What a gorgeous weekend it was here! I think that it will end up being the nicest of the summer. It must have topped twenty degrees on Saturday. I got up early on Saturday and did some yard sale shopping in the morning with a friend. There are tons of yards sales here in the summer, with people always coming and going from Iqaluit, though I didn’t really buy anything. Then I went for a loooong hike in the afternoon along the coast. It was nice because it wasn’t buggy, and I am coming to learn that big conditions out on the tundra determines much of what goes on around here. A touch of wind or a cold snap is essential to avoiding mosquito mayhem.

In the evening we headed out the Road to Nowhere, which is a misconception because it is actually takes you to some of the most beautiful places around town, and camped along a river. The river is wide and slow and meanders through a valley... it is a very tranquil setting. There were about a dozen of us and we had a camp fire and tons of yummy food. It was a really nice evening except for (dun, dun, dunnnnn) the mosquitoes! Holy moly, I have never seen anything like it. There was a collective high pitched hum in the air that set me on edge. Thousands! And they got worse as the sun went down. Then, quite suddenly, the wind picked up and they virtually disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The sunset was stunning, followed by an equally awe-inspiring moon rise on the opposite horizon. I don’t think I could ever tire of marvelling at the setting sun. Both the sun and the moon kind of hug the horizon as they arc across the sky, so sunsets can go on for hours. It is lovely. I wish I had a camera that could capture scenes as I see them more accurately, but my little snap and shoot just doesn`t quite cut it. Here are some of my better shots.

Everybody look at the moon...

And this was the scene that I woke up to in the morning. So tranquil... until you stepped out of your tent into the swarm of insects. They were even worse in the morning! The poor dogs were rolling around in the grass trying to rub them off, and the poor people were cursing and swearing. We finally had to abandon plans to make breakfast at the campsite, and head home instead.

The following night the sunset and moon rise were equally as stunning! That is the scene from my bedroom window.