Last week I made my last work trip – at least for the next while. I flew two hours north to the remote, fly-in community of Old Crow. I worked in this community for six years, flying in at least once a month over that time and it holds a place of tenderness in my heart. I don’t think I could even begin to describe why, but I love the people and the land and the way of life. I was only there for a few hours this time but it was nice to be back after more than a year.
Old Crow is a small town situated above the 67th parallel (as compared to my home at just above the 60th parallel). It is very dark and cold in winter and has 24 hour light in summer. The people have lived off the Barren Land caribou for millennium.
Typical views of the town look like this… the RCMP barracks is the red building on the right and the Anglican church is visible. That is a sofa out on the bank. One wants a comfortable place to sit when watching the river flow by!
There are many snowmobiles, q-wads and boats in town. Although there are more and more trucks and cars all the time, there is only a short piece of road to drive them on. Big vehicles like this are flown in on a Hercules.
I was surprised to see these new, modern looking buildings. One is a tourist information building, the other I’m told is a storage building for artefacts which will soon be returned to the community. Interesting - the bank of solar collectors in a place where there is very little sun for about 8 months of the year.
The view from the air is spectacular…
Despite how busy I’ve been I managed to make it to one day of the fall quilt retreat this past weekend. I made 40 of these blocks for DD # 3’s quilt. I don’t know what possessed me to make them 6 inch blocks. I need 195 blocks total! Only 25 left to sew….
I also made my 6 inch blocks for this month for Bobbie. She asked for any block in green and beige. Here’s a sneak peek.
Best of all was the lovely view. You may remember these mountains from a few posts back, but they have more snow on them now.
I have a couple of giveaway wins that I need to post about so will be back soon with that news.
Janet
Nice blocks for DD3! What an intriguing town - how interesting it must be to be so remote. 24 sun sounds okay, but that also means 24 hour dark at the other end of the year - not sure I could live with that!
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures--makes me miss fall in Old Crow. And Mike said it was going to be minus 10 there tonight! Keep showing pics of your travels-I love to see and read then. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful visit to this little community.
ReplyDeleteYou know, the longer I quilt, the bigger the pieces I tend to use to make my quilts. There's just not enough time in the world to complete all my quilts with tiny blocks. Of course, I am working on a project with 1.5" squares... Your blocks look lovely, as do those snow-covered peaks. I love the way snow looks, just not the way it feels and makes me feel!
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy photos of where you live and visit. Just so different from what I am used to. The mountains are just breathtaking.
ReplyDeleteLovely blocks. Not many to go!