Bay. They'd set sail in May from the UK on a one year adventure that took them to Iceland, Greenland, and now, Baffin Island. It has been a dream of mine to sail the oceans with my family and seeing this crew rekindled that desire - as if it was ever really dormant. It's not in our immediate future, but then one never knows. Fortunately, Cheryl is totally into the adventure of living aboard a boat and that could have been the biggest hurdle. Again, I count myself a blessed person to have someone like her who shares my passions.

After a two day sightseeing tour, and refueling in Clyde, the family will set sail for the eastern coast of the United States and eventually the Caribbean waters. They plan on being at sea one year - now that is an epic adventure.

The flight from Clyde to Iqaluit was quiet and uneventful. I've flown on FirstAir, the Airline of the North, many times over my 3 trips to the arctic and flights north of Ottawa are often an adventure in themselves. The planes are always one half cargo, one half passengers and there is no such thing as seat assignments - get in, grab a seat and buckle up. Once, when flying from Qikitarjuaq to Pangnirtung, the pilot took the plane down low into the pass north of Pangnirtung to give us a view of the Switzerland-like landscape. We were so low that you actually had to look out the window and up to see the tops of the cliffs and mountains. It was breathtaking and something you never experience when flying commercially in the south.

I'll be staying with my friend Meeka, again, in Iqaluit through Friday when I'll fly to Ottawa and the long drive home. I was greeted with a lunch of seal and bannock and the always present stream of guests. Meeka's home is a hub of activity and you never know when someone is going to stop over. Meeka's house had two guests when I arrived, Joe and Lisa, who were up visiting and working with Meeka on the Tussaqtuut (elder knowledge) project she has been developing. The mission of Tussaqtuut is to collect and save the knowledge of the living elder Inuit for sharing with future generations. As you can imagine, when working with elders, time is not your friend and Meeka has been working passionately to collect the knowledge while the elders are still living.

I've stayed in Iqaluit a lot, but there are always new places to see and explore. Today will be my only full, uninterrupted day here and I'll be out seeing the sites. I'll post photos and more tomorrow prior to leaving.

I have one more Skype video conference scheduled for Friday with the School for All Seasons in Minnesota. I've done two calls previously on this trip and it has been a great experience connecting with the students and adding to their studies at SFAS.

jim

Photos: A cannibalized 4-wheeler, the sailboat from the UK and the airport in Clyde River

Arrived! End of Clyde Inlet...

Date: August 2nd, 2010 - part 1/2
Location: End of Clyde Inlet

Yesterday was a big day in terms of mile markers. Since I set my eyes on the Clyde River area of Baffin Island, the end of the Clyde Inlet was always a big must-get-there spot and I arrived on August 2nd, 2010 at approximately 3:45pm.

Tommy, his son and I left Clyde River at about 12:45pm in Tommy's 24+, square stern cargo "canoe." When I say canoe, I don't mean the ones that so many of are used to seeing plying the waters of lakes and rivers. This canoe had a much higher freeboard, the distance from the water to the gunwale (the "rim" around the canoe), a small, covered forward area in the bow (front), a 75hp motor and seating for at least 6 full-size adults. It was a great boat built of wood frames with a plywood skin - I couldn't help but think"I gotta get me one of these."

The weather was relatively calm and clear, but an enormous fog back stretched across the opening of Patricia Bay. It was a strange site to see and reminded my of the movie King Kong as we literally went from clear view of the shores to almost complete whiteness. Tommy hugged the shore pretty tight and we navigated out of the curtain of fog and into Baffin Bay. From there the skies opened up once again and we were treated to views of the other side of the inlet, small icebergs and the sun - finally, the sun.

As we motored down the inlet we quickly came to large sheets of ice. Before I left Minnesota Tommy and others from Clyde warned that we may not be able to depart when I arrive because the ice had not blown out of the inlet. The inlet farther down was clear, according to hunters that had made it through, but the way ahead still had a fair amount of ice in our path. Tommy navigated the "ice pack" with ease and hardly let off on the throttle the entire time. It was some the the best bit of captain-ship if I'd ever seen - oh, and Tommy told me so.

The cliff walls were immense as we motored on and I was more than a bit anxious that the cabin I was heading to would be shielded entirely by cliffs and my satellite dish would not be able to get a clear view of the southern sky. One of the biggest reasons for this trip was to be able to share it instantly with others, online, and not being able to send posts would be a real bummer. By the way, if you're reading this, it means I have a GREAT location.

We came across two boats of narwhal hunters on our way down the inlet, we slowed only long enough to say hello and see them take a couple of shots at a narwhal - that creature was fortunate and would live another day.

When we finally arrived at the end, Tommy said, "Jim, there is your new home!" Let me just say that living in a city makes a person very "blind" or at best, horrid at judging distance. In the city we have many things to see and our vision is constantly filled with objects giving us perspective by which to judge distance. In the arctic, there are few structures, no trees whatsoever and distance is almost impossible, for a southerner, to judge without these aids. I looked where Tommy pointed but saw nothing but water, rocks and more of both. After about 5 minutes of continued travel I finally saw what he was indicating - a small, wooden shack setback from the water about 20 yards.

We beached the boat and I jumped out to survey my new home and it was much to my liking. Very basic, but also just perfect for what I wanted - a roof and protection from any possible bears while I acclimate.

Tommy wasted no time in getting my gear out of the boat, wishing me a good time and prepared to leave. I was minutes from total solitude and I'll admit I was hesitant to let him go. Tommy sensed this I believe and knew the best thing for me was for him to get moving. I reassured myself by asking should I desire a ride back would he be there - he said, "of course, my friend." His final words to me were, "My contract with you is now complete. Enjoy your new home." My knees knocked slightly.

As Tommy motored away, the immensity of this place sunk in and it was heavy. I quickly put myself to work to shake off any negativity and after about 20 minutes of work making the cabin a bit more hospitable, I found time to sit down and journal for a bit. It was a good sign that I was finding peace here.

jim

Back in Clyde, for now...

After two nights out on Patricia Bay, I made my way back to Clyde to regroup. The weather has finally cleared and I've had my first glimpse of the sun since I arrived. It warmed my heart a bit to see it.

Back at Tommy's I grabbed a hot shower and washed my clothes - aromatic yes, but not bad...maybe I am not the right person to ask though.

The plan is to head out tomorrow for the end of the inlet. I have some trepidation about this leg of the journey as I do with many crossroads in a journey. After traveling for a week and spending two nights out alone, I am thinking that I am definitely a people person. Heading to the extreme end of the fjords means, most likely, an end to seeing other people until I come out. I am still on the fence if "adventure" is worth being so solitary. I am not so sure it is, but will proceed with the plan I have in place - with some tweaks to keep it from getting to "real."

My two nights out were enjoyable. It was extremely quiet on the bay and at times I felt a million miles from nowhere - a turn and stretch to the north and I could make out Clyde in the distance. I found I had to keep checking my watch to tell the time. When the sun never truly sets it is hard to keep any sense of time and I am a slave to time I guess.

Stay tuned. I'll try to squeeze out a post before we depart. The cliff walls and bluffs at the end of the inlet may impeded satellite transmission, so I may be AWOL for a few days or so. I'll do my best.

Thanks for following. It does my heart good to check the site and see all the visitors.

jim

Photos: Dogs chained up by a river outside of town (on vacation until the snow flies), a rather treacherous ice shelf I navigated on the way back, a classic vanity shot of moi.

[Photo credit: Jim Paulson]