The adventure continues with another twist.
I've put some other stories on hold for this one. While in the transient
apartment of the past month, we had several days without running water. Many
towns and villages have suffered with this problem, more so this winter than
past years. The hamlet of Rankin Inlet, here in Nunavut, is not unique. On my
sunday stroll out to Lake Williamson, I happened to be heading past the
Northern and noticed Big Bertha once again working her magic trying to free up
some of the frozen water supply in that area of town.
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| The NORTH star |
I stopped to talk with the man on duty at
the trailer, and to thank him for their hard work and efforts to help the town
become free flowing again. It was -26C, sunny but with a strong wind. Our
conversation continued and he said they were getting good support from the town
people...doing the same thing..stopping by and expressing their gratitude,
which surprised me for a moment. These were people who couldn't wash clothes,
shower or even flush without effort. On reflection, it's what the people in
this place would really do. I think it must be a characteristic of the Inuit
people...working together through adversity for a common good. It happens
elsewhere, but is very common in life here.
In Niagara, there has been talk of some 65
homes and business affected in one of our cities and solutions are slow at best and tapping
into a neighbours supply seemed the ready answer when other fixes were not
available. Here, in the far north, the cold temperatures can create havoc with
deep frost getting into the ground before the successive layers of snow start
the insulation process.
The solution to a frozen water supply is
something I had not come across in my previous travels. At the least, if so, I
have not been aware. The solution for this town (and I would imagine is very
common in the north), is to keep the
water moving. Coming here from Niagara Falls, I understand the concept. Despite
reports of the great cataract 'freezing' this year, it did not. The surface and
mist formed beautiful facades, but the flow underneath continued unrestricted.
It's a similar situation here in Rankin
Inlet. Any commercial building or large apartment must have sprinkler systems.
These buildings have a supply line usually 4-6 inches and a return of around 2
inches. Circulation pumps keep the water flowing in those pipes, which is
extremely helpful when there is no internal demand (at night). With the return
lines active, this flow helps in keeping movement within the main town line
running under the street.
But this beautiful clear sky morning we face
another challenge. During the night my power went off. The smoke detector
beeped twice just to let me know. It was around one in the the morning. I
confirmed this by looking over at the clock radio, expecting it to be
blinking...but got a blank stare instead...probably no battery backup. My wrist
watch finally put the issue to rest. Looking north out the window, the north
end of area 6 was dark. No TV images were dancing in windows, no street lights,
and only the occasional vehicle was moving during the blackout.
The reward was looking and watching the most
incredible display of galaxies and star systems, I have ever seen. While we
were in the midst of our blizzard last week with overcast skies and blowing
winds, 'southerners' had the ability to view one of the best displays of the
northern lights in recent history. WE could not see a thing. One of my goals
this trip, was to see the northern lights. Last night, while they weren't the
cloud burst of colour that I was hoping for, the display was most beautiful and
thoroughly breathtaking.
Immediately, I grabbed my miniature Maglite,
from my shaving kit. Ever present, but seldom used, this is a great piece to
carry and while I've used it sparingly over the years, it was most handy this
time again. The camera, the tripod..then set them up. I covered the door frame
so the light would not come under the door from the emergency lighting in the
hallway and reflect off the glass. I took my time to try various
settings...took a few photos for about an hour. I had scouted to see what areas
were affected by this blackout and found it to be localized just outside my
window and north towards the edge of town. This being the case, I fully
expected the phone to ring, to call me back to the health centre.
A localized blackout usually means equipment
failure...sometimes caused by someone running their vehicle into a power pole.
The phone never rang and the power came back in about 45 minutes. As quickly as
it had arrived to my retina, then my Nikon, the starry scene was invisible...lost amid the
sodium vapor street lighting. A big screen flickered nearby. Wisps of steam
could be seen, as furnaces and the heating of the local houses began again.
Mother nature had showered me with a
personal light show. It made me think about the distances that light had
travelled, the millions of years to reach my camera and my eyes. A vision that
I could only see here in Nunavut, when the lights went out. A power struggle of
epic proportions. Man versus nature. Don't ever bet against nature!
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| A dazzling display last night |
Update: On entering the Health centre this a.m., I was informed that we were on rotating blackouts as one of the 3 generators in town was not operating. Hopefully, man wins out soon here!
