It was a cold and blustery day in Inuvik today. It rained all day, and we thought of how people would be trying to navigate the Dempster Highway today and shivered with dread and fear. We were so lucky! We had St. Christopher and God and all our prayer army rooting for us! Anyway, it was a lovely day to stay inside and relax, which we all did quite well.
The kids watched TV, and found some fun shows that they had never seen before as well as some old favourites. They read, and they played on their screens. They went outside for a little while during a dry spell, but after 30 minutes it was pouring rain again and they came inside. We sent Greg out to get food for lunch and dinner, and we cooked in the hotel again.
I am in price shock! Already some things are noticeably more expensive and we haven't even jumped the plane to Tuk yet. I just about had heart failure when I saw an 8-pack of Chef Boyardee Ravioli in a can for $27.99!! At home, one of those would be about 1.99, so an 8-pack would be $16, so when you allow for shipping to get it up here...everybody has to make a profit. It makes me grateful for the flour, sugar, rice, pasta, dried fruit and veggies, potatoes, onions, pancake mix, peanut butter, jam, salad dressings, toiletry items, lunch items like nutrigrain bars and granola bars, toilet paper, paper towel, and loads of other things we have brought up and are sending across in the van on the barge. A lot of the grocery store we were in sells Kirkland products, which are from Costco, so the owner of this store goes south to the nearest Costco and buys like crazy or has it all shipped up regularly. A case of water was $24.99!! At home we were picking up a case of 24 bottles of water for $1.99! Like I was saying to some of you, the cost of an item is based on its weight. Whatever is heavier will cost more to ship. Also, whatever is most useful will also cost more, like milk, bread and eggs. The milk you can get up here has changed a lot since we were last in the remote north. This milk you buy on the shelf and is sealed in large juice box containers. You can get the whole range of milk, from skim to whole, and it has a long shelf life. This is the kind of milk I remember buying in Mexico for the boys when they were babies. I think it's ultra-pasteurized or something like that. Anyway, anything is better than powdered milk!! That stuff is disgusting!
I did some major re-organization today. For traveling purposes in the van, as we picked up groceries we put them in these big duffle bags to keep them from spilling all over the van. Well, now that we are about to fly to Tuk, I had to make sure that we have in two large duffle bags the following: a basic kitchen which includes a frying pan, a pot, a Dutch oven, a spatula, a wooden spoon, a can opener, 5 sets of cutlery, 5 plastic plates, bowls and cups, a mixing bowl, a cookie sheet, a 9x13 glass pyrex baking dish, and a 2-cup measuring cup, as well as some dish soap, tea towels and a cloth. That should cover the kitchen. I also had to make sure we had some towels, a shower curtain and rings and basic toiletries for the bathroom. I also made sure we had 5 afghans and a pillow each as well as a set of pyjamas and a change of clothes, plus some laundry soap to bring. Sometimes in the north you will be traveling with your allowable number of bags that are within the acceptable weight limit, and out of the blue you will have to reduce your limit that will fly with you at that moment and have the remainder of your bags come up on a later flight that day or even the next day in some cases, depending on what else is going up in the belly of that airplane that is considered freight. This means that of the accepted 5 bags of no more than 50 lb each plus one personal item, we could be told that we need to bring less. I have our most basic belongings in the two big duffle bags and the rest can come up whenever. At least I know we have clothes, pyjamas, can eat, and can bathe and sleep comfortably. The rest will work itself out. This is life in the north. If I am told go ahead with what you have, then that is great! But like Uncle Bill said about the van up the Demspter, "Prepare for the worst.".
There are apparently three flights daily to Tuk from Inuvik on weekdays: approx. 9am, 3pm, and 6 pm. The 9 am one is booked, so we'll see what happens for the others. We have our belongings all ready to go, so we are in a holding pattern now until it's time to leave for the airport. In the meantime, everyone is sleeping in. The only thing left to do is wash the dirt off the van, fill it up with gas, load our groceries on it, and take it to the secure port parking lot for the barge to pick it up in a few days. After that, we make our way to the airport and off to Tuk we go.....whenever.
There are apparently three flights daily to Tuk from Inuvik on weekdays: approx. 9am, 3pm, and 6 pm. The 9 am one is booked, so we'll see what happens for the others. We have our belongings all ready to go, so we are in a holding pattern now until it's time to leave for the airport. In the meantime, everyone is sleeping in. The only thing left to do is wash the dirt off the van, fill it up with gas, load our groceries on it, and take it to the secure port parking lot for the barge to pick it up in a few days. After that, we make our way to the airport and off to Tuk we go.....whenever.
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