My first official non-family question! Thank you, to Joel down there in New Hampshire, for stopping by!

1. How did you get up to Qikiqtarjuaq and what is it like? Ahh, the sneaky double question.

As to the first part…do you mean in a ‘life-path’ sense or in a physical sense? Like all communities in Nunavut, no roads lead in or out of the community and the most common access method is by air. Two carriers – First Air and Canadian North – service the area from Monday to Friday. On the weekends, only an emergency will lift a plane’s wheels from the gravel (I can’t say ‘tarmac’ because, well, it doesn’t exist here.).

Boats can also access the island, but they’re basically cargo ships that pass through at the end of the summer to stock the community for winter.

Now, the ‘life-path’ possibility? I’m not sure if I can answer that one…it just seemed like an opportunity that I was lucky enough to take advantage of. I would like to visit a few more places up here, but I’m happy to have been lucky enough to spend time in the three places I’ve experienced (Iqaluit, Pangnirtung, and Qikiqtarjuaq). The scenery is absolutely breathtaking (as is the occasional temperature dip to -30 C).

And to answer ‘what is it like’? That’s why I keep a record on my blog; I learn something new everyday.

Ok, ok…I’ve been super horrible with this page of my site. For awhile it was because I hadn’t yet had the option to add new entries, but now it’s just neglected. So…questions…

1. Will you actually answer?

Well, I’m trying. However, as I’m sure you’ve already noticed, I’ve fallen into the general lethargy of mid-winter posting. I think the frequency of posts will change when I have my new Mac to play around with.

2. What is a ‘trackback’?

A ‘trackback’, also called a ‘pingback’, is a way to monitor when someone follows and creates a link to your site.

3. Is this more trouble than it’s worth when the mouse isn’t working very well?

Well, I’m not sure. Let me keep at it for a bit, then I’ll get back to you. And maybe you should fix your mouse.

Thanks for the questions mom…though the rest of you realize that when family members comment, it doesn’t really count; they sort of have to, don’t you think?