Category: BC Life

Friends and acquaintances are posing a few questions that seem to recur. Here are our responses.

Are you enjoying yourself?

We are surrounded by an Emily Carr landscape. (Emily Carr was an artist who painted the British Columbia landscapes a century ago.) We get out to enjoy the forest every week. We take Granville the dog, and OrangePekoe the cat on our outings. So, yes, we are enjoying ourselves.

In the village, Nigel has fitted in like a hand in a glove. Fortunately, he met his pal, Tubby, early in our arrival in the village. They have become good buddies, sharing the workspace at the wood-working shed, and working on common projects.

Nigel is enjoying the wood-work. He helped make a security gate for the day-care centre. He’ll be working on the shelving for the culture centre. He has made furniture for our flat, including this lovely cedar bench.

There have been three deaths during the past month, and Nigel has been involved with building the burial boxes for ashes, and the coffin for a body. He has also been teaching basic woodworking to the secondary students. It’s been quite variable work, and he enjoys every day at the wood working shed.

I have been teaching elementary level pupils at Wanukv Qaquthaailas School. I have a group of Kindergarten and Grade 1 pupils, and a group of Grade 4 and 5 pupils. The gap in ages is awkward, because there is little overlap in skills and academics.

However, I am fortunate to have a Learning Assistant who likes to teach. Consequently, I’m able to give her some of the Kindergarten level skill learning activities – basic printing skills, basic number and letter recognition and sequencing, basic addition and subtraction, and initial letter phonics. She encourages all the children to participate in the cultural activities that we arrange, and actively participates as an instructor.

She also likes to address the social-emotional requirements in the classroom. That works best with one person acting as the anchor, so I leave that to her. It’s a wonderful, symbiotic learning situation that works well for the two of us, and for the eight learners.

There is an interesting program in BC that encourages physical education activity in these remote, indigenous schools. My Learning Assistant is trained in the approved approach, so she is developing a PE program for the elementary learners that includes preparation for a 5 km walk. It will extend to the secondary level as the children age up the levels. It’s all very thrilling.

Meanwhile, I work with the Junior level pupils (grades 4 & 5), helping them develop their reading skills (decoding as well as comprehension), basic arithmetic skills, and basic writing skills.

Plenty of academic instruction time is, as much as possible, melded to other activities (1 hour a day to PE, 1 hour a day to local language and culture, 1-1/2 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays to an on-line tutoring program or to outdoor education, 1-1/2 hours on Wednesdays to cultural activities). The other activities are very important, and I’m glad we have them in the schedule.

Are we enjoying ourselves here? In a word, yes. Both Nigel and I are enjoying the climate, the sunrises,

and the sunsets, especially at the government wharf.

We enjoy our relaxed evenings and weekends watching sports and dramas on television.

I’m on a swinging pendulum that happens when we are nearing retirement from fulltime employment. I’ve gone from being busy all the time, to doing almost nothing. I think the pendulum will be swinging towards the middle of the arc, in which I’ll do bits and pieces, more recreational activities, and leave work at work until I leave outside employment entirely. Nigel has already reached that fine balance.

So, the question was are we enjoying ourselves? It’s a small place, we are both relaxing, we are enjoying our work, we are enjoying the landscape. Most definitely yes, we are enjoying ourselves.

A couple of times recently I’ve been asked about living here. Some are questions specifically asking what it is like, or similar questions along the same lines. I think I’ve been asking myself the same questions. The answers vary, depending on the day and my mood, but essentially they are similar. Here’s today’s version.

What does it feel like to have been there so long?

We’ve been here for just over six months now. Half a year. Long, but not so long. We are, essentially, settling comfortably enough into our different lifestyle. Our days are full with work. Our lives are quiet – the two of us plus Granville the dog, and OrangePekoe the cat – amusing ourselves at home and in the nearby environment.

It took longer than expected to settle into the community. There were some stumbling blocks, but I think we’ve surmounted them. We’ve made some acquaintances, some pals. Our flat is smack-dab in the middle of everything, handy to work, and the perfect spot to be nosy-parkers. (not that we are, but….) We live on the top floor of this house.

That being said, both Nigel and I have developed routines. I go to work daily, come home for lunch (a pleasure to have that break), and spend the evenings reading and watching programs on TV.

Nigel follows a similar routine. Our work is different – I work with the elementary children at the school, he works in the wood-working shed making furniture and teaching the secondary children how to make simple items in a program similar to what in my youth was called “shop”. It is now called ‘woodworking’.

Our routine also includes a weekend outing to Oweekeno Lake, or R.I.C. which is the local term for the government wharf.

R.I.C. is Rivers Inlet Cannery, named for the large cannery that once was at that location. Pylons in the water are all that remain from those days.

Locations for outings are limited. The village, Oweekeno, is only about 3 km from one end to the other, and the accessible area around the village is possibly 10 km from one end to the other. There is a badly pot-holed, unmaintained road between the village and Oweekeno Lake.

Apparently it belongs to the logging company that built it, so no-one seems to take responsibility for upkeep. It is a necessary road, because it leads to what is called the Reload, which is where the logging company dropped logs and loaded them onto trucks to portage them around the rapids in the river.

There are many free-floating, washed-up logs along the shore.

These are cut into smaller chunks, the familiar split log shape that we Canadians know and use for home heating in wood stoves. We are the lucky recipients of a regular load of logs to help keep our house toasty warm.

Have I experienced culture shock?

Yes, indeed. There are many different routines here, with no explanations forthcoming. I’ve made many mistakes. It has not been a welcoming community, for the most part. I’ve lived in many different places, often feeling warmth in the welcome. I’ve not felt that here. It’s unfortunate, from my perspective, because, after six months, I remain wary, whereas otherwise I’d be getting involved in many community activities. I am involved with all of the activities that include the elementary school children. That’s a start. I’m sure it will continue and expand over the coming months.

That being said, there are a couple of people who have spoken warmly to us, and from whom we have felt a warm welcome. One is Alvina, who unfortunately has been unavailable for the past three or four months because they were in and out of the community getting medical care for her husband. When she returns, I think we’ll become much more friendly. We are of an age, and we have common interests.

Another is George, our Language and Culture instructor. He is always happy to advise about cultural practices and procedures, and to generally chat about this and that. We are also of an age, so we have some common life experiences, having lived through the same decades.

We also have a friend in the village. Peter. When he is in Oweekeno, he invites us over for a meal about once a week. Peter is a Red Seal Chef (the interprovincial standard for skilled trades in Canada). He spent several years working in logging camps, including one of the large camps at the top end of Oweekeno Lake. His meals are very tasty, and include logger-size helpings. We come home stuffed, often with a take-away portion for tomorrow.

The feeling “I’m living here” is very slowly starting to come into place. Another year will perhaps solidify it. Meanwhile, we’ll continue going to work, joining community events, and increasingly visiting others in the community as we all get more comfortable with each other.

Owikeno Lake is part of the meandering fjord and its contributing watersheds that defines the boundaries of Wuikinuxv Nation.

This is a classic fjord lake – long, narrow, surrounded by steep-sided mountains. Fjords are formed when glaciers carve a narrow path between the mountains. The contour lines on a topographic map are close together, indicating the steepness of the inclines.

Owikeno Lake is approximately 70 km long. It’s about 2 km wide at the widest point. Three sets of narrows divide the length into four basins. The basins are fed by four main rivers – the Tzeo, Sheemahant, Inziana, and Machmell.

The rivers drain from the Ha-Iltzuk Icefield, the largest icefield in the Coast Mountains. I am presuming that the glacier we see at the first narrow is part of that icefield. That is the point at which the Machmell River enters Owikeno Lake.

Fjord lakes are often filled with the rubble left behind when the glaciers melted back. The pebbles, some very large, on this beach are typical of the rounded cobbles that were weathered into smooth shapes by the glacier’s back and forth movement.

Glaciers are remarkably powerful. They scour the rocks and dirt from the mountains, leaving crevices and near vertical cliffs, which now add shape and contours to the terrain.

From where we were standing we could see the ravines that house some smaller rivers, but not the rivers themselves. Looking west towards the lake outlet into the Wannock River, the Medowse Creek. flows through ravine we can see.

Looking east, I suspect the indents that we can see on the south side of the lake (to the right in the picture) are the entrances of Dallery Creek, and possibly Loquaist Creek.

The larger in-gap, just at the bend on the north side might be the outlet of Amback Creek. Without full reckoning, on site with a topographic map, the specifics remain speculation at this time.

