Flight from Resolute to Ottawa, August 10

Some photos from my trip home to Ottawa from Resolute on August 10.

Approaching Arctic Bay from the west:

Leaving Arctic Bay:

Glaciers outside of Pond Inlet, after leaving.  I wasn't on the spectacular Sirmilik side of the plane, but I enjoyed the glaciers I did get from the west side of the plane:

I took oodles of photos of the textured rock of Baffin Island, but here is just one to give you a taste:

Leaving Iqaluit, I got some good photos of the city:

Then it was mostly clouds until we lost some altitude coming into Ottawa.  Here is the Quebec side just before we cross the Ottawa river:

Petrie Island, you can see the beach at the northeast corner of the island:

Thunderstorm south of Ottawa as we landed:

Flying south out of Arctic Bay

Just a few more photos to show you from my flight south on July 10.  I didn't mean to drag them out for this long!

Here is Holy Cross point from the east as we climb out of Arctic Bay:

I took a physical geography course in university but of course have forgotten all the words I learned for the various landforms.  So here are those fan-shaped thingies that form at the mouths of rivers:

Just some interesting landscapes, not the greatest photos though.  I do the best I can though a dirty airplane window and the variable moisture in the air:

Landscape on the cusp of becoming repetitive and boring:

... and that's it.  That was my trip to Grise Fiord this spring and early summer.  Not sure where I'll be going next, or when.

The new Arctic Bay airport

They started building the new airport in 2006, and it took 5 years.  The  new and improved runway is on the site of a previous smaller runway that was used occasionally for medivac flights and maybe other small charter planes.

The former regular airport was around 30 km away, close to the old mine and townsite of Nanisivik.  Weather at the old airport was frequently a problem so flights would often be cancelled- I have heard it's much better now that the new airport is open.  As well, if the taxi forgot you on it's way to the old airport (happened to me once!), it was a very big deal to try to get a ride out there before the plane left without you (if it landed at all... weather!)

Flight from Resolute to Arctic Bay

Here we are taking off from Resolute on July 10.  If I ever spend any time there, I want to try to walk around these old buildings at the airport that you can see in the photo below.  Lots of them are very old and no longer in use.  Some or most are government buildings, some might be military too:

A peninsula pointing south:

North coast of Baffin Island:

We fly over some cool canyons as we cross the Brodeur peninsula:

I'm such a sucker for a pretty ice pattern.  This is in Admiralty inlet:

Entrance to Adams sound, which takes you to Arctic Bay:

Adams sound:

Flying over the southwest lobe of Arctic Bay the town, and Arctic Bay the body of water:

Next up, I'll show you the new airport at Arctic Bay that opened just this year.

Beach at Victor Bay

There's more than one beach at Victor Bay, but here's the one that's closest to the road.  The sand is reddish on this beach.

In places the sand is mixed with pebbles, but in other places it's smooth and sandy like this.  Some bird was making tracks before I happened by:

Here's another creek coming out onto the beach from the land:

Making it's way through the pebble beach to the ocean:

Just another shattered rock.

Here's the ATV waiting for me at the end of my walk.  There are still some tents pitched down below on the spit that projects out into the bay:

The road leading back to Arctic Bay:

Red light in Adams Sound

I think I took around 60 photos of this to try to get a good one, and this was the best I could do.  (My SLR camera was back in Ottawa, I was using a cheapie digital).  This is from September 1, from the apartment window.  The DPW really needs to move those power lines!  ;-)

As the sun was retreating behind the mountains, Adams Sound lit up red in the fog or drizzle behind Holy Cross Point.  It lasted for at least 10 minutes or so, and behind the pole there was a rainbow that was tinted red.  I know you'll believe me when I say the photo doesn't do it justice.

Iceberg

As I came back from my walk on August 24, look what came sneaking around the corner of Uluksan point: