Yellowknife - Week 4 Semester Break

Well, it was a self-prescribed break for me. The nice thing about being in 3rd year is that we are mandated to complete 190 hours of clinical time, but we have a few extra weeks to do it. So I noticed that a couple of my classmates have done the same thing...take a long weekend, etc. One girl bought a house with her husband in BC, then returned to clinical. That gives me the impression that things are wrapping up with school! Buying houses and starting to plan for a year from now. Exciting!

I flew home from Inuvik on Wednesday, with a stopover in Norman Wells. What a pretty community! It had mountain ranges all around it, and the whole place was green and lush (Inuvik was still brown and dry when I left). I also had a chance to view the treeline, because I guess it dips down and reappears. There are plenty of trees in Inuvik, then none for a while south, then lush again in Norman Wells. I will have to look at a map to be sure. But no trees makes the landscape look very barren. Very tundra-y.

What an amazing moment to meet Rachel and Shane at the airport. I had been holding it together really well during my stay in Inuvik, but as soon as the plane touched down in Yellowknife, I got very emotional. Rachel looked amazing, with a gorgeous haircut and definitely a few inches taller.

I kept her home with me on Thursday and Friday, and we did some errands and just hung around the house.

Painting a life-size image of Rachel, traced onto brown paper

I bought some topsoil, and we made a tiny garden in our front yard. You can see we still haven't landscaped. The good news is that the city is leveling out the land beside our house (with a playground planned right behind us!) and they have also promised that our road will be paved this summer, so after that we can think about fixing up our lawn.

It looks a bit like a grave, now that I think about it.

I like this photo

Always with the posin'

Yesterday we took a family trip to Cameron Falls, about 45 minutes drive from Yellowknife. Rachel posed beside an Inukshuk...

Then accidentally knocked it over. Oops.

Whew, found another one right away to pose beside.

A gorgeous view of the valley where the falls are located. Notice the pose Rachel assumed.

A picture of Mommy and Daddy

And the falls! We hiked 1.5km in and Rachel walked all the way, up and down hills with lots of rocky paths. She did really well. She was a bit tired on the way back, but we will do it again for sure. It was a perfect weekend, the first warm one in Yellowknife, and no bugs yet! I bet next weekend will be a different story.

I leave again this morning at 10:25am. I hate to go, it's going to be hard, but at least this time I know what I'm going to. It should be a good week at Public Health. I will be immunizing, going on some home visits, doing some Well Woman and STI clinics. The staff are amazing, all very nice and happy to have me there as they are two staff short (my preceptor and another nurse are away for 2 weeks), so I have been given more responsibility for the clinics, which suits me just fine.


So ten more sleeps and I'll be back in Yellowknife. Rachel is fine with me going, I know she misses me, but it's been an adventure for her and Daddy. And me, actually.