Decades ago major logging operations happened up at the top of Owikeno Lake. The logs were floated down the lake and off loaded here because the Wannock River has unpredictable currents and irregular depth. The narrow beaches are littered with huge logs, remnants of the logging industry.

For us, Owikeno Lake is our casual recreation area. We regularly take the extremely energetic dog, Granville,

and OrangePekoe the cat for a romp on the beach. Well, maybe OrangePekoe doesn’t romp; she quietly explores as much as possible stretching her leash to its limits.

While it is always a delightful outing, being a geographer and a teacher, plus a surveyor and a woodworker, we look at the landscape with more than casual eyes, adding another dimension to our day-trips here.

Despite our slight tendency to make it a bit of a busman’s holiday, we mainly come up to Owikeno Lake to enjoy the beauty of this glacial lake, and the ever changing atmosphere of the area.

A picnic lunch, an hour of casual beachcombing, and some outside playtime for the four of us today.

The two of us, looking a tad like former long-haired hippie people.
Maybe we were. Maybe we are.

OrangePekoe and Granville stretched their legs as well. We kept OrangePekoe on a leash because cats do not come when called. Granville, on the other hand, had a lively time off-leash.

We love this view at Owikeno Lake. We are parked on the north shore of the lake. We had our picnic lunch near the end of the road, an area called The Reload. That’s where, historically, the logs were loaded onto a truck, and taken to the other end of the village before being transported out of the fjord. The river between the lake and the top of the fjord does not accommodate the huge logs that were harvested in this area.

Nigel and OrangePekoe wandered in the midst of some of the rogue logs that, decades ago, escaped from the barges at the Reload. There’s plenty of good wood piled up on the pebble beaches around the lake.

A closer view of a handful of logs. They are nearly a metre wide, and more than ten metres long (at least that size, says Nigel, who is a dab hand at estimating length). Massive Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce, and Red Cedar lounge on the pebble beach.

Some logs have been in the water for a long time. They have weathered into interesting textures and patina.

And some shapes intrigue our imagination, leading to favourite games like “what do you see?”

The smooth rocks and pebbles on this beach have been tossed and tumbled in the water for yonks. They make for a bit of tricky walking because they roll around underfoot. It adds to the adventure.

Nigel clambered around on the boulders and logs at water’s edge while taking photos. I guess it is reminiscent of his surveying days. Now-a-days he looks through a camera lens instead of a theodolite lens. Still looking for horizontal and vertical angles though.

OrangePekoe paid no attention to the photo opportunities. She scrambled among the rocks and logs, surefooted on the rounded surfaces. She is an explorer at heart.

Granville is a simpler being. Sticks of various shapes and sizes kept her entertained. She’s not shy of a foray over the logs to get the ideal stick from the rocks below.

She’ll also find and toss around twisted and multi-pronged sticks on the grassy bank.

A naturalist at heart, coupled with beachcombing, are favourite activities. They were my amusements.

There was not much unique flora, but spotting the usual items is a joy in itself.

A display of moss on a log at the water’s edge. Moss are flowerless plants that often grow in thick clumps on logs or in damp areas.

A type of bracket fungus on the large stump in the water. These fungus are woody perennials, growing larger every year. They are not edible.

This was an appropriate find for this Valentine’s Day’s outing.
All in all, a very enjoyable outing for the four of us.

There is something delightful about watching the sun set over a string of mountains, reflected in the sea. We often go to the west end of Oweekeno village to watch that very sight.

The government wharf is at the west end of the village.

This is where the plane lands when it cannot land at the airstrip.

An airplane landing at a snowy dock is always a welcome sight. But an even more delightful sight is the changing evening sky, when we relax after a day at work.

From here, we can look several kilometres down the Rivers Inlet fjord, towards where it makes a slight bend before leading out to the Pacific Ocean.

Sometimes we are lucky enough to see the moon rising as the sunset is fading, both within the same frame.

Often enough we find ourselves alone at the dock. Well, not quite alone. Granville always comes along for the ride, and a bit of a fun at the dock.

Facing west, we have an open view from the dock. This ensures a beautiful sunset colouring the sky above the mountains, with the plane dock silhouetted in the foreground.

Despite the small area in which we wander, we are finding plenty of beauty. It is especially wonderful to revisit places, like the government wharf, to enjoy and extend Wuikinuxv’s many-varied presentations.

