Weather, Travel and Me

Its seems to me that the minute that I want the planes to work out, the weather gods cook up a doozy and send it flying to fool with my plans. (Those of you who recall, I was recently stranded in Rankin for 4 days - and the Science Fair nearly was cancelled - although in the end the weather worked out and everyone made it in) Not to mention my wild non-trip to Iqualuit. I do have to give them some credit - no problems at Christmas. So, I'm watching the weather again with a glint of horror as I hope beyond possibility that the blizzard conditions will abate long enough for a plane to land this evening. I'm not holding my breath, but I can't help wishing, especially since this looks to continue to get worse and last until Friday at which point, there will be nearly a weeks worth of bumped flyers trying to make their easter destinations and after weeks of seat sales, I expect that it'll be a while after the weather clears before my incoming guest can get a seat.

Baker Lake is the blizzard capital of the north, averaging nearly 20 blizzard events annually, thus our choice of the Blizzard as our athletic mascot. Still, while looking for a description of the minimum landing conditions necessary, I found this wonderful quote from the late weather caster, Bill Matheson:

“I really believe that Baker Lake, N.W.T., has got to be the epitome of all things Canadians hate about winter,” Matheson said. “The wind is blowing all the time. You're on the tundra. For half the year it's dark. And it’s always the coldest place on the weather map.”

Most of the time, I like the weather in Baker Lake. The crispness, the wind, and even the dark. The wind doesn't actually blow all the time, only when I want the planes to fly and frankly it has been quite mild this year and I can still see the sign, so maybe everything will work out fine. I guess sometimes you just have to hope and prepare to accept the worst. Not much else to do - to be happy in the north you have to be able to accept the things you can't change and weather is definitely out of my hands.

So, heres hoping beyond hope for a large miracle.... and making the best of things as they are.