The Bear Cave

ESU Training

2008-01-24T13:14:00.000-08:00

We received training on the new Electrosurgical Units.

Paintings

2008-01-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

We did some painting over the last couple of months.

Coooold

2008-01-03T16:13:00.000-08:00

It's been cooooold up here, here are some picts to prove it.

2008-01-03T16:10:00.000-08:00

Well, lost been happening around here but I haven't been very active updating the blog... Here are a few of Christmas.

100 Posts...

2007-11-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

Well, somehow I've made it to 100 posts. I guess it has been several years... still though, that came pretty quick.

Here is my latest picture, about 90% finished. I have yet to master taking pictures of paintings, but it's a shot.

Wall-Art

2007-09-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

Here is the painting that took me 4 months to complete...

Another One Painted

2007-07-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Some pictures of the Marker I painted (following Eric's paintjob). The backgrounds are CADPAT, MARPAT desert, Classic Woodland, and some homemade desert. Oh, and the case that holds it all of course.

Paintballers

2007-07-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

Custom Marker

2007-07-18T13:44:00.001-07:00

Eric G, one of my paintballer friends, recently customized his marker with a paintjob - a smashingly fine one at that.

Basketball

2007-07-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

I helped Kyle set up a Basketball hoop the other day, it's up and ready.

CamoForm

2007-07-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

I was sewing up my cammies the other day and it was caught on film...

Pelly Bay

2007-06-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

I spent a week up in the high arctic, here are some pictures from Pelly Bay.

May Long

2007-05-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

What a better way to spend May Long?

Honeymooners

2007-04-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

We trecked out to Nordegg and hung out in the mountains for part of our honeymoon. We stayed in a neat little cabin, and enjoyed the mountains before heading back to YK.

Wedding Picts #1

2007-04-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

Finally, some pictures from the wedding...

Wedding Picts #2

2007-04-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

More pictures...

Wedding Picts #3

2007-04-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some wedding picts for those who have been asking....

Out of Lanky and Into The Sandstonian

2007-04-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

I'm moved out of my old place now, and into the new apartment. I'll post some picts when I finally get everything set up.

Easter Eats

2007-04-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

We had a nice Easter dinner, notice the 'tower of cranberries'.

Quarter Century

2007-03-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

Well I finally made it. Phew.

Ice Road

2007-02-25T15:13:00.000-08:00

As per her Northern Familiarization, we also took Debbie to the Ice Road. The ice road is roughly 4 feet thick, and can support a large tanker truck fully loaded with fuel. They make up the bulk of the roads to the mines, and making them is very environmentally friendly because it doesn't chew up the topsoil.

Target Shooting

2007-02-20T15:12:00.000-08:00

We've spent a couple of the last few weekends out target shooting. Honus came up for a visit so we took her out to enjoy the cold.

WanBall

2007-01-25T15:10:00.000-08:00

Joe was in a tournament playing Basket Ball, and a bunch of us came to watch. This gym is the one from my old high school, St Patricks High School.

Christmas Pictures

2007-01-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

Here is the family over Christmas, we were all up in the Knife for the holidays.

Countdown...

2007-01-06T19:01:00.000-08:00

http://tickers.tickerfactory.com/ezt/d/4;10716;24/st/20070414/e/Wedding+/k/306a/event.png

The countdown for the big day!

...oh, and Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year, and all of that.

The Paintball Begins...

2006-12-30T15:09:00.000-08:00

Well, 15 of us are getting geared up for paintball. The gear is starting to arrive...

Engagement

2006-12-10T14:56:00.000-08:00

This picture is from just after we were engaged. Sorry, no good pictures of the necklace.

A Ship On The High Seas

2006-10-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

Proverbial of course. Hmmmm.

Thanksgiving Snaps

2006-10-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

For Thanksgiving a bunch of us went out to Saskatchewan and visited family. We also went leaf-hunting. It was a good leaf-crop this year.

Barrens

2006-10-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Kyle went up with a whole bunch of teachers, students, and elders to hunt some caribou on the Barren Lands. They didn't get many, but the trip was still a good photo-op. (And, on the plus side, nobody was eaten by bears).

Big Hill Lake

2006-10-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

Big Hill Lake is a nice hike about six kilometers long, pretty close to town.

Behind The Pits

2006-10-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

I went out with some friends driving around the other day... and most of the 'driving' was really watching people getting unstuck. Glee.

Yellowknife Trotting

2006-10-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of the sights around Yellowknife in Fall. All the pictures are within 5 minutes of my house.

The Power Of An Idea

2006-09-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

It's only funny because it's true.

Dare eh?

2006-09-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

Here is the Lady Q. Erm... both of them.

Rifle Sightings

2006-09-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

Kyle and I went target shooting with some of his coworkers and friends. They are going Caribou hunting, so we went out to sight in the rifles, and also enjoy some supper.

Back to Yellowknife

2006-09-01T14:19:00.000-07:00

I drove to High Level, the bussed up for the rest of the trip home. Here are a few pictures of the Hay River, as well as a gas station at Enterprise on the way up.

London Pictures

2006-08-30T20:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of my return to London. It was nice to have a few days to check out the sights. And of course, the picture of Matt and I. I still can't believe we ran into each other.

Improbability Drives

2006-08-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

More time in London. I had to wait in Banjul to see if I could get on the flight, as it was a standbye deal. (That meaning, I stand and wait to say bye). Actually maybe it's standbuy, because I was also standing waiting to buy the ticket. Hmmm...

The guard tried to get me to give him my MP3 player on the way out. I just kept saying 'no thank you' in a really friendly way. I think he was getting pretty annoyed, but I kept it up with the 'no thank yous', allowing for the difference in communication to annoy him until he passed me through.

London has been fun this time around, I've been walking around the city or hours on end looking for museums. Fortunately, there are many in this city so it has been fruitful hunting.

The second most weird thing in my whole life happened to me yesterday. I was in a theater just North of the Thames, waiting for the movie to start, when I looked to my right. 'That guy looks an awful lot like Matt Voytill' I thought, and after a few seconds I realised, it was. My old roomate from Yellowknife. Through some strange twist in fate we had both ended up in the same theater, in a city of some 4 million people, on the same day, same show, same time... very strange. It got me thinking o the 'improbability drive' of Douglas Adams.

I'm heading home to Canada tomorrow bright and early, and I'm REALLY excited to be home.

The week in pictures

2006-08-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

I was through Keneba and Farafenni last week. It was a lot of driving, one day almost 10 hours worth. There is a lot of bumping around on the roads, and a lot of waiting for the ferries. It provides a good oppourtunity to see the country though, and it is very beautiful.

There is a picture of the boboa trees (spelling?). They are quite large, and usually have the large monitor lizards (a couple of meters long sometimes) living around them. I'll try to put up some pictures of the monitors later. They're sort of inbetween the crocodiles and the geckos. There's a picture of Victoria surrounded by kids aswell. They are used to 'toubabs' throwing out candy or pens, so when we drive by, kids will come high-tailing it out of their houses screaming 'toubab, toubab' hoping for sweets. I have some good pictures of the children I'll post later.

MRC Biomed Shop Photos

2006-08-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures here from work. Shauna is showing us how to use the new database she is setting up. There are a couple of pictures of an ultra-sound I'm trying to fix. There's also a picture of a circuit board from one of the radiographic units here.

More Croc Picts

2006-08-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

Crocodiles are so cool looking, I had to put up some more pictures. Don't they just look like dragons? Considering some sea-water crocodiles (or are they aligators?) in Australia grow to be 10 meters long, it's no wonder people used to believe in dragons! Can you image something like this chasing you? Their skin is really hard, like a tourtise shell, which surprised me. I wonder if you could have one as a pet...

Bitey The Gator

2006-08-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, it looked a lot bigger in real life.
In the picture that is all green, how many Crocs can you see? Can you see the mother protecting the baby? When we first came across this pond (which has at least 100 crocs in it) I couldn't see any. However, once you start looking closer, you can start to see the bits of rubbish on the surface start to resemble eyes, snouts, and the occasional tail. The crocs are well fed and thus relaxed, but I wouldn't test their patience!

On another note, unfortunately, the people running the pool are also running a scam. You pay 50 delasi to get in (a fair price on all accounts). Once you are in though, they show you a book with names in it, each person having 'donated' a bit extra to help feed the crocodiles. This is 100% a scam, the workers will pocket the money for themselves, unbeknown to their employers (the owners of the croc pool). Most of the donations that were written down (if they were even ligit) were about a days wage. Not a bad scam, if you get a lot of tourists through!

Random Gambia Snaps

2006-07-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of normal life here. The porch picture is at the residence where I am staying, the lizardy thing is one of the many geckos, the Ultimate Frisbee match is one of the many sport matches that happen in the evenings, and of course the daily trip to the beach.

Camping 2

2006-07-02T08:48:00.000-07:00

Half the adventure of the camping trip was racing around with Moses, our taxi-driver. He successfully dodged police road-blocks (we were 6 in the car), donkeys, bikes, trucks, potholes and all of the other things that find their way to the Gambia roads.

Camping Trip 1

2006-07-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

We went camping last weekend, to BoBois Beach. They tried to rip us off so we camped down the beach a few kilometers. It was pretty jenke, which is Wolof for ghetto. There was a guy with a machete, another guy with a gun, an abandoned village and a... well... not so jenke dog that followed us around. I never slept at all.

The Beach

2006-06-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

The beach here is AWESOME. I have gone swimming every day so far. Tonight, I went when it was pretty dark. It is a private beach for a hotel beside the MRC, so it has guards and everything, which is kinda handy. The waves are big enough to boogy-board on, and one of my goals here is to find a boogy-board.

The New Shop

2006-06-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the new biomed shop that I am working in. So far I have started a project installing a Curix 60, which is close to the CP1000 X-ray processor's I worked with in Yellowknife. All in all, it looks like a very well set up place.

Flying to Gambia

2006-06-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

The Gatwick airport was awesome and huge. Very nifty. The first scenary picture is just outside of London, the brown one is landing near Banjul, Gambia.

HMS Belfast

2006-06-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

The HMS Belfast is a cruiser from WW2 that has been turned into a permanent museum. It was a very good couple of hours.

A Day In London

2006-06-23T16:02:00.001-07:00

London was rad. Very very different then the North, but similar (in many many ways) to bits of Quebec and bits of Ontario. I drank and lot of Latte's and walked for two days straight.

Alberta Bound

2006-06-23T15:51:00.000-07:00

Before I left for Africa, I spent a couple of days in Alberta. Here are some pictures from around Grand Cashe / Grand Prarie.

London, England

2006-06-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I've had a few good days in London. I spent most of my time here just walking around, taking in the sites. When I get sick of walking, I stop and sip cappacino and talk to people and read papers. When I get sick of cappacino, back to walking, and then on to lattes.

The have a British warship, the Belfast, here in the Thames river, it's set up as a tourist attraction. I walked through the entire ship, over about three hours. It's pretty amazing, how small all the rooms are and how big the ship is.

There are an amazing assortment of people here, from all over the world. It's pretty cool just hearing all of the languages. The stlyes are largly what you would find in any Canadian city, as is the food.

Tomorrow I'm off to Africa, I'm sure that will be a lot different. Hopefully I can get some pictures up there.

Barry

Last Day At Work...

2006-05-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are on the last day... it's hard to believe this year is gone so fast. Now it is off to Africa for the next chapter.

The Walk To Work

2006-05-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

I enjoy such a pretty walk to work I figured I'd take some pictures and post them. It sure is a nice way to start the day.

Inuvik

2006-05-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

More travel... I was through Inuvik on my way to Sachs Harbour last week. Inuvik is an interesting place, all the utilities go through "utilidors" above ground.

Paulatuk

2006-05-29T07:57:00.000-07:00

Last week I was in Paulatuk, again to fix medical equpiment. The tourist center there is really cool, they had a bear skin and a lot of exhibits. It's a shame that only something like 50 people per year make it there. Everybody in the town was out duck hunting (the ducks are coming through town) so it was pretty empty, but the work went smoothly.

Holman

2006-05-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I went up to Holman to check out the medical equipment in the health center. It was a really neat trip, the people were friendly (and sold me some art). There wasn't quite 24 hour sunlight, but it was pretty close.

A Street Named "Me"

2006-03-27T23:05:00.000-08:00

Yellowknife... the city with streets named "Berry" AND "Forrest"... they misspelled "Berry", but hey, what can you do? Is this not the coolest city EVER??

Snowshoeing and Fire with the Fam...

2006-03-27T23:04:00.000-08:00

A winter trek out to where we cut wood, doing some tree scouting...

The Snowy Capital

2006-03-27T23:01:00.000-08:00

The beautiful days of later winter... my favourite time of the year.

Carcason??

2006-03-27T22:41:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh... board games... the winter entertainment staple of northern countries around the world. (And yes, that is a real dragon).

Snowmobiling

2006-02-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been an amazingly nice weekend, and I was able to get out on the sled for a bit of it.

Canadian Election

2006-01-25T09:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the federal election. We made a night of it and had a grand old time.

Frost on the Trees

2006-01-25T09:02:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of frost on the trees here in Yellowknife. And unfortunately it causes power outages, but in the meantime it sure is pretty.

The Long Drive Home

2006-01-25T08:58:00.000-08:00

Well, over Christmas I drove (and rode) some 7000 km... that's a whole lot of driving... I was able to spend a week in Edmonton aswell, which was very nice.

Santa Came Again...

2006-01-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

Here is our fam's Xmas pict on the morning of. Christmas was great, one of the best yet.

Pictures From Work

2005-11-28T05:55:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from work. Erwin and I are showing off a new billi-blanket at work, and a picture of almost all of us at the shop.

Capt. Chainsaw

2005-11-27T05:39:00.000-08:00

We cut a good load of wood back in September, but I haven't uploaded the images until now. That night, when we returned, it started to snow (and hasn't stopped since?). I call the one of me jumping off the tree "If you can't be smart, be fast".

Chris and Gloria's Wedding

2005-11-15T05:31:00.000-08:00

Well, Jon and I drove down to Edmonton last weekend for a grand wedding. Chris and Gloria Taylor had a really nice ceremony.

Deline and Tulita

2005-11-07T05:35:00.000-08:00

Well, with work I was able to visit Deline and Tulita at the beginning of November. It was coooold. The first snow storm I've seen of the year was also waiting for me up there... you can see the pilot brushing off his plane with a broom.

Winter Snow...

2005-10-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

Well, the first snow fell... Here are some picts around YK.

Another Fox in the Woodpile

2005-10-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

Kyle put out some peanuts this morning. First thing a Raven came down and took a nibble, but didn't like them. Then the fox came down and took a nibble - also not to his taste. Finally the squirrel came and, all afternoon, has been stashing them here and there in the rocks and wood.

Thanksgiving Feast

2005-10-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well, We had a great Thanksgiving at my Sisters. Lots of good times, and good foods.

1978 CB 550

2005-10-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

There she is! My 1978 CB550k. It's almost restored, runs like a top, and is my primary method of transportation. It's also for sale, if anyone out there in the wild world of the web is interested...

A Random Cat Picture

2005-10-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

Here is Patches, a.k.a. Mittens. Or Slippers. She has a tumour growing on her other ear, so she will soon pass on to the furry nether-world, ending a 10 year stint as part of our family. Too bad, because she's a great cat.

Orillia...

2005-10-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I was in Orillia this week getting trained on the Bellco Dialysis Formula's. It was a fun course, but a lot to learn...

Wahti

2005-09-25T06:44:00.000-07:00

Wah-Ti is one of the Dogrib communities, also a neat place. I was working in the health center when a guy walked by my. I did a double take - he looked familiar. I walked over, and asked "Jim Stauffer?". He turned around slowly and asked, equally perplexed "Barry Kelly?"... Good times, good times. The sunset here was unreal.

Rae Lakes

2005-09-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

Here I am back at Rae Lakes, where I lived in grades 6-8. That red building is the old store - also my first official job. I can't say how many rafts we sailed on that shore line, and it looks like someone is trying to build a log house - although I'd be hesitant with such twisted grained wood. It was nice to be back, it still felt like home in some strange way.

Fort Good Hope

2005-09-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

Affectionately known to locals as "Fort No Hope", Fort Good Hope is actually a very beautiful place. The Mackenzie River runs by it (that small creek is NOT the great Mack). We fly in and out in small bush planes, so I was able to sit right up behind the cockpit... very cool, as the flight to goes over some stunning mountain ranges, and in the small Cesna Caravan you really get the feeling you're flying!

Norman Wells

2005-09-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

Ahhh... The Wells. Another neat community tucked up somewhere in the Northern Taiga forest. I was fortunate to be here when fall hit (Sept 8-10) so I was able to see a really nice leaf show. Mostly poplar and birch, it's only yellow, unfortunately... Soon I'll be out in Ontario though, and then I should see all of the reds.

Working At The Barn

2005-09-05T06:20:00.000-07:00

Well, lots of work to do at the Barn yet. I helped do some insulation in the roof, and there is Paul directing Al with some drywall.

How Much Wood Could a Wood Chuck Chuck...

2005-09-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

With another load of wood coming in soon and winter around the corner, we need to get all the wood split so it can dry... Go Khaleed!

Taloyoak and Gjoa Haven

2005-08-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well, some more travel last week. I was able to travel for work, heading up to Taloyoak and then Gjoa Haven. Gjoa Haven is where Roald Amundson wintered while completeing the Northwest Passage around 100 years ago. It is a fairly bleak place, it reminds me of the moon. Taloyoak is much more rocky and hilly, and reminded me of fishing villages back in New Brunswick. The people in both places were extremely friendly.

Marathon And Ireland...

2005-08-24T06:42:00.000-07:00

Kyle ran a half marathon on Sunday, Cindy walked 10km... well done! The event was hosted by the YK Multi-sport club, I volunteered as a time keeper... fun stuff. The next picture is a view from about 100m up the hill behind our house... it looked so green it reminded me of Ireland. Well, of what I imagine Ireland looking like anyway. That is Great Slave Lake.

Kugluktuk

2005-08-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture from Kugluktuk, formally known as Coppermine. The site of bloody falls is about 10 km behind me, where Samuel Hearne witnessed the famous slaughter a few hundred years ago. The land is very nice, very green surprisingly. There are many large out-croppings of rock that almost resemble foot hills, and that is what I climbed for this picture.

A Curse On Macs

2005-08-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

Well, I was up in Kugluktuk last week. I had some really amazing pictures but unfortunately I am having trouble transferring them to the web... Grrr to Macs.

This week I'm up to Taloyoak, Gjoa Haven, and Kugaruuk. I'll try to get all of the pictures up-loaded when I get back next weekend.

Fox in the Woodpile

2005-08-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

This summer we have had the pleasure of extra boarders. These foxes have a few dens around, one is under our house. This picture is taken through a window, they have a hard time seeing in so make themselves quite at home frolicing in the back yard. We haven't seen them for a few weeks now, so perhaps they're gone for another winter. Here is also a picture of our nice pile of wood, ready for the cold winter.

New Shingles

2005-08-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

We re-shingled our roof this weekend. It went well, we had the wonderful help of Jon Coop, and the job took us 11 hours total, about 25 man (and woman) hours. Now for an inaugural shower...

Cambridge Bay

2005-08-05T18:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I was able to go up to Cambridge Bay to fix an X-Ray processor this week... it was something else. What an absolutely beautiful community. It's right on the Arctic Ocean, complete with Ice-Bergs and all. I'll try to post some pictures later.

Scenic Yellowknife...

2005-07-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some nice pictures from around the knife... and of course me at work with Keith. Working hard or hardly working?

A Busy Week

2005-07-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I've finally capitulated to the pressures of keeping a modern public diary, starting a blog. Quite an interesting idea really, lets see how this goes... It's been a busy week, I went out every week and even have some pictures to prove it. Monday I went sailing with Greg and Keenan, and a fellow named Keith. It was loads of fun, we had the sailboat going fast enough that three of us were leaning off to one side to keep it upright. It was a smashingly good evening. Tuesday I went canoeing with Jenn and Vaughn and Shirley, all people that I work with. That was also a blast, although it was pretty windy for canoeing. We went up the Yellowknife River, and had an amazing picnic lunch that Shirley had made. Jennifer has a lot of experience working for groups like international aide, and the WHO, so she had some really neat stories. Wednesday some friends came over and played Settlers of Catan. That game is a lot of fun, and a great way to meet people... and sometimes it brings out peoples... competative sides... Thursday I went to a BBQ at Mark and Colleen's, and then went and played guitar with Les. We were practicing for church, and tried out a new tuning, Open G. I was trying to play with a slide, but it is a steep learning curve for me. Friday Doug and Lou came over for supper, and we had a nice evening hanging out with them and their kids, Victoria and Mitchel. Saturday I spent at the Barn helping Paul do some work on the rafters for most of the day, and in the evening I played "Axis & Allies" with Al, Chris, and Eric and Justin. All in all, a grand find week... now to try to add some photos...

This Week In Pictures

2005-07-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

Well, my second attempt at a blog. I tried with spaces.msn.com but it never would load so here I am, trying google's version... Here are the pictures from this week:

Profile Picture

2005-07-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Cammies!

2004-06-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

Cammies!

Evenmore...

2004-06-26T18:10:00.001-07:00

Even more...

More for the forum

2004-06-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

More for the forum...

fortheforum

2004-06-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

Picts for the paintball forum...

2003-10-17T13:31:00.000-07:00

2003-10-11T15:18:00.000-07:00