Wuikinuxv is a fly-in community. That means we must take a plane to fly in or out. There is no other public transportation available. We rely on Wilderness Seaplanes to move people to and from Wuikinuxv.

That being said, the plane is intriguing. It’s a Grumman Goose. This is an amphibious aircraft, able to land with equal ease on water or on land. This is a useful trait in Coastal BC where weather may require a water landing in lieu of landing on the airstrip, and vice-versa.

Five of us were scheduled to fly out on Saturday 20 December. Six if we count Granville as a passenger, although technically she was cargo.

The day dawned with about 10 cm of slushy snow on the ground. It did not look optimistic for a flight. At about noon, someone was asked to go to the government wharf to take a snapshot. This would give Wilderness Seaplanes some information to decide whether to cancel or keep the flight. When Frankie took the photo the sky was overcast but clear. He emailed the picture. Within 30 minutes it was snowing again. The snowplough made another run along the road, clearing snow. Oh well, that’s that, we thought.

Suddenly, within minutes, Frankie, who was driving the Band Van as a shuttle to the plane, was beeping at the door. He phoned up. “Let’s go. The plane is flying.” He zoomed around collecting the passengers, and someone to help with Peter, who needs mobility assistance. We were at the government wharf in plenty of time, waiting for the plane.

After a few auditory illusions, what to our wondering eyes should appear but a sight we were glad to see – the Wilderness Seaplanes’ Grumman Goose smoothly landed at R.I.C. (the term we use for the government wharf) on its scheduled flight today. It was delayed due to weather, but the clear weather window was big enough to complete this flight. The plane arrived despite the overcast sky accompanied by the threat of snow and reduced visibility.

Although we were in a rush, there was time to take a quick snapshot just before boarding the plane.

We loaded selves and baggage within minutes, and off we flew. The wake created by the floats under the wings is always a thrill to see.

On board, Granville was busy looking everywhere. It was a tad noisy for her, I expect. Granville came out to stay in the kennels at the vet (great kennels) while we were in Victoria for appointments.

Nigel was in the first seat, so he could see out the front window as well as the side windows. A prime seat.

Visibility was surprisingly good, considering the weather conditions. Good for the pilot, since on these trips the pilot flies by sight, generally.

On my side of the plane, the fish farm cages were clearly visible.

As was the ice on the ponds on the islands.

By the time we reached Port Hardy, it was raining heavily. Our landing was smooth. We got ourselves and Granville to our respective accommodations.

Travelling – always something lateral that makes us smile, sometimes even laugh aloud. We stayed at Kwa’lilas Hotel in Port Hardy for a couple of nights. Our evening meal at the Ha’me’ Restaurant in the hotel, was pricey but tasty. Nigel’s meal, beef tenderloin, well presented, and well cooked. The smile of appreciation says it all. He accompanied it with a glass of Telegraph Cove IPA, the proceeds of which are used to refurbish a fire-damaged historic site in Telegraph Cove, BC. Nigel said he’d have that beer again. He’d have the tenderloin again too.

Best part of our stay in Port Hardy – and unfortunately there are no photos for this part – much to our pleasure, we bumped into several Wuikinuxv friends while we were in Port Hardy. They certainly seemed glad to see us as well. Perhaps that’s an indication that we are settling well into the community.

Nigel had been hankering to get up on Owikeno Lake. He wanted to get the lay of the water before venturing forth with his boat. His wood-work-shop pals have been planning to look for logs to process at the local mill. They have been foiled by weather.

Nigel was feeling rather despondent about ever getting up on the lake before winter made such a trip impossible. And then, on a fine day, there was a distress call from a federal Fisheries camp up on the lake. Some of the Fisheries employees had become grounded on a sandbar. Two men from the Search & Rescue group picked up Nigel, and they set off on a rescue mission.

The seemingly simple start got a bit complex because the river access point was too low to launch the boat properly. The muddy shoreline prevented them from pushing their rescue boat further into the river.

Fortunately the Wuikinuxv Fish Hatchery boat, which had been out working in the lake, arrived and the manager generously passed over his boat for the men to use.

The lake was calm – flat calm. The only ripples and wavelets were created by their 150 HP outboard jet-boat engine. It’s a powerful, propeller-less engine that can take the boat into shallow water without damaging the engine. Ideal for fish-hatchery work, but suitable for this rescue mission, which because of the sandbar in the equation, would likely need the men to work in shallow water.

