Getting out of Rio was a drama for which I was not prepared. It’s a long story that still isn’t over and may flare up again so I’ll not discuss it here, maybe later one day. Suffice to say it cost me more in time, energy, dollars and anxiety than I’d bargained for before I finally touched down in sweet, snowy Edmonton to be greeted by Dad and my BIL, Dave after 23 long and unslept-for-the-duration hours. That rum and coke in the car on the way home was nectar from the gods and fortifying for the -23 C temperature. I turned up in jeans, t-shirt, hiking boots and a scarf. I didn’t wonder why people laughed at me.
The following days in the lead up to Christmas included trips to Wal-Mart (I did get to see a Walmartian but nothing of the calibre of the US types seen online, it’s too cold for that here), Costco on the 23rd December, something that cannot be beaten for dumbest thing to do to yourself. We ransacked dollar stores for the perfect gag gifts and I wrapped up the souvenirs for everyone to add to the pile under the tree. The tree that was a very real tree with spiky needles and that needed to be cut to size to fit in the lounge room and the top trimmed to take the angel.
Catching up with my family has been wonderful. I’m also loving the easy access to food other than ham and cheese on white bread, the ability to do laundry in a machine instead of hand washing more than twice in 5 weeks and of course reliving my recent experiences while showing them my photos…sans the nude boys pics of course 😉
Christmas dinner was a 22lb turkey, two kinds of potato, broccoli, stuffing, gravy and carrots which we are still trying to find ways to enjoy in almost every meal since. Gifts exchanged, numerous card games played, snow angels on the driveway, christmas light display drive-bys, too many rum and cokes, trying out my new Cranium board game and shoveling the driveway to get the car out…it’s been a busy few days.
We’re currently holed up in the hotel room in Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories, at about -26 C after a big day. We started with dog sledding, a spectacularly beautiful scenic jaunt over frozen lakes and through forest trails, bumping along in a one-driver+one-passenger sled pulled by 4 Alaskan husky bitsa’s who gallop along when the trail is smooth with their giant red tongues flying beside their faces like a cape while their breath freezes to frost on their muzzles. I drove out to the cabin on my own with three dogs, Dave drove Myra and dad drove mum. It was actually kind of warm when I was working to push the sled up hills, keep the sled upright (which I managed most of the time) and trying not to come a cropper and lose the team while my empty sled drifted like a bogan’s car around the turns and over the bumpy forest trails. The condensation from my breath frosted to my eyelids, creating eye-cicles and froze between the weave of my balaclava.
The views across the lakes to tree lined banks and boulders capped with snow next to the trail were brilliant under the noon sunshine which just peaked above the tree tops. It was quiet when we stopped and we noticed crows overhead making a call that isn’t familiar, almost like an echolocation pinging sound. The white blanket sparkled in the sunshine and hued grey-blue in the shade.
We stopped after half an hour at a cabin for hot chocolates and a warm up, swapping drivers – Myra drove me and Dave took my three dog team. Now you remember I said it was warmish on the way out? Well that was all over on the way back and we got to at least -40 plus wind chill, cutting through my two pairs of gloves and warming pads to make me wonder if I’d still have fingers by the end of the trip. I had to put the camera away and pull the balaclava up and the beanie down until I had hardly a letterbox slit to see out of. I was wearing thermal undergarments, a vest, a fleece vest, a K2 jumper, a scarf, a jacket that went to my knees – with liner jacket inside – rated for northern Canada, track suit pants, ski pants, two pairs of thick wool socks, heating pads in my socks, Sorel snow boots rated to -70 C, balaclava, beanie and two pairs of gloves and I still felt the frostiness seeping in. I’ve not known cold quite like that before. Ever.
We plan on driving out onto the ice road on Great Slave Lake tonight to see the Aurora Borealis. We caught a showing of it last night, or rather, at 2am today from the hotel room window. The snaking green serpent twisting across the sky and changing constantly, glowing bright or growing dim in a heartbeat, it’s completely unpredictable where to look for it next. All our fingers are crossed (as well as they can be in fat-fingered gloves) that the clouds will clear and the lights will dance across the sky to show us again why Mother Nature is the world’s finest artist.
