courageous

getting dark

so the days are getting shorter every day.  when i wake up the sun is out, but just last week we were able to go out for walks till 930 and it was kinda light out , now its 830 , and by 9 its completly dark.
it kinda sucks as i like to go for a walk or something after work , but its too dark. oh well.
to find out i sleep great at camp, one its pretty quiet and two i guess im tired be cause i work every day.  I have made it to the two week mark, how much longer im not sure but till october probably, its ok after this ill be done for the season and can relax with my little family on the river..
they are going to have a winter program here , and it looks like ill be returning, so i maybe coming back in febuary ish.  and would be one of the first to enter the camp. via ice roads by truck. would be pretty cool i think , until i found out its 12-14 hour trip, and would be doing it in one day. still exciting none the less.  but that is far away and only a posibility.
so another one done , and maybe 30 more or less to go.

days are going fast

so i am finding my days are going really quick,  and thats a good thing for sure.  I am having fun but it is still work. I have been here for 11 days now, and not sure when i leave yet.  they are talking that oct 11 maybe the last day,  so im not sure if ill be staying to that date or ill be sent home.  october 5th would be the 6 week mark and technically they have to send me out of camp even if its just for a night, so maybe they will sendf me to yellow knife for a weekend or something. 
The head guy of the geology company is coming this week , so i guess he will say when the camp stays open  and for how long.  i guess there is three vips getting flown or helicoptered in.
last week we had a lot of day visitors aswell to see how the camp and operation.
just more mouths to feed for me.
  have been seeing some pretty cool northern lights,  its a foggy night tonight but i hope to get some pictures and post them soon.
so for tonight have a good night.

camp

 

finally good conection with the internet so was able to post some pictures. having a great time at work have already been here 9 days, going so quickly.

after work today i saw 6 young caribou swim across the lake about 100 metre swim. it was getting dark but it was still beautiful to watch.

winter is coming

so i am back at camp,  i got back on friday after a long day of travel.. I havnt been able to write sooner as the internet has been sucking big time here.
looks like ill be here for a while, so this time i fully unpacked my bag and put it in to shelfs etc. hopefully ill be home by october but all depends how long they stay open.
lots of visitors this week, coming in to see how the camp works,  the host company have them come in to see how they are taking care of the land etc. etc.
so fall is here , the small bushes are changing color the hills around us are all orange and red  , its quite beautiful. andwhen the wind blows from the north it gets cold.  i guess at night time it is around 6 degrees or so and today it wasnt much warmer than that.  good thing i get to work in the kitchen all day.
thats all for today, ill try to write more soon,  when the internet works
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breaker, breaker

so in every camp they use radios to talk to one another and most camps have multible channels,  not this camp its all on one.  and we have a radio in the kitchen plus i keep one on me during the day, in case of emergencies.  also we have check ins as there is always people doing work out in the " field" we call it the field if they are workin g out of the camp.  there are alot of goverment natural groups up here doing envirimental studies,  checking water, counting fish, wild life etc etc.. every exploritory camp has to gomthropugh to make sure when they do mine, they can return it it the way it was.  so any way everyday we have atleast two to 4 groups out in the field and they have to call in at 10, 12 and 2. if they dont check in and i cannot get ahold of them within 15 minutes .they send out a helicopter to go find them..we have a map in the dining room where they pin their location and a board where i check off there check ins....
even if i went for a walk, 1 i must take a friend 2 i must take a radio, 3 if going more than 3 kilometers must take a sat phone 4 and if going for a period of time put a pin on the map.5 most important  we must wear a high visible vest, one of those bright florescent yello vests.  the one i wear i swear you could see me from the moon.
we playe frisbee golf again tonight.. we wore our vests and took a radio,  the little course we have set up is just on the out skirts of camp..  but goes up a little rocky hill and has amazing views. we saw a single caribou mowing down on some grass. and i ate some wild bluberries.
two more work days then i get to go home.

caribou

so i guess i missed a herd of caribou today, around 250-300 of them,  i am told that is a small amount and that thney some times travel in the tens of thousands.  which would be incrediable to see. i have seen our one caribou that hangs around the camp. thats it.
so its sunday night already that means only nfour more working days till im out of here.  so looking forward to being home.
i am likeing it here tho , pretty easy job although i do work about 12 hours as i just work when im a wake.  so its been around 32 days ive worked straight, come friday ill be ready to relax.

