Homeward Bound

Did you ever see the movie Homeward Bound? It's about a cat and two dogs that are left by their families at a farm, but they decide country living isn't for them and decide to head home. This has nothing to do with that really except that I, like those cuddly animals, am on my way home.

It's bitter-sweet. Bitter because I really like it up here, the country and the people are unlike any that I've ever encountered. The past day and half have been good. I went to the Great Northern Art Festival. Apparently the opening ceremonies (which were on Friday evening) are good, I wouldn't know cause their headline performance canceled for what ever reason. They had a single dancer/drummer/singer which was kind of cool, but I was looking forward to the main dancing and drumming team. Oh well, I'll have to time my next visit with the beginning of the festival. They also had an art gallery (all hand made) to took at. Everything there was really good and INCREDIBLY over priced. Like $75 for a scarf and $50 for a set of mittens over priced. Some of the carvings and paintings were well over the 300 mark.

I also finally made it to the Igloo Church. It was really interesting. When it was originally built they built it with no blueprints! A couple years after it was completed the government wanted so see blueprints so they had to hire an architect to draw some up after the fact. The church was also designed with symbolism built into it. There are 3 exits signifying the trinity, 12 major arches for the 12 apostles, and 24 minor arches for the 24 elders in Revelation 4. And there are also 72 rings around the dome for the 72 who went out to preach. Also the church was built without pilings. They made a sort of floating base that allows the warm air out keeping the permafrost cold. In over 50 years the church hasn't moved an inch. When it was build the builders were the laughing stock of the north, but since then they have been vindicated and engineers from all over the world have come to study it's construction. The Sister who was giving the tour was really interesting. It's a must see if you ever make it to Inuvik.

Leaving here is sweet, because I'm that much closer to home. It feels like a long time since I left, really it has, but 17 day's in the grand scheme of things isn't that long. I've adjusted my plans a bit which actually get's me home a day sooner.

I decided to drive from Inuvik to Eagle Plains in one shot, it was a nice drive. Just as good as on the way there. The weather was nice though so I was able to stop a couple different places.

My first stop of the day was the little village on the McKenzie River. The village of Tsiigehtchic is only accessible by ferry, it's a quaint little place, that was completely deserted today. The only sole in sight was Irene Kendo. Irene is an aged native woman, she walks slowly with a bit of a hunch, but her eyes convey years of experience and wisdom. Irene has lived in Tsiigehtchic for over 40 years, and in fact on June 24th, she'll be celebrating her 44th anniversary! She was a school teacher for years, and had taken it upon her self to teach the younger generation the traditional Gwich'in language. In fact her granddaughter just preformed at a recent music festival and sang a song that she'd written in Gwich'in. She had a big smile on her face as she told me this, it was obvious that what a great moment of personal pride for her. She also told me about the rivers, the McKenzie and the Arctic Red that she has called home for over 4 decades, how she has fished them and has made her lively hood off them. She also told me how her people take great pride in the rivers and work to keep them clean. I did more listening than talking, and that's ok. I would have stayed longer but I had get going. Chatting with Irene Kendo was the highlight of my day. So I bid her farewell, wished her a happy anniversary and continued on my way.

Irene Kendo

The McKenzier River as seen from Tsiigehtchic

The Dempster in reverse offers as unique a view as going north. I wanted to climb a hill today, but unfortunately when I got to the hill it was covered by a cloud. I walked up it a bit, maybe 400fee, but when I turned around I could hardly see the van so I decided to turn back. That's ok, there is another one that I will climb tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'll head to Tombstone campground, where I'll hopefully see Mary to tell her all about my adventures, then it's on to Dawson City. Unfortunately the 5th Ave B&B didn't have any room for me so I think I'll camp at the campground across the river. The big change in my plan is that I am now going through Calgary and Regina on my way home. I'm looking forward to seeing my cousins and other friends. I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

~ Until next time