Because they are a water-based group, Search and Rescue in Wuikinuxv is a subsidiary of the Coast Guard. Nigel has experience with Ground Search and Rescue which works under the direction of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. His groundwork background makes him a valuable volunteer here, but because of his different experience he needs some orientation to the way this group operates. He was invited along to be an extra hand, and to get a feel for how Search and Rescue works here. The two full members of Search and Rescue – William and Frank – were in charge.

Nigel’s job was to keep his eyes peeled looking for debris in the water. He could almost relax long enough to take a few photographs of the beautiful scenery. One location has intrigued us since we first heard stories. There is a valley near Doos Creek with an angled hill on one side that is renown as a place where Sasquatch lives. Sasquatch is a large, hairy, human-ape-like creature that lives in the Pacific Northwest. Many residents have stories about encounters with Sasquatch in that area. There were no sightings on this trip.

For a surveyor, a confluence is always a notable location. This spot is where the Neechenz and Machmell Rivers meet. The mountain in the background is likely Mt Somolenko, (2,658 m ) which is a mountain in the Ha-Iltzuk Icefield. It seems that this area has a permanent glacier covering. Coldly beautiful, and it explains the chilly wind from the east.

The Fisheries camp, dwarfed by its mountains backdrop, is just around the bend in the lake near the river confluence. Everything is built on pillions in the water. It looks rustic, but it is well established, with accommodation for about a dozen people, a kitchen, a communal area, a large office-workshop, and four boathouses. There are many solar panels on the roof, and they have a diesel generator. All mod-cons, and apparently warm and comfortable.

Logging operations in the area closed down about 30 years ago, but its residue remains. There are many logs floating in the water around the Fisheries camp. Huge logs. Imagine resting in the evening, after a hard day’s work, and looking out at this view. A beautiful and iconic Northwest coast view.

The men collected a boat from the Fisheries camp because they knew they had to pick up a group of people. The Fish Hatchery boat was too small to carry eight or nine people safely.

The Fisheries boat had a more shallow draft. William and Nigel waited at the narrows near the Sheemahant River while Frank went ahead past the next narrows to collect the marooned Fisheries employees.

They whiled away the time looking for logs to possibly retrieve for their woodworking projects. William’s comment was “We’ll never run out of cut logs here.” Apparently not. The shorelines all along the lake were replete with logs.

Soon enough Frank returned with a half-dozen relieved persons in the Fisheries boat. When you are driving boats with powerful engines, one of the joys is going fast. Because it was getting late in the afternoon, the men had every reason to zoom quickly down the river, back to the Fisheries camp.

The Fisheries employees and the camp boat were deposited at their camp. The plan was for the Fisheries people to go back up the lake to get their stranded (and anchored) boat after the next big rain when the water level would be higher. The Search and Rescue mission had been successful. Time to head back down the Owikeno Lake to the village. No relaxing yet – Nigel was needed as look-out for floating debris. There were plenty of floating logs, a danger to their boat.

The wind came up, the water started to get choppy. By the time they were part way back along the lake, the water was very choppy, and the men concentrated on safely getting back to the boat access in the river.

It wasn’t quite the way in which Nigel thought he’d explore Lake Owikeno, but it certainly gave him a substantial perspective about what to expect when he starts taking his boat up to the lake. Plus, it gave him a decent introduction to the type of Search and Rescue work he will be involved with here after he completes his orientation and training.

This expedition was an example of how the various groups work cooperatively in small, remote communities across Canada. When Search and Rescue needed a fast boat, the Fish Hatchery immediately passed over the keys, and assured the men that there was plenty of fuel. The Fisheries camp made their second boat available without pause. Before the Search and Rescue team set off for home Fisheries filled fuel enough for the return trip. All the parts pulled together to ensure a successful and happy end to an emergency situation.

After a couple of months here, Nigel has slotted in like a hand in a glove. He takes Granville for a walk along the road daily. He chats with many people during those walks. I guess you could say that he is becoming a bit of a fixture.

On some of those walks his destination is the wood-working shed where he has been working on crafting a table. He is not working at great speed because there are other tasks around the shed that needed attention.

When it rained, the water leaked in under a gap at the door.

This is not good when there is plenty of electrical equipment in use, with their power cords lying on the floor.

To alleviate the situation, Nigel fashioned a length of wood into a water-dam.

