Desperate and Durty

Our conference is at the midway point. We had several speakers today and learned of some practical uses. John Mighton was the keynote speaker this morning. He is the founder and creator of JUMP Math, a charity that is hopeful of drastically changing our society with a focus on establishing a simpler math program. He is a writer, who has a play currently showcasing in Stratford. He was also an actor in Good Will Hunting.

Last night we took our rental car and toured Sioux Lookout. Took about 10 minutes to drive almost every stretch of road.

Today's lunch, which was at the restaurant with the sketchy sign, was actually pretty good. Rumour has it, it was pretty decent yesterday. Found out that the full name of the restaurant is Desperate Dick and Durty Nellies. Apparently, as the story goes, Dick was a pilot looking for Nellie when he crashed (hopefully pictures to follow).

Tomorrow is our last full day in Sioux Lookout. We are on the first flight to Deer Lake on Friday morning at roughly 9:00 am (no sleeping in this time). After our last session we will be heading to Johnny's Market to pick up several hundred dollars worth food, mostly meat, fruit, and veggies.

Back to reality

Well here we are, back at the grind. Consider this season two in our reality show. Our goal this year is to be more consistent in our posts and add more pictures of our life. On that note, there are no pictures from today.

Our day got off on the wrong foot. We were supposed to be at Claire’s parents for 6 am, but the phone rang and woke us up 6:15. We sprung from our bed and in 18 minutes were able to pack/feed Edgar/load the vehicle/ and shower. Pretty good considering I had nicknamed Claire ‘Sloth’ for her actions in the morning. She did a great job. We left Vineland a few minutes before 7:00 am for our 8:55 am flight out of Toronto. A quick prayer for open roads and we were off. Luckily the roads were clear and we made it to Pearson for 8:00 am. As we were walking to our gate, they had just started to board. Perfect timing if you ask me, Thanks Dad Hotson.

We arrived in Thunder Bay at 10:40 and quickly headed over to our next airline to check in for our 11:30 flight. After doing so, I went upstairs to the Tim Hortons for something to eat. While in line the intercom came on with the following message, “Last boarding call for passenger Gregory Martin.” My immediate reaction was to jump the railing and land on the first floor, but figured this happened on a consistent basis.

We arrived in Sioux Lookout at 11:45. The girls grabbed the bags off the conveyor belt as I went to the car rental booth. I found out that this booth was strictly a pick-up/drop-off location. So off I went to the pay phone and made my reservation with the parent company. I was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. Good. 20 minutes I went back to the booth to find that no contract had been faxed over. Great. So I phoned the Dryden office and was met with the answering machine. Another 20 minutes went by before I returned and found that no contract was sent. Perfect. So I phoned the Dryden office and was met with the answering machine. Another 20 minutes went by before I returned and again found no contract had been sent. Excellent. This time when I phoned I finally got through to someone. I guess he had been out for lunch since 11:30. Super. A contract for a 2012 white Ford Fusion was faxed within 5 minutes. The problem was that there weren’t any white Fusions. Ideal. 20 minutes later, and another phone call to the Dryden office (lucky he wasn’t on break) and a 2012 silver Ford Fusion was mine. The best part was that while going over the final contract, he highlighted that I was to be the only driver and there was to be no smoking or pets. Frustrated, hungry, and dying to get out of the airport, I remarked with an ‘of course’ and ran off with the key.

We quickly dropped off the dogs and luggage and headed to the closest restaurant. Well not exactly, as the nearest eatery had a sign in the window that read, “The original home of warm beer and poor food.” We quickly peeled out of the parking lot and headed down the street. Later in the night we went to the hotel our conference is mainly being held and found out that the same establishment would be catering our lunches for the week. Wow.

During the day we ran into two teachers from Deer Lake and found out that they have hired a principal for the upcoming year. He is a native from the next reserve over. His reputation is not outstanding, but we are looking forward to working with him this year.

As for Edgar, he had a great day. He was great in the airports and was even better on the airplanes. He has performed exceeding well in the hotel room as he has routinely gone to his crate on his own to sleep or rest.

Meet Edgar!

Edgar joined our family on Friday July 15th. We thought we would share a few pictures of him. Enjoy!

Fire in Deer Lake

As some of you might have seen already, one forest fire is approaching Deer Lake First Nation.

This is a little blurb from CTV's website:

The Canadian Press

GREENSTONE, Ont. — Hundreds of residents in the northwestern Ontario community of Deer Lake are being evacuated because of nearby forest fires.

Emergency Management Ontario says 203 residents were flown out of the community on Wednesday night to Greenstone while another 127 boarded a military plane this morning.

Officials are evacuating about 480 of the community's 1,100 residents -- mainly babies and the elderly and those with breathing problems or other health issues.

Emergency Management Ontario spokesman Brent Ross says another military plane is being brought in today from Winnipeg to help with the evacuations.

