Summer in Smith

Its hard to believe the summer is over -- it really flew by.  We had an amazing 'first' summer up here (yes we've already decided it won't be our last) and were very very  happy that Rob's boys, Jake and Jamie, were able to come up.

I spent the first three weeks of summer teaching for Aurora College's Teacher Education Program in Edzo (see earlier post). When I got back to Smith we only had three weekends left with the boys and we crammed in a lot.  Here is a quick recap of some of the highlights:

• Canada Day -- the boys were in Smith and I was in Rae. 
• Story telling festival and Aikaitcho Assembly -- my fist experience watching Dene hand games. Its a guessing game with high stakes -- apparently a lot of betting goes on (sometimes tens of thousands of dollars).  The drums, energy and showboating are amazing -- you can watch for hours.    
• Annual Pine Lake Picnic in the Park (Wood Buff) -- lots of food and fun -- the boys participated in traditional Dene games as well as a canoe race while I helped out with the kayak demonstrations.
•  A fly-in fishing trip to a cabin owned by one of Rob's staff on Lake Germaine.  It was a beautiful spot -- lots of fishing, hanging by the fire, swimming, canoeing, boating, eating, etc. -- a great little getaway.  
• Paddlefest on the Slave River (see earlier post). 
• An evening trip to the Salt Plains (WBNP), a unique habitat with salt mounds and a great place to check out tracks. 
• Road trip down to Edmonton -- included are some photos from Alexandra Falls, NWT.
•  We also did a rafting trip on the Nahanni near the end of August-- see separate post below

Slave River Paddlefest

Paddlefest - August long weekend.  Its a pretty big event for Smith -- with close to 300 participants and drawing tourists from far away to little town.

The weekend began with a 40km (4-5 hr) floatilla / race from Hay Camp to Fort Fitzgerald.  The race was between Parks, the kayak club and Smiths Landing First Nation, each in a voyageur canoe while about 40 others paddled canoes or kayaks at a more leisurely rate.  There was an amazing community feast at the end - fish, potatoes, corn, bannock, watermelon.  Kind of cool that there are at least 6  feasts in town each year.

The rest of the fest takes place at the rapids at the Mountain Portage where kayak enthusiasts play games and show off their stuff.   We have some pretty amazing rapids here - class V.   You can check out some awesome footage of the experts having fun in the water here.  And it's really a beautiful spot for spectators, too -- outcrops of shield and sandy beaches.

The rapids are actually an important part of the history of the town -- it was a necessary portage on this important transportation corridor from the south to Great Slave Lake, the Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean.  We probably wouldn't be here if the rapids didn't exist.

Good times -- if you do plan to come visit us in Smith sometime, I would highly recommend August long weekend!