26 Years

Joe and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary yesterday. We didn't go hog wild in terms of marking the occasion, but we did go out for a really nice Japanese meal for lunch, and for dinner we enjoyed the first potatoes of the season from our garden. My God they were good!Everything from the garden is tasting so yummy right now. It makes me want to expand the plot next year. I'm also really hankering after a greenhouse....we tore our old one down when we renovated the house, and I miss it a lot. It's my goal to build one myself, but having zero carpentry skills I'm a little lost as to how to begin. I have determination though, so let's see how far that takes me.

Final Installment from the Dempster

Dirt road all the way

Dempster moss: the plants were just starting to turn colour when we were there....another two weeks and the whole place will be lit up with various shades of red, orange and yellow. Summer may be short in the North, but it certianly takes its leave in a blaze of glory!

Sharing lunch with a raven

Dinner's on: certainly not gourmet food but filling nonetheless. Joe took care of buying and packing all the food and camping supplies (all I had to do was pack my clothes) so you're not going to hear me complaining about the choice of menus. But Joe and I both commented on how different he and I prepare for such things: if it were me, I would have planned out each meal, and divided measured amounts of ingredients into labelled zip lock bags. Joe's approach is to run to the grocery store, buy what looks good, and hope for the best. I think that each method works just fine in the end.

A view taken from inside our tent in the middle of the night. I don't have a watch, so I can't tell you what time it was, but I know it was late. Welcome to the Land of the Midnight Sun.

Just one final word about the Dempster: there are a few places I've been in this world that I would consider life changing. The Buddist, Hindu and Jain caves at Ajanta and Ellora, India are one. Perhaps the Ring of Brodhar in the Orkneys is another. But the Dempster is certainly high on my list. If anyone is reading this and is considering a trip to the Yukon, I would say the Dempster Highway is the one place you don't want to miss. Trust me on this...it will blow your mind and alter the very cells of your being.

The Dempster Part Two: Watch for the Signs

The signs tell a large part of the story of the Dempster. Then of course there are the signs that I didn't take photos of, identifying place names like Grizzly Creek, Wolf Creek and Two Moose Lake...telling in themselves. Wildlife is everywhere. We saw a cow moose, another cow moose with calf, a coyote with a rabbit in its mouth (breakfast), several other rabbits, and lots of different types of birds.

Just to give you a bit of a history lesson, the Dempster was built starting in the late 1950s, once oil and gas was discovered in the Beaufort Sea region. It was conceived as the first of the 'Roads to Resources' proposed by John Diefenbaker. The Liberals poo-pooed the idea, calling it the road from igloo to igloo, but construction went ahead nonetheless. It was named after Inspector William John Duncan 'Jack' Dempster of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. His name might ring a bell: he led the search party for the famous 'Lost Patrol'.

Cow moose and calf, running up the road. Sorry this is blurry - I had to grab my camera and snap quickly before they ran into the woods.

One of many flocks of ducks we saw

Dempster Highway Part One: The Berries

Joe and I share a passion for cloudberries (those on the East Coast will know them as bakeapples). We love these berries so much we are prepared to make an annual trek of several hundred kilometres north to the Dempster Highway to find them. Actually, the last two years Joe has had to go alone, since I had to stay behind and deal with running kids around. However this year we deemed them old enough to fend for themselves, so early on Friday morning we packed up the truck and headed north.

The Dempster is an amazing part of the world. In fact I think it's the most beautiful place I've ever seen. The 'highway' is actually a 735 kilometre dirt road leading to Inuvik, with only one gas station/restaurant between the start of the road and Fort McPherson in the Northwest Territories. Extra gas and spare tires are definitely a must for this trip.

This is a photo taken at Tombstone...about an hour in from the start of the road. There are cloudberries in this area, but the best spots we found are another four hours drive north. It took some searching, but Joe spotted an open area that was laden with them. We picked and picked until our backs gave up in protest. I've never seen such a bumper crop before.

The elders here have taught us that if we take something from the land, we need to give something back. Typically that something is tobacco. But since we didn't have any handy, I left some cherries, and Joe left some Old Dutch tortilla chips with sea salt and a hint of lime. I'm hoping that the Creator has a sense of humour!

Tomorrow, Part Two of our Dempster Trip....Watch for the Signs.

Bird's Eye View

Yesterday I went up in a helicopter to get some aerial shots of the Whitehorse dam. It was probably the best day we've had all summer - blue, blue sky and no wind. What an amazing view from the top! I'll post some photos once they come back from the photographer.

Today, Joe and I are off on a week-end camping trip up the Dempster Highway. It's probably the first time in 20 years we've gone camping without the kids! I'm keeping fingers and toes crossed that the three of them behave themselves. I'll report back on Monday.

My Boss

I have a great boss. Along with being good at his job, he's a great sport, as you can see here from these photos taken of him attempting to ride a unicycle at a recent staff barbeque.

Sore Again

Jeepers, it seems I've been sore a lot this summer. First it was the week of yoga I took early in July. Last week it was two hours a night of jazz/hip hop and modern, offered through the dance school's summer camp. This week it's a special session of flamenco classes. And next week it's another six-day yoga session.

My aim, apart from the fact that I love to do this stuff, is to keep in reasonable shape over the summer months when my regular dance classes aren't running, and if possible, to lose a few pounds. Since I'm not a runner, hate to go to the gym, and don't play organized sports, I needed to find something to keep from turning into a blimp.

I'm not sure I've actually lost any weight this summer, but I feel good, in spite of the achy muscles and creaky knees. And that, after all, is really what it's all about.