From South to North

Well folks, I have now migrated from the lower reaches of Saskatchewan all the way up to Points North.  I can say with confidence that this is the furthest north I have ever been.  Quite a change from working in the grasslands!  The landscape here is dominated by jack pine and black spruce forests, lots of ericaceous shrubs, reindeer lichen, and various amazing bog species.  And all of this is overtop of the rock of the Canadian Shield.  I haven't seen anything quite like it before.

We are staying in a building that feels a bit like a dorm.  It's a long trailer-house/portable building with small rooms, each with a bed, cupboard, little table and chair, and a small tv.  It's nice and warm, for which I am very thankful after all the rain we had today.  I have all my gear spread out around the room right now to dry.  We pack bagged lunches most of the time and eat our other meals in the cafeteria here.  It's a pretty neat little place, and the food is always hot.

I have been learning to operate different modes of transportation here.  We rented a big 3/4 ton diesel truck and put in a radio so we could let the drivers from NRT know our position on the rather narrow road up to Points from La Ronge.  We also have a great little side by side ATV for rocky trails.  As one of the guys in the wildlife crew says, driving it is just like playing Mario Kart, but without the banana peels and turtle shells.  And finally, we put together and drove a Zodiac around Mink Arm Lake to get to our plots today.  It was fun, and I'm proud of the patch we made to slow the air loss.  Only trouble is, there is no good place to launch around here.  Zodiacs are surprisingly heavy and the shorline is a treacherous pile of rocks.  We've just been doing the best we can to find somewhere safe to store the boat without it getting punctured.  Luckily there have been people around from the wildlife crew to help with the lifting.  Those guys are all pretty awesome.

Me in the ZODIAC on Mink Arm of McMahon Lake, SK.

The SxS.  This little vehicle can make it through almost any kind of terrain.

My first helicopter ride.

So far for wildlife here we've seen a totally adorable grey jay, which reminded me of a giant overfed chickadee.  Probably my favourite plant that I have seen thus far is Drosera rotundifolia, or round-leaved sundew.  It is so brightly coloured and funky looking... I may try and get a good picture of one before we leave here.  As for insects, I've seen mayflies, beetles, ants, and tons of little butterflies, as well as many spiders.

I apologize for not having any photos for you wonderful readers this time around.  Perhaps I will have taken some good shots by the next time I post!