the way the cookie crumbles

so im still here... yup until next friday the tenth , which is fine by me..  extra work = more money. anyway they need ed to me to stay as my new replacement wont be here till then,  then ill have two weeks off then back here till the endo f season at least 4 weeks but probably closer to 6.
anyway  its steak night and i gott get to work.
ill try to post later

out of my control

Well its nice to be wanted, aparntly the company here has contacted my bosses and asked if i could come back, so we will see what comes out of that, its out of my control,  they just email me a itenerary then off i go.
so mentioning that i got my next gig, they changed it once again as i was supposed to go back to izok but i guess they changed there mind, so now ill be going to pistol bay nunavut. august 12th,  doesnt leave me much time at home, but i have to work while the camps are still open.  so sacravices have to be made... i am tired and cant wait to be home to relax.. even if its only for 6 days  lol

frolf ?

so last night after work i went for my first game of frolf.  frisbee golf,  and yes my first game was played in the tundra of north west territories. basically this guy set up post over a large area and we had too throw frisbee's un til he hit the post and it scores the same as golf.  i have to say it was alot of fun but tireing after a full day of work..  but it was absolutley beauful setting, as we crossed over ridges where we could se over large plains.. were that same day there were spottings of moose, caribou and mamma grizzly with 2 cubs..  no i didnt see any that day but i have seen the odd caribou running around camp,  big creatures they are.
so getting really close to going home, can't wait. i leave friday morning and fly out of yellowknife at 5 pm.  one of the workers said she is going to show me around yellow knife before my flight, as she lives there. should be cool.   edmonton for the night then start flying 7 am be home 4 oclock saturday.
tonight for dinner i made bbq chicken and ribs and trifle..

no connection

so i havnt been able to get online at night, because of the extra people in camp now.  and thats when i try to write in this blog. another steak night tonight. it went well, another day done and only 6 left.  i have to say i am looking forward to going home. so its a nother short blog but im tired and just gonna watch forrest gump on my lap top and fall asleep.

allowed to countdown

The way i see it, onece i get to  single digits of days left im allowed to count so i believe its 9 or 8 days of work.  so pretty easy.
everyone here has a external hard drive for there computers, im gonna have to get one,they all swap movies and tv shows, my computer is filling up , but its something to do, i got like 8 more movies today.  anyway so thats what im gonna do.
todays menu.
lunch: ham,swiss tomato on a keiser, mac and cheese and chili with corn bread.
dinner , roast prime rib, au jus, yorkies,  shrimp and spinach stuffed cod, balsamic beets, turnip, brussels sprouts with bacon.  bread pudding with creme anglais.
good night

courages lake

 out side the kitchen

 out the window flying into camp  you can kinda see parts of it

this is my chair, outside the kitchen, its a grand place to sit in the afternoons, and evenings s, still no bugs

food

This is a meat and potato camp. the guys just want simple food and and no fancy stuff,  well i sy perfect makes my life alot easier , all i have to do is add salt,.  well actually i am staring to win them over a bit, and i have only been here three days,  today for lunch we had hot dogs and smokies, two types of quiche. potatoes and muligatawny soup, plus salads.  for dinner tonight we had glazed ham  which i carved for them, scallop poatoes, home made shake and bake, cauliflower, balsamic beets, and peas  oh yeah and a apple pie.   yes there is only me and a dish washer for lunch, and i make the desserts as well.  my second cook gets up and does breakfast, makes cookies and squares. and preps salds for lunch and dinner  , he leaves around 10 int he morning then comes back to help me for dinner.  the camps only at 23 at the moment but friday it will be going up to 44.  should be interesting,  were already busy enough without the double amount of people. anyway by that point ill only have a week left so it wil be easy japanese. or something like that.
i have been having problems downloading pictures but ill try again tonight.
peace out

couragous lake

courages lake

what a beautiful spot.  The plane ride was about 45 minutes from yellow knife, we landed on a dirt strip. and me t by a van and trucks for groceries etc. the van ride probably took 15 minutes or so, along dirt road through the tundra, there is still a few stubby trees around and lakes surounding us on all sides,  this used to be a hunting fishing lodge, so there is a sewer of some sorts which means i get to flush a toilet, ye haw....  i am gonna like it here,  i got my own room again. which is cool.
there was a large caribou hanging oround outside the the camp electric fence, and i guess yesterday there was a wolf as well, i hope to see one, and get pictures of both.
anyway along day for me so im gonna get some sleep.

