Date: December 8, 2005 - Weather: - 15 and cloudy
Sunrise – Not Likely!
Sunset – Don’t think so!

I visited a couple of communities today for work. They were Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic. Fort McPherson is a small community of about 1000 people and it has a largely aboriginal population. There are unique challenges for communities of this size in the north. They have to truck water in from a lake to holding tanks. Smaller trucks then deliver that water to holding tanks at each house. The reverse happens with the sewage (different truck though!). It makes for a labour intensive process.

Tsiighetchic (Pronounced “sic-a-chic”) is a much smaller community of only about 200 people or less. It relies on either the ferry or the ice road to cross the Mackenzie River, so for about three or four weeks in the fall and spring, they are completely isolated.

In the schools in both communities there are interesting photo displays. One I saw was a pictorial description on how to gut, skin and quarter a caribou. Another showed how to skin a fox. I found these pretty interesting. Yet another showed the pictures and names of the village elders. I thought this was interesting too – we would do well to teach this kind of respect for the elderly of the community, everywhere.

A few of you asked questions in the comments section yesterday. Here are my answers:

Tom K asked how my first day or work was. It was ok. Of course, everything is different and it will take me some time to get used to all the names and faces and new procedures. It will get easier in the next few weeks. There seems to be many of the same issues I am used to back in Newfoundland and at the same time there are some unique issues, like the one I mentioned above. And yes Tom, I have touched base with Rose. She seems to be doing well.

Danny asked how work was going and how Ripley our dog is. I mentioned work above. Ripley is doing pretty well. It is taking some time for him to adjust to the extreme cold. The other day when it was about 40 degrees below zero, he was not happy at all. He finds it particularly hard on the paws. He will eventually get used to it though – we hope.

Dean S. asked if the fact that it was so cold up here was a factor in the sun not coming up. The answer is – no. The earth is tilted on it’s axis by 23.5 degrees. In the winter the tilt of the earth on its axis and the position of the earth in relation to the sun create a situation where the rotation of the earth does not bring this part of the world into line of sight of the sun. Consequently the sun does not rise. Of course, in the summer the opposite is true, and the sun does not set. For more information on this phenomenon, visit this webpage: http://daphne.palomar.edu/jthorngren/tutorial.htm

Tony Soprano asks what Muskox meat tastes like and how I got it. Well Tony, Muskox meat tastes pretty good! It has nowhere near the ‘gamey” taste of say, Moose. I would describe the taste as slightly sweet and very mild. It spices really well though and we find that a small amount of spice goes a long way. We both enjoyed it very much. As for where we got it, well…at a grocery store. It was $3.25 for a half kilogram package of ground Muskox meat. That is actually cheaper than ground beef, tastes better too, in my opinion.

And as for all of asking for pictures, basically it is too dark to take any outside. There are a few hours of dusk, but I am at work those hours. When the northern lights start appearing, I will try to get some pictures of those for you.

Cheers!