All About Adventure
Well it’s the somethingith day of the trip! Not sure if it’s the travel, the sun, hopping back and forth on various time zones, or just the fact we are enjoying our Adventure so much but most of the time we don’t know what day it is!
The sights have been absolutely incredible. We’ve never experienced colors or textures like this in the landscape. Everywhere you look, God’s presence is overwhelmingly evident! A few months back ago a very wise friend greeted us at church. When asked how he was, he responded with ‘better than I deserve.’ That was so profound and has really stuck with Matt and I. I have found myself thinking this multiple times a day, all this beauty around me is better than I deserve! God is just so good!
As we were making our way through the Arctic Circle on our way to Tuk, the spindly and height challenged forest grew nonexistent. My mind began to wander and great concern came over me as to how the Inuit people stayed warm in the winter or how they built shelters with so little resources around. I should have known better, God’s way ahead of us. On the shores of Arctic were copious amounts of drift wood! It was quite remarkable! I love how God always provides! I was visiting with a local woman and we both chuckled about how there was probably some pretty interesting stories held within that drift wood.
Nestled among the driftwood rich beach was ‘Grandma’s’. We had heard about Grandma’s from people in several of the ‘neighboring’ towns. While we were navigating the gravel streets of Tuk, we spotted this very modern beautiful deep blue building that we figured was Grandma’s Restaurant. As we traveled closer we saw a sign direct us past the very restauranty looking building. Back behind a trailer house was a quaint little enclosed trailer with wooden steps and painted plywood signs for the famous Grandma’s Restaurant! Before we even made it out of the truck we were warmly greeted and asked where we were from. It was strange how comfortable I instantly felt with new found friend. She whipped up a delicious meal of fish and burgers as well as two of her favorites, muktuk and dry fish. These are cultural dishes that make up a big part of the locals regular diet. Muktuk is beluga whale. I’ll admit I was hesitant but was committed to eat the local fare. Visually, it’s definitely not the most appealing but the taste far exceeded my expectations! The dry fish was great and is comparable to jerky.
Inside the sitting area of Grandma’s was a beautiful view the ocean, various entertaining Grandma signs, and a picture of a man posing with polar bear had shot. One notable thing missing from this ‘restaurant’s’ unattached seating area was a washroom aka restroom. The only available bathrooms were in their trailer….their home, their personal bathroom! All that’s asked is that you remove your shoes before entering! If there was any plus to this awkward call of nature was Matt got to meet and visit with the hunter in the polar bear picture. As Matt was visiting with John, the hunter, I was having my own fascinating conversation with our new friend/cook/waitress. She was filling in for Grandma for the day. When complimenting her on the food she said she wished she could sell us a bag of the dry fish but that’s what they live on. She said they also eat a lot of caribou in the fall and winter. She remarked that she loved that so many people were interested in their little village of Tuk. I had told her about our old weatherman that use to give the temp in Tuk every night and she just thought that was nearest thing. As we reconnected back at the truck, Matt had informed us that John had invited us to go swim on their beach front with our girls and dogs! He also told Matt that whooping and laughing was encouraged! John too had shared with Matt a little about their way of life there and about harvesting the polar bear for meat.
After a relaxing swim we dried off and took a cruise through town. Right on the shore and in front yards even, we witnessed flurry of activity. From people fishing, cleaning fish, and smoking fish in homemade smoke sheds. Towards the end of our drive through town we got to watch two seasoned women pull in a fishing net rich with white fish. It was so evident again of God’s presence and provision. Even at the literal edge of the continent, God provides.
It’s very exciting and rewarding to have accomplished a dream/goal of making it to Tuktoyaktuk! Over 2,800 miles from home, more than 500 miles traveled on a gravel highway one way, a couple ferry crossings, ‘towns’ with a hundred to sometimes over two hundred miles between them, little to no cell service, some of the harshest climates on earth, not to mention a ridiculous amount of mosquitoes…..and we got to take it all in with our girls! God is so good!