almost done

so almost done the first leg of the trip. I did enjoy my time here thats for sure, but its still work, and i pretty much play in the kitchen 10-12 hours each day so i do get tired.
today was one of those days. i think it was the weather because it was rainy and overcast.  and i felt icky for most of the day. but by dinner time as i took a two hour break today i felt great.
i got to call home too and talk to anne and eric.   eric was excited , he said hi then said ribbit ribbit,  and woof woof.  he got upset when the phone was taken away so i had to talk to him again, he mostly listebn then would say some words.  my little boy is growing up and i miss both of them so much.
tonight im gonna relax and watch californication.  i got abunch of movies and tv series from other campers, everybody has a hard drive full of pirated movies   its great,

sunday

so another warm day here. we had been out of bottle water for about four days and it finnaly came in last night by small plane,  so people were happy today.but by the rate they are going through it it wont last oh well , ill be gone by then.
yes time is going quick,  its sunday night and only three more days till my day off in yellowknife.  ill probably go down town for a bit so ill be sure to take some pictures.
i here ther is a  restaurant in town thats pretty famous, one of those holes in the walls with writting on the walls etc. i gues its exspensive as well. well actually all of yellow knife is exspensive.
anyway im gonna have an early night tonight.

fishing

im a camp cook

i was thinking today, that i am thankful i have chosen this path to be a camp cook. it really has been a long time that i have enjoyed my job, basically enjoyed cooking , except for family and friends. back in 2000-06 when i was chef of the windsor house i had a lot of fun cooking and trying differnt thinks and i really loved that job and jay was great. i got to cook pretty much what i wanted and how i wanted. but since then, my places of work were not so stellar. i really was in a slump, cooking wise, i was even thinking about getting out. but really this camp i think is helping me believe again.
here i make the menu i oprder the food i cook the food and myh customers are happy and easy to please.  its very relaxed atmosphere, i take my time acook relly great meals for these people,  to night we had lamb chops and halibut,  and i would have no problem serving either  at any restaurant i have worked at. it may be served buffet , steam line style but all in all its good home cookking.  its like my own little restaurant and i have very happy regulars who come back every day.  my last placement at gooselake, was not as fun  , a great experience but the social atmosphere and the job its self is night and day. i am glad i stuck it out and got to come here,  thank you Izok.  i am a camp cook  and damn proud of it.  
 tommorow for lunch i am making super duper pork burritos and sweet and sour beef ribs,  dinner is chicken and ribs  bbq style..
 today was order day and im tired as can be, as we had just under 4000 pounds of grocery come in. my freezers and fridges are full. as we only get groceries once a week. so come tuesday wedneday we will strat running out of lettuce and other fresh produce thats when  the frozen veg etc comes handy.
i miss Anne and Eric so much. and i can not wait to see them. and thats the only thing that sucks right now about this job.  the hardest thing about this job is the time away. the rest is gravy.... and today i like it......

 these are the sleeping quarters, i  am in a large one of these that is sectioned off. my kitchen and dining room are also in a large one of these.
below, this is my buddy, a siksik.  hes very friendly and likes bread.  the other day, he got into the kitchen and ran up my shoe because i was cutting up bread lol. 


love you mannie and boy.

kyak trip

after work last night myself and one of the drillers from nfld, went on the kyaks and went around the island which took just under two hours, we took our time, as it was so absolutely beautiful,  the lake was very shallow, sometimes i could touch bottom.  it was pretty neat because on the other side of the island its just you and nature, cant hear or see anything other the land and the water. no cottages lol

we did see a very large eagle of some type perched on top of a rock, and when it flew away i swear his wing span was 5-6 feet just massive and beautiful.  so here is some pictures of the trip enjoy.

on another note got word from the office that next week ill be flying to yellowknife thursday morning and spending the night there then flying to seabridge , courages lake for two weeks, any one want to come and keep me company for the day? lol

this is ham lake, the camp is call izok because the deposit i believe is near izok lake.  or something like that

