Far North

We're Here! Our epic journey was, in fact, long...but everything went smoothly and we made it with no problems! We've been having excellent Moose Factory adventures including - a float plane trip over James Bay, walks along to beach looking for beluga whales (so far, no luck...but I'm still got 2.5 more weeks), kite flying, visiting the local stores (all 2 of them) which are seriously an adventure all on their own, cruising around the dirt roads (the babies LOVE all the potholes), even a visit to the dump (which was also a highlight for the babies-so many smashed up cars and tires). I have been totally intrigued by this place, the landscape is stunning, but it is very remote, and very wild up here. It is not easy, convenient, or cheap to live here (a box of cereal for $7??) But here they are, a little town in the middle of the hardly-inhabited Far North. It has been interesting learning more about the history here, and why the place is called Moose Factory (produces some interesting mental images, no?) My sister just posted about our adventures, so I'm going to borrow the description from her blog (she's a better writer than me anyway)

"Sometimes I'm suspicious that my adventurous parents choose the next place they're going to live based on how laughable the name is. They recently went from living in Abu Dhabi, UAE which was pretty funny sounding, to living in Moose Factory, a remote island in the James Bay in Northern Ontario. Moose Factory? Seriously? Though the name evokes some funny mental images, it is actually a beautiful, historically significant place. It was the first English-speaking settlement in Ontario, originally a fur-trading post for the Hudson's Bay Company back in the 1670's. With all the business and trade that went on here, it makes more sense that they would call it Moose Factory since the etymology of the word "factory" in this case refers to an accountant, or a "factor". Today it is a tiny island community made up mostly of Cree Indians where life is quiet, there are no paved roads, and you have to take a boat or a helicopter to get to the mainland. Nope, you can't even drive to my parent's place... no roads lead here, baby! It's the place they've called home for 2 years, but this is the first time any of us have had a chance to come and visit. What an amazing opportunity it's been."

So here we are, with more adventures on the way... tomorrow we're going to the sewing circle where my mom learned how to make moccasins out of leather, beads, and fur pelts (that you buy from the local grocery store -in the "fur pelt" isle, of course). For the record, she also knows how to cook a goose with sticks over an open fire, and on Sunday we're all having moose roast for dinner.

I met up with my sister and her little one at the Toronto Airport. We flew to Timmins, Ontario together where we met up with our parents. (When I say "together" I mean same row, seats next to each other. With two BIG lap babies, it was a full house to say the least) We stayed the night in Timmins, but didn't get to visit these great tourist attractions.

We had to get up at 5am to catch the bust to Cochrane, Ontario. Cochrane is where we caught the train. As you can see, the babies (specifically Jonah) were more excited about the early bus ride than I was.

We rode the Polar Bear Express from Cochrane to Moosonee. It took about 5 hours, but it wasn't crowded and the scenery was fabulous. Owen even got to stretch out and take a good nap.

In Moosonee, we caught the boat across the river to Moose Factory Island. It helped that the babies were super excited about each and every mode of transportation we used (even the vans)

And arrived to see this view

Throwing rocks at the beach...as long as there are rocks and water, these guys are happy.