Day 28 - May 18 - A DIFFERENT KIND OF VICTORIA DAY

 Happy Victoria Day everyone! Can't say that we've celebrated in this fashion before.

We were in Nunavut (Iqaluit) last spring so decided we needed to experience a different area of this amazing territory. It was cold in Yellowknife but it's a lot cooler here. Today was about minus 12 with the wind...and it's the middle of May!

The Yellowknife airport is different. It took us 10 minutes to get there in rush hour traffic. I must say I was a little concerned that we did not have to go through any security at any time to board the plane. Trust in your fellow man and hope he's good for it. Love the airport.

For some reason smaller prop planes don't bother me as much as larger jets. Even though the latter is more efficient and undoubtedly safer there's just something about prop planes I like. Based on today's experience the flight from Yellowknife, NT to Cambridge Bay, NU was only 1 hour and 45 minutes. That's fine and on Canadian North we even got a sandwich and a cookie.

It's pretty well still winter here in Nunavut. There are no clouds in this photo. That's all snow and ice. We were told it would be July before the ice is out of the ocean bays. Boating season is laughably short.

Welcome to Cambridge Bay. Mind your manners and behaviour because this young lady will take you down. She was escorting a prisoner in handcuffs to Yellowknife and definitely had things under control.

Andrew was called in to help with an electronic issue we had. He's a very high level COO  overseeing a number of organizations in Nunavut and offered to drive us around so we could familiarize ourselves a bit with our surroundings. It was unsuccessful - this is not a grid system or any other type of system. We'll get lost for sure.

It was incredibly interesting though. He confirmed what we have suspected for a long time now. Our travels to indigenous areas has always left us wondering how these people are able to afford $100,000 trucks and expensive ATVs and snowmobiles. The government pays the Inuit for children in their home and in addition pays the household a handsome fee for each individual. It is not unusual for a family to get over $100,000 a year. They are also paid if they do not show up for work for whatever reason. Taking off hunting for 2 weeks at a time is a common occurrence. We all agreed this was a real incentive for people not to work.

Driving the Ocean ice road we headed to the site on top of a hill. There is a fully operable, ongoing DEW Line establishment employing hundreds of people on the outskirts of town. The best thing about it is it is entirely paid for by the U.S. Wouldn't the orange menace be ticked if he knew this. Canada Rules!

The lodge we call home for the next 3 nights is not fancy (it's actually a B&B) but the decor is outstanding. I love this piece.

Tomorrow will be interesting. We brought plenty of cold and wet weather clothing but only a pair of running shoes for footwear. We're working on a solution for that but it's not going to happen on this trip.

😎