now this is a chili dog. he was one happy man, eating that .lol

a day at izok

so this is my day at izok
i get up at 8 15 and have a long hot shower in one of two showers .
i get dressed in my uniform( 1984 hat and tshirt) then off to the kitchen.
today for lunch i made bbq hot dogs and chile with sliced baked herb potatoes.
i basically organize all the hot food and my helper gets the soup and salads ready.
also we have to have our grocery order in by monday noon by email. so it was good i had something easy to organize for lunch as i have to order alot and enough fo4 40 to 50 people for a week,  so i took my time and went over the 8 page list. and looked at all my store rooms and refrigerators.
. after lunch i starting to get ready for dinner i had two very large hams which i did with a dijon, pineapple chili glaze, cod in a cream sauce with chili cheese croutons, scallop potatoes, balsamic beets and cauliflower.  i set up a carving station , which they really liked as i carved the ham when they came for dinner,  who are they you might ask, well at camp this week there will be between 40 and 53 people, from 20 years old to 60's or older. mostly men, but probly about 10 or so women. there are the drillers, usually younger men. 3-4 helicopter pilots and there mechanics. general workers and construction duded, about 5 that work in the main office, core shack workers, there are a couple inuit workers one in maintenance i believe then the other is house keeper slash, dining room organizer cleaner. then there are 3 of us in kitchen 2 at day one at night. we have visitors come once in a while from other camps,  fisheries dept is here at the moment, other mangement from other camps, etc...   the people i have met are very friendly.  plus its not every day you get to have people come for lunch by helicopter( well except when your at camp.)
after work tonight i went for a 1/2 hour kayak it was absolutly beautiful out there, and the lake is very shallow, could see bottom most parts, but there it started to thunder and saw lighting in the far distance so i come back to shore.  they are big on saftey here, before i leaver to go anywhere out side camp. i have to write on a big board, my name,  where im going , or what im doing, when i left when ill be back and  i have to take a radio with me. i realy dont mind, and actually its a good peace of mind as its so quiet out there and dont forget i am in the middle of nowhere in the artic circle... although today you would nevr now, last two days its been 25-29 degrees out, and efffing hot in the kitchen..   the bugs werent bad at all tonight, because of a slight wind, and my great muskul lotion.
so really i had an awesome day, now im in my private room. its a very big round tent with about 12 or so 8 by 8 ish rooms, its perfect really. got a couple shelfs, benches closet a little mirrors and 3thundering jesus helicopters to wake you up at 630 sharp flying right above your heads...
good night

beach walk

went for a walk tonight it was beautiful down on the beach.  we are allowed to take out the kayaks. and there is a island that we can go around which is a two hour trek. plan to do it some time this week.

my kitchen

Izok

so i made it to Izok, we are on the border of nunavut and north west territoies, and i really like this camp. the people are friendly and laid back, and they like my food. thats always a bonus.   im only here for two weeks then im off too another camp.  the bugs are bad here, i getting bitten in the shower, if i have to wear bug screen to have a shower than whats the freakin point. lol

this is where i pee... and yes i still poop in a bag.

the good and the bad

so its my last day in goose.  kinda bitter sweet i guess,  not really sure if ill be coming back here and i made some friends so i will miss them.. the kitchen team really has been great,  we all got along wich is really rare i think...
im on my break now , so just have one more dinner todo then ill pack my bags to get ready for the two day trip home, over night in edmonton and home by 4 08.
what sucks though is i havnt even left camp yet and i  have already got the itenary for my next camp wich i leave on wednesday :( and i wont arive in yellowknife till 12:30 pm and will most likely fly out 630 next day to my new camp izok where i will be head chef.
hopefully ill heve alot more to write about than i did this camp
i did see  a jack rabitt which was cool

 jack rabbit,  by the inukshuk.

 carrol

roy, agnes, chris  out side the kitchen back door.

 agnes, carol, chris and roy.

 me and the gang

         front row tickets to the gun show.....

friday

today was another good day,  getting a little tired but i am sleeping good.
tonight we did chinese food. i had a huge plate , just like at buffets at home.
tommorow is streak night with coconut prawns.
well only 5 days left of this camp.  im looking forward to getting home.

new rotation

so i have been getting emails from the office the last few days telling me about possible next rotations and then they would write again and change there mind.  but today i got another email stating that i will be leaving here on the 28th going home then flying out again on the 4th to be in camp on the 5th. i will be going to a camp called izok, which is north of here.  just under cambridge bay.  i will be going there for two weeks  as head chef then off to another place called seabridge, which i think is ion north west terratories north of yellow knife andfor two weeks as head chef again.
im super excited , especially about the first one( izok) as one of my friends from the last tiome i was here will be there as well.
unfortunatly i had planned a special dinner at home for one of the weekends but looks like i will have to postr pone.  i really dont have a choice.
anyway ill keep ya posted when i know more.

old photos

hey these are pictures i took last time when i was flying out of goose. thousands of lakes, non stop all the way into camp. plus pictures of yellow knife.