Friday the 13th …PARTE DEUX

It’s already the second Friday the thirteenth of 2015…another

The Sun is getting stronger, the days longer, and the roads are showing centre bare...for now!

happens later in the fall. This is my second Friday the thirteenth while here in Rankin Inlet. Hard to believe, it’s also pay day…and the direct deposit actually went in this time…the beauty of online banking inquiries.

There are two big things happening locally…namely Bingo

and Hockey. First, its pay day so all government workers and many others get paid. The local charities are on board and radio bingo “is on the air”…top prize $20,000 on friday...my mother-in-law is happy when she wins $20.00 at her residence in Welland. Now Saturday’s top prize is $18,500. Now those are the top prizes….the other bingo games pay out handsomely as well. Also quick picks when you buy your cards for $30 EACH.

A raven sits atop one of the 'old' poles

Newer infrastructure is visible but hidden

This afternoon, my Colleague Marie, informed me that a group of snow mobilers had just arrived in town to get their bingo cards…from Chesterfield Inlet...a trip in -38 degree weather of over 100 miles one way. Now while they are here they probably will also cheer at the other big event in town. There is another hockey tournament this weekend. Rankin Inlet has five men’s teams of the total 15 registrants. Arviat and Iqualuit are not coming due to financial or other reasons apparently.

So it’s probably a good day to clear up questions and answers that have arisen and give some updates as to other events, here, in the north. For the past 48 hours, the work of Jason and Guy has remained successful as we had water in our apartment building for the past 44 hours already! Thank you both. Camping at -40 degree temps has some benefits but that list does not use a lot of ink!

I haven’t been on call for the past two weeks, so that’s been quite a treat as well. Marie has taken the call during that time, but that will all change Monday at 8 a.m. as she smiles and hands me our new G3 Samsung cell. I’ll be on for the next two weeks thereafter.

The full moon is waning and today was to set around 9:30 a.m. but it hid behind some morning clouds after a cloud streak sunrise over at the other end of town. The plan is to try and see some northern lights after the moon goes dark in the next ten days. The sun itself is much stronger as everyone in Niagara keeps reminding me…thanks.

The weather here has been quite decent for the past two weeks. The roads have become almost centre bare and some pavement is actually showing now. There are multiple rocks showing through on the more popular snowmobiling routes through the various shortcuts in town. I tried to find out how they actually dig through the rocks to lay the sewer pipes necessary only to find out that they have just raised the level of the roadways as needed.

From the hill by the fuelling station over looking the dog pens and the town.

 

The housing and newer Power Lines

There’s definitely more street lighting around town and I’ve noticed an increased number of power lines. Bigger poles, heavier gauge wire and more routes are visible all through the hamlet. Obviously, this is in anticipation of future growth when the nearest gold mine reaches full production only 25 miles away, within the next year. Certainly housing will be expanding as the new building season approaches. Hard to imagine, what those large barges and containers will carry this year. So far they won’t be carrying my new Tim’s Horton Roll –up Toyota…I haven’t won it yet!

This morning, while watching CHCH television, and their live feeds from Port Dover I couldn’t help but think about the difference in temperature from one month ago. When the cyclists gathered last month, the temps in Dover were minus 24 and we were about -45. 

Today, Dover is well above freezing at plus 10 but we are hovering at -24 (-39 with the wind chill)…the closet things to motorcycles that we see here are the quads you see buzzing about town…those and the snow machines scurrying everywhere, even more so, since the weather has warmed slightly. Every Friday the 13^th motorcycle enthusiasts gather in droves to Port Dover to celebrate their sport together. This has been happening for over 33 years.

Have a great weekend. 

Here in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Monday has storm alerts and possible blizzards, after Sunday’s possible freezing rain. I really want to see how arctic freezing rain is any different. Stay warm, stay safe, enjoy your spring-like conditions… especially those in Port Dover. There the crowds are immense and yet I’ve never been there…but then most of them probably haven’t been here, either.

Port Dover crowd on a warmer 13th

Rankin Inlet Walking Tour

The walking tour can start many places but I’d thought we’d start from the Health Centre..the reason

Looking out over the Bay

being it’s of central focus to many of our residents. Going north along the main road through the centre of the hamlet you pass the bay on your left…in the near distance you can see some hills and such and apparently there are islands, just across. Of course, this time of year, it can look pretty barren but wintry beautiful especially on sunrise.

Further up the road and over a block or two past the generating plant are some remnants of the Shaft Head of the original Rankin Mine. Only a few parts remain…some concrete framing and some of the gears and such. Up the hill and over to the left of

town there’s a light that sits atop the hill. This light needs more research before I can bring its story to ‘light’.

The original Rankin Mine left overs

Back in Rankin Inlet town centre, there are new street lights, traffic signs, and street signs. I’ve noticed new electric poles, much taller and stronger than the previous ones. There’s a snow covered stack of them over by the old mine head, so you know that more will be replaced over the next few months/years as the infrastructure continues to be tweaked. The street signs last time were almost non-existant, this time they flourish and a few speed limit signs have been added as
well.

Once past the Northern and towards the firehall on the right you can see our famous 15 foot Inukshuk, through gale and calm, a pillar to the community. Apparently, in early summer, the hill it stands on is exquisitely covered in a blaze of small purple flowers. Just up the hill past my old ‘homestead’ sits the C-Co-op building complete with CIBC bank branch, co-op store and Inns north restaurant and hotel. It’s quite sad to see my place all boarded up and just awaiting the wrecking ball. There’s frost in the windows…where the sun used to stream in.

Across Williamson Lake we trek, past a multitude of houses. Some old “matchbox” style and some, more modern ones, having replaced the others as time moves forward. There are two story and singles, many with quads, snow machine or machines, and / or trucks or SUVs. The mix of colours,

The snow "block" wall wind protector

in the bright sunshine, are quite a contrast to the snow and ice. In front of one house the closest thing to an Igloo was a wall created to prevent snow from blowing up the front porch. It's the closest thing seen to date of an igloo style dwelling.

The housing here are mostly single family style stand alones, but multiple families live inside many. Housing and homelessness are two of the more pressing issues here in Nunavut just like the southern regions. I find it amazing that at these temperatures the word 'homeless' can be used. I know there are community freezers organized that local populations contribute to just like community kitchens in the south. The reality is proper nutrition and diet are a concern like everywhere.

New front windows kept out the cold winds

So by now we've passed the CBC building on the north side of town and stop in at the “matchbox gallery” for a lesson in the artistic history of Rankin and a comparison of the artwork of the other regions of Nunavut and our communities of Kivillaq. After a time to rest and warm, my journey continues to the target of today's tour. The most talked about house in town for the past two weeks.

You see, two weeks ago, there was talked of broken pipes and water damage and blockages. Then the weekend blizzard happened so I couldn't get out to see the attraction then either. At -40 temperatures it was not going away soon. In this part of the country and at this time of the year, frozen water is always an issue. The topic of conversation was the house. The house with the icy windows. The house with the ice spewing out the windows AND the level of frozen water ON THE INSIDE.

The story goes that the owner passed a year or more and family took over and rented it out for a while to the drivers working for the taxi company. From here it gets cloudy but with no one living in it and no one shutting off the water or watching the heat...you guessed it....mother nature took over.

Ice House attraction

The main attraction, this month, on the Rankin Walking Tour has been this house. To my knowledge it hasn't been named and you won't find it anywhere else. In fact, the creative talents at Pixar and Disney, I don't think could have dreamed up this version of “FROZEN”.