The blazes, which are burning about 3.5 kilometres away from the community, are sending thick smoke across the area.

Ministry of Natural Resources crews are fighting the fires with water bombers.

Other remote communities affected by the fires are Sandy Lake, Cat Lake and North Spirit Lake but no evacuations are currently planned for residents in those communities.

And from CBC's website:

A CL-415 helps fight wildfires near the Dear Lake First Nation in northwestern Ontario (Mitch Miller/Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources)

Hundreds of people have been moved out of the remote First Nations community of Deer Lake in northern Ontario because of nearby forest fires.

The Canadian military said Thursday that rescue crews helped move roughly 500 people to Greenstone, Ont., near Geraldton.

The community is home to roughly 1,000 people, Deer Lake First Nation Chief Roy Dale Meekis said.

The people being moved out of Deer Lake are mostly babies and the elderly and people with breathing problems or other health issues.

“Smoke is definitely a disruptive factor and we expect it to be an ongoing problem for a number of days because we have so many fires going in the far north,” said Deb MacLean, a spokeswoman for Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources.

Fires were also affecting Sandy Lake, Cat Lake and North Spirit Lake, but no evacuations were planned in those communities.

Ottawa has sent two Canadian Forces CC-130 Hercules aircraft from 435 Squadron based at 17 Wing Winnipeg into the area to help with evacuation efforts.

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources crews were also fighting the fires with water bombers."I'm proud that the people of Deer Lake were evacuated in a timely and safe manner thanks to the quick reaction of the Canadian Forces," Defence Minister Peter MacKay said in a statement released Thursday.

"We're collaborating very closely with our First Nations and federal partners to ensure the safety of Deer Lake residents," Jim Bradley, minister of community safety, said in a release Thursday. "This evacuation will help take the most vulnerable members of the community out of harm's way."

There are 78 active fires burning in northwestern Ontario, with 46 in the Red Lake district, MacLean said Thursday.

With files from CBC's Jody Porter and The Canadian Press

Claire and I are thankful we are safe at home, but are worried for our Northern friends. They are evacuating people to Geraldton, a town a little west of Lake Nipigon and east of Longlac. We are not sure what they are being sent to, but in the past it has been an arena or community centre.

Here are some pictures of the fire and smoke, and one of the water bomber battling the flames.

This is a picture posted on Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Service's website. The red arrows are different forest fires. What is cause of concern is the concentration of fires in such a relative small area. Almost all of the fires are reported as caused by lightning and non-controlled. Deer Lake is situated a little to the West of the border where it juts to the Northeast. It is actually in the middle of the small cluster of 12 or so fires or red arrows.

The Time Has Finally Come...

While, the time has finally come. Greg and I have decided to expand our family. We are getting a dog!!!!

We have discussed getting a dog before but the time just never seemed to be right. While up north this year and while getting to know Amanda's dog Dexter it became clearer and clearer that we wanted to get a dog. Greg and I have always wanted a basset hound. At first we thought if we got a basset hound it would be to big to travel on the planes and would just be a hassle (Amanda's dog Dexter just rides on her lap on all the planes and it seems fairly easy). We began looking at little dogs but Greg said he wanted a dog that he wouldn't be ashamed to walk.

After much discussion we decided we wouldn't settle and we would just go ahead and get our basset hound anyway and have him ride in the back of the plane.

Today we went to St.Mary's to look at some baby basset hounds. Of course once you see them you fall in love and we picked one out. Below are some pictures of our basset hound and its family.
The babies mother "Bella". She liked having lots of attention and love.

All the puppies. There were 11 in the litter but only 10 made it. They are about 5 weeks old here. We will get our puppy at 8 weeks!

Our puppy! He is yet to be named. Any suggestions? He is the runt of the family!

Greg and the puppy!
The puppy and I! I just can't wait to get him. He is so cute.

T.O.

Our time in Toronto is quickly happening. Each day brings new activities and timeless memories. In the last two days we have gone to the Science Centre, Hockey Hall of Fame, and CN Tower. The students are having fun, but not really at those events. They do not really do well in museums and tours. They are enjoying the out of rez atmosphere and opportunities. The boys have been pulled toward any store that sells video games, while the girls are sucked into, well, any store. Money is quickly becoming an issue with the students because they are spending it so fast. Today was payday back home, so a number of them were being linked money from worried grand/parents back home.

We have noticed some interesting things this week. It was remarkable for Claire and I to accompany our kids on the bus coming into Toronto. Once we hit Canada's Wonderland, their eyes became dialated, mouths open, and shrieks of excitement. Admist this though, several comments (at least three) were immediately made by some overwhelmed students. Their comments reflect something like, "I want to go home." The tall buildings, thousands of walking pedestrians, and constant noise made a number of our kids quickly wish for the solace of Deer Lake. It probably did not help that we were attempting to drive up Bay St. from the Lakeshore at 4:30 pm.