Using some blue-skin, which is a rubbery, sticky adhesive that helps hold things in place and makes a really good seal against water, he fashioned a way to secure the wood at the door. This required careful and precise measuring. Surveyors can measure with accuracy. It seems that it’s a transferrable skill.

A blue-skin spray-on adhesive on the concrete made that surface tacky enough to secure a strip of fabric blue-skin to which he attached the length of wood.

It worked. At the next rain storm, the water did not leak under the door. It has remained water-tight since. The workshop has a dry floor, making it a safer place to work.

To ensure the water drained away from the door, Nigel and his buddy, William, dug a channel around the concrete slab at the entrance to the wood-working shed diverting the water to the sides of the building.

There’s more. Nigel borrowed a whipper-snipper from the ground-keepers and cleared the long grass from around the wood-working shed. It makes the front look neater, and a more receptive place to visit.

On a roll, he and William cleared the back of the wood-working shed, making it into a more enticing, neater place to work outside.

That’s where they sand the wood. It’s a creative spot, with the view towards the river.

On a grassy ledge just below the workshop there is a roughly styled fire pit.

The back of the wood-working shed is beginning to look like a relaxation and inspiration oasis while definitely remaining a work area- a necessary combination when creating artistic and precision work.

Both Nigel and William are working on projects,. William has several commissions for furniture, which he decorates with wood-burned etches of flora and fauna typical of the Great Bear Rainforest where we live.

Nigel is working on furniture for us. At the moment he is making a small table.

A small commission for a picture frame came his way. Perhaps there will be more commissions and our framing shingle will hang again.

He and William will work together on various projects from time to time. They are working on a gate requested by the day-care centre. Nigel has been working on the slats.

Together, they are rationalising their workplace. The inside is getting neater as the two men make sense of how the place can work effectively and efficiently. A couple of others have expressed interest in joining the two of them. Slowly, slowly a wood artisan workshop will develop here.

As Nigel settles in to daily life in Wuikinuxv, he is having fun, making pals, and he will come away with a new skill. All ’round excellent start I’d say.

Flight: expected date 16 August. After a flight delay of a day plus several hours, the mist and rain lifted enough for the  Grumman Goose, an amphibious plane, to fly us to Wuikinuxv on 17 August.

Us was OrangePekoe the cat, one of my soon-to-be neighbours, and me. The plane was chock-a-block with cargo which is where OrangePekoe was stowed. We humans sat in the first two passenger seats behind the pilot.

The mist hovered beneath and just above the plane, but there were enough openings that I caught glimpses of the coastline. It’s a coast riddled with fjords, sotted with islands, and lined with steep walls of evergreen trees (Sitka spruce, Douglas pine, Cedar).

Below us was boggy land, peppered with marshy lakes, often defined with logging roads. Logging is a major industry in British Columbia. The logs are huge; often diameters exceed my arm width, so at least a meter wide, and more often a couple of meters wide or more. It’s mind-boggling to my East-coast mindset, where trees seem to be much smaller in diameter.

Large fish farms are located just off-shore, in the ocean water. They are salmon farms, growing Coho and Chinook salmon for the domestic and international markets. I’m told that the fish farms in the fresh water areas cultivate Trout. This farm, with a dozen pens, was in the ocean

About half-way to where Rivers Inlet spills into the Pacific Ocean there is a wide crescent-shaped bay facing Queen Charlotte Strait. This is Ugwiwa’/Cape Caution Conservancy, a BC Parks location. Excellent, but unpredictable waves break on a very long, sandy, and isolated beach that defines the land-side of this bay. Today the ocean was calm but there was noticeable surf along the 5 kilometre length of the beach. Both surfing and kayaking are promoted as Ugwiwa’ Bay activities. I rather suspect that these can be considered extreme sports considering the lively sea conditions in this area.

The pilot, constantly monitoring his instruments, flew us along the coast and up Rivers Inlet. The mist hovered around us. I think he was flying by VFR (Visual Flight Rules), relying on visible landmarks to pilot the Grumman Goose up the fjord. Very impressive.

We seemed to be skirting the southern side of the Rivers Inlet.

The northern side was a shadow on our periphery. An atmospheric wonderland!

We flew low over the village itself,

and out over Owikeno Lake before turning to land at the gravel airstrip.

I had arrived at Wuikinuxv, where we’ll live for the next year or two, or if it’s a good stretch then maybe three.