July 30 to August 6 the Wilkinson family joined Brett, Astrid and Alex Bastin on an unforgettable trip to the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Dax and Brett flew the C-182 Amphib C-FLLO from Toronto and joined the wives and kids in Yellowknife.

The route took about 16 hours of flying time to get to Yellowknife via: Sault Ste Marie, Pickle Lake, Thompson and Stony Rapids. Brett flew IFR to the Sault after work on Thursday the 28th where the local hospitality was spectacular. (Pay a visit to “Smokey’s” Thursdays for a unique Northern Outdoor Night Club experience!). Friday the 29th we left early and made it all the way to Yellowknife.

A great week of flying, fishing, shore lunches, hiking, arctic art projects, scavenger hunts, fine dining (!) and much ‘Hangar Door Open’ time with some of Canada’s most experienced pilots: Max Ward and Dave Crerar.

A day trip to Kugluktuk (Coppermine) from our base on Redrock Lake was a highlight. Avgas in barrels can be had at the airport there for a remarkably good price. Bring your own pump and chamois or funnel with water filter..NB.

Margaux meets new friends in Kugluktuk. The sea was full of fresh water from the Coppermine river as the wind was blowing from the North East. This made for good swimming for some!

The shore lunch has been refined to a fine art. Columbian Artist Miller Lago was along and created fantastic art in many mediums.

Dax Wilkinson and another great Pilot Mentor Dave Crerar. Ever see a DHC2 Beaver wing for a bar? We had the pleasure of staying in the Metcalf’s B and B housed in the old CP Air Base. The bar remains from the old days. Look for the B and B across the road from the legendary Wildcat Cafe which is being reconstructed (Gasp!) and wasn’t erected let alone operating when we were there.

Margaux was employed to rescue Madeline the doll from vicious pirates on the mountain. She got some good advice on dead reckoning from a Master! An interesting sign in Kugluktuk reminds all not to mess with winter up there..

It’s about a 3 hour drive from Toronto and to get to this spot you need a boat or can hike 1 hour through sand dunes. It’s about 50 minutes by float plane and makes a perfect day trip. Dax, Kirsten, Finn and Margaux departed the island airport at 11am and returned at 3:45pm.

Kirsten, Finn and Margaux at play.

The Memorial is the largest monument in the country ever built to a living person (Orville attended its dedication in 1932.) The Canadians pay homage.

The Wright Flyer….. Reproduction. The original is on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in DC.

Dax and David ventured south for the opening event of the airshow season.  “Spring Break for Pilots,” as Sun N Fun has become known, certainly provided lots of excitement.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t the Pilots Gone Wild type of excitement the guys had hoped for…  A massive storm front ripped through the field, tossing anything not bolted down – Including aircraft.

While the fellas took shelter in a nearby tent (loving their prudent decision to fly commercial) around 50 airplanes were destroyed.

A brand new amphib Husky casualty.  Tragic.

While their experience in the tent was harrowing, Dax and David could only thank their lucky stars they hadn’t chosen one of the many upturned porta-potties as shelter.  Some flipped onto their front doors, making escape from the stinking receptacles next to impossible….

Dax, concerned with flying debris, makes use of whatever is available to ensure survival…

Undeterred, the fantastic Sun N Fun team worked through the night and the show opened first thing Friday morning.  Finally, the Sun returned (the Fun followed directly.)

Stumbled across this amazing piece posted by Jeff Carlin at Carlin Air (Ketchikan Alaska). Top quality footage of the Beaver in action – what a beauty!

Robert Service’s first collection, The Spell of the Yukon, was published in 1907.  It’s mandatory reading for anyone living north of the  49th parallel.  Words to live by…

The Men that Don’t Fit In
by Robert W. Service

There’s A race of men that don’t fit in,
A race that can’t stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and they rove the flood,
And they climb the mountain’s crest;
Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don’t know how to rest.

If they just went straight they might go far,
They are strong and brave and true;
But they’re always tired of the things that are,
And they want the strange and new.
They say: “Could I find my proper groove,
What a deep mark I would make!”
So they chop and change, and each fresh move
Is only a fresh mistake.

And each forgets, as he strips and runs
With a brilliant, fitful pace,
It’s the steady, quiet, plodding ones
Who win in the lifelong race.
And each forgets that his youth has fled,
Forgets that his prime is past,
Till he stands one day, with a hope that’s dead,
In the glare of the truth at last.

He has failed, he has failed; he has missed his chance;
He has just done things by half.
Life’s been a jolly good joke on him,
And now is the time to laugh.
Ha, ha! He is one of the Legion Lost;
He was never meant to win;
He’s a rolling stone, and it’s bred in the bone;
He’s a man who won’t fit in.

The mystery surrounding the death of Canada’s most famous artist has endured for nearly a century since his body surfaced on Canoe Lake in 1917. Globe and Mail columnist Roy MacGregor spent 40 years unraveling the details and shares what he uncovered in this incredible presentation.  Truth is indeed stranger than fiction….

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-mystery-of-tom-thomsons-death/article1737761/?from=1738779

They flew at an altitude of 13,400 ft in a low-winged Northrop Gamma called the Polar Star, making four landings during their flight across the Antarctic. After a blizzard that occurred during the night at the third camp, the inside of the plane was packed solid with drifted snow. The two explorers spent a whole day scooping out snow with a teacup.

They were forced to land 40 km short of their goal due to the lack of fuel. As their radio had been lost at the outset of the trip, they were assumed lost. After six days hiking on foot, they arrived at the abandoned Little America camp, where they remained for nearly a month. They were eventually spotted by the British research ship Discovery  and transported home. These guys were the real deal…

A major land area in Antarctica is now named the “Hollick-Kenyon Plateau.” He was inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame in 1975. The Polar Star now sits in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. If you get a chance to check it out, keep an eye open for the Red Canoe gear now available in the gift shop!

Tucked away in a quiet shipyard in Alameda California, David stumbled upon the USS Hornet, one of America’s least known National Historic Landmarks.  She played a major role in the Pacific battles of WWII, served in the Korean War, Vietnam War, and was used to recover the Apollo astronauts as they returned from the Moon.

President Nixon was on board to greet the astronauts, but could do little more then wave to the men who were immediately placed in quarantine for fear that the moon might contain unknown infectious diseases.  The practice required 21 days of isolation in accordance with the “Extra-Terrestrial Exposure Law”…. Seriously.

In addition to her legendary service record, the Hornet is also said to be one of the most haunted warships in the American Navy.  The numerous reports of supernatural activity have been featured on Ghost Hunters, Beyond Investigation Magazine, and Scariest Places On Earth. The crew bunks might give you an idea why.

In a remarkable show of good faith by the crew, David is given the helm for a quick spin around the harbor…. Must have been the flight jacket.