I have a crush. It doesn’t happen often, but I am completely intellectually smitten with Colleen Fitzpatrick after sitting in on her sessions this past Sunday at the Alberta Genealogical Society convention. Dr. Fitzpatrick (she has a PhD in nuclear physics) is a forensic genealogist, author, and speaker, now that she isn’t doing contracts forContinue reading “Crushing on Colleen”
Category Archives: Aviation
Passing the Conch
Last Friday I spent the morning as one of the speakers at a Young Readers Conference in Edmonton. During each of the two 40-minutes sessions, I worked with 25-odd students ranging in age from 10 to 15, talking about aviation history. It was terrifying. Exhilerating. Fascinating. I got an email about this “gig” out ofContinue reading “Passing the Conch”
Doing it All in Inuvik
Flying from Old Crow to Inuvik I managed to snag a window seat away from the wing, but it was an overcast day so I wasn’t able to glimpse the scenery below too often. When I did, somewhere over the border between the Yukon and the NWT, it looked pretty unforgiving and I couldn’t helpContinue reading “Doing it All in Inuvik”
A New Soul in Old Crow
On Wednesday, October 13th, after a day and a half to do laundry and regroup in Dawson, I repacked my bag and headed out. Destination: Old Crow, the Yukon’s only fly-in community. Old Crow is not a hub of tourism. The group of us staying at Patti and Kenny’s Ch’oo Deenjik Accommodations was pretty indicