CHUCK of the NORTH!

"Watch your head on the rifle."

Those aren't words you expect to hear on vacation but I'll get to that a bit later.

This year for our vacation we decided to forego the traditional Hawaii/USA somewhere warm and fabulous and spend our 7th anniversary with good friends of ours in Wha'Ti, NWT.

Wha'Ti is a 40 minute flight Northwest of Yellowknife and it was an adventure just to get there.

On this map Wha'Ti is the yellow dot location.

First we packed up our stuff and a full case of food, George Foreman Grill, and coffee as requested - by the way cashiers look at you weird when they ring through nothing but giant tins of Tim Horton's coffee, dehydrated onions and vanilla. Then we hopped our WestJet flight to Yellowknife and landed at what was probably one of the smallest airports we've ever been in. There's certainly no question about where your luggage will be because there is only one luggage carousel.

Then we had a bite to eat at the Bush Pilot Cafeteria and took a $5 taxi ride to the Air Tindi terminal. There we met Marvin. Paul and I headed into the hanger and Marvin was working the counter. I gave him my name and said we had reservations...he then ran through my credit card and we plopped our luggage on a scale and that was it. No ID, no security checks, no scanning our bags - and also no realizing that Paul and I were traveling together but we got that sorted out. Turns out Marvin is more than front counter man, he also helps direct the planes in and hauls the luggage around in little carts.

Our Air Tindi plane was the smallest plane Paul has ever been on and 2nd smallest for me - 2nd only because I've flown in a tiny 2-seater plane before. It also looked like it was from before the war and there is no barrier between you and the pilots and the instruments. They hand you ear plugs as you get on and there is certainly no way the seat cushions are floatation devices as it's pretty much a thin piece of material over metal - which by the way fold down when they have less passengers so they can haul more cargo.

And you should have seen the cargo! Honestly I wouldn't have been surprised if a live chicken and a goat were on board. There were loads and loads of bins stuffed with everything from kids soccer balls, clothing bags and even several birthday cakes. And probably the weirdest thing - the "must have" item when flying into Wha'Ti is KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN! Several of the locals were flying with us and they all had giant bags of KFC which stank up the Air Tindi terminal and the flight for the whole 40 minutes. Paul says the smell has actually turned him off KFC for the next year probably.

Okay so back to the plane. We were flying along and I was in the front row - prime position to see all the instruments and I noticed a sign above the pilots head. The sign said the plane was only approved for regular flying and that no aerobatics, loops, roll overs or other types of flying were approved. Thank goodness for that. There is also no such thing as a washroom, no stewards/stewardess and no water or anything like that. In fact the pilot did a quick safety routine, probably the fastest I've ever heard. Pointed out the exit doors and said "if it gets too cold or too hot just tap me on the shoulder."

We landed in Wha'Ti and wouldn't you know it - turns out that is in fact the smallest airport we've ever been in. It's a community of about 500 people and the airport is a trailer. When they unload your luggage it comes out the gates and sits in the parking lot waiting for people to grab it - and be warned you better be on the ball and getting your luggage because if someone decides they like your suitcase better than you do it might disappear. When you go to leave your luggage is weighed on an old meat scale.

The area of Wha'Ti used to be known as Lac La Martre or Martin Lake. The scenery and landscape are stunning. On our first full day there we went to have a hot dog roast at the scenic waterfalls just a 1/2 hour out of town but you can't go out in the bush without a firearm because you really are "in the wild". Just a day or so previous to our visit there had been some wolves at the falls.

We rode in the RCMP truck and at one point had to pass Levi - the 1 year old - through the prisoner window to the front seat as we were a bit cramped in the back. That's where the whole "don't hit your head on the rifle!" came from.

We had an amazing visit with our friends, went on a great adventure and wouldn't you know it - the weather in Wha'Ti was way nicer than it was here in Edmonton! I actually got a bit of a tan.

After a few days we headed home, spent a delightful 3 hour delay in the Yellowknife airport (trust me when I say you don't want to be delayed in Yellowknife EVER!) and made it home safe and sound. It was a great trip and one I'm sure we'll be talking about for the next year. Chuck did amazingly well but we're lucky it wasn't a winter trip because I don't think I could have gotten a special parka for him.

I could go on and on about the old couple who got into a screaming match in the Air Tindi hangar because she was drunk and couldn't fly or about the bushman or how Paul preferred to pee on trees outside because we had to conserve water during our visit and he can't use the toilet without flushing...but you'd get bored with all of that!