Amanda, Claire, and I often discuss the troubles in relating our lives in Deer Lake. When we returned at Christmas and March Break we are asked about our experiences. Our stories provide some background information, and our blog provides a somewhat consistent story and pictorial representation of Deer Lake. To truly experience Deer Lake you need to spend a substantial amount of time with the people. As an example an interesting situation took place one night while we were trying to fall asleep this trip. The lights were out, but the kids were talking. One of them asked, "What would you do if you won the lottery?" I provided a variety of things: house, debt, investments, and material things. After a few seconds of silence I returned the question. They responded together by saying, "paved roads." With all that there is in the world, the kids could only dream of having their own paved roads. A place to skateboard, play basketball without the ball hitting random rocks, a path to bike, and something most of us have always taken for granted.



We apologize for the lack of regular blogs, but our hotel at the Delta Chelsea did not have free internet. As well, we were always busy throughout the week to take the time and blog. The rest of our week is now over with the kids having fun at our final events. Unfortunately the bus was having problems and we weren't able to go to paintball. We used the money instead to take everyone to the Hard Rock Cafe. Wonderland on Monday was bitter cold at times, as a rain made everyone damp and chilled. We left the park at 6:00 pm and stopped for dinner at the closest service center. Back on the road by 7:00 we drove straight through to Thunder Bay. The bus driver stopped twice to pick up a coffee for himself. The students were pretty good with almost all falling alseep for some time. We arrived in Thunder Bay at 1:00 pm and are enjoying our final afternoon out. Tomorrow is a bright and early with another 9 and a half hours on a school bus to Red Lake.

PS> Tristan has bought another two sets of clothing. Although we are not sure if that includes all articles of clothing!

Toronto Trip-Day One and Two

We started our grade 8 and 9 class trip Toronto and for Greg and I it started at 9:00 am when our plane left Deer Lake. Altogether there were 5 planes with the last one finally coming in at 2:30. Once the students arrived in Red Lake via the plane we all had to wait in the world’s second smallest airport. Our plane arrived at 10:30. The six students, along with another chaperone, were pretty excited to be somewhere new. That feeling lasted for six minutes, as the reality hit home that they would be stuck for another 4 hours. It wasn’t all bad as the airport has a small t..v., which included the Men’s French Open championship game and then was conveniently switched by some random man to the Jay’s game. Have to love when it works out like that. At some point later, another plane arrived dropping of more passengers. Tristan, one of our grade nines came walking to the airport with only the clothes on his back. He decided he did not need to bring clothes or a bag because he was just going to buy everything he needed. We’re thinking about tomorrow’s pair of boxers.

While we were waiting for the last plane to arrive with the final 9 passengers, our Bus pulled up. It was a school bus that had 48 seats. Our group has 45 people with bags. We didn’t think it was going to fit, but everyone was able to nestle in somewhere. We finally left a little after 2:30 pm for a drive to Thunder Bay. With no bathroom on the bus, we made a few too many stops, causing us to fall a little behind schedule. Apparently it is supposed to be a 6 hour drive, but we didn’t pull into our hotel until midnight. The kids were pretty wired, and who wouldn’t blame them after being squished together for over 9 hours. Many groups quickly ordered pizza, while others walked to either the Shopper’s Drug Mart or Metro. Claire’s group decided for the former, while mine went for the latter. It was pretty cool to be back in a grocery store. Growing up I always loved going with my mom on Saturday mornings and helping pick that week’s menu (the $0.49 chocolate bar had nothing to do with it). Anyways, when my grouped walked in they went directly for the……….prepaid card tower. You read that right. Not the candy or junk food aisle, but the station where they could buy prepaid phone cards and itunes cards. Some were already missing home.

Along the way we saw/experienced some pretty cool things. Quickly off to the side of the road we passed a moose grazing. My reaction was, “Oh wow, a moose!” The students’ reaction was, “What! It’s just a moose.” Later, we passed by a farm that had cattle grazing. The students’ reaction was, “Oh wow, a cow!” Our reaction was, “What! It’s just a cow.” In all we passed by 8 moose and another one dead on the side of the road. At first, and in the daylight, they were pretty cool to see, but as the sun started going down, we were all feeling a little more nervous when someone yelled “Moose!” I couldn’t imagine anyone surviving an accident with one of those.

Last night we ended up in Sudbury. We drove on the bus from 7am -8pm. It was a long ride but the students were excellent. They slept a lot, watched movies and played cards.

Yesterday was our anniversary, and although spending our anniversary with 43 other people isn't the ideal, it was alright. Everyone said "Happy Anniversary" and they even pitched in to get us so gifts. A few boys bought us a pie, we also received two really nice pillows. It was very sweet of everyone and altogether a good day.

Today we are finally reaching our Toronto destination.