Out on the land

That's what they call it up here: 'the land'. I got a chance the other day to go for a hike out on one tiny part of the huge empty expanse of arctic tundra that allows Canada to claim itself 'the second largest country in the world'. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, and even more beautiful because someone else was worrying about Max and Talia's lunch.

Most of my pictures turned out to be pretty dull, however. You're probably familiar with the effect: you travel through some mountains or a forest, or go see a famous waterfall, and take lots of photos. And when you look at them later, all you have are a bunch of pictures of rocks or trees or rushing water. Thats what I found when I looked at these photos: lots and lots of shots of grey rocks. The photos just don't capture what I saw. Oh well.

Here's some of them anyway. To speed up loading of this page, I'm putting them in the extended entry...

After walking a considerable way out of town, I was still able to see the products of civilization. There where some communication domes on a hill and some houses could be seen to the side. To get way out I had to cross a stream at the bottom of a valley and climb the other side. Here's the stream. Luckily there was a few rocks I could cross it on.

Here's a shot from the top of the other side of the valley. I thought I'd have a nice view, but it was just more of the same. In Fall, the small plants that somehow manage to survive up here change colours, just as the trees do in the south. The bright red plants actually grow a berry that many Inuit were picking on the hills closer to town.

A small puddle of water in a depression in the rock. I thought this was a particularly artistic photo. Perhaps you disagree. Perhaps you do not have an artistic soul like myself.

Hey look! More grey rocks! This time they're arranged in a interesting shape. It looks like there's a seasonal stream here.

Here's what the ground looks like close up.

After crossing the stream the first time, I walked the crest of the ridge for some distance. But to get back to town, I had to recross the water, which had widened somewhat. I managed to cross this river relatively dry, only dunking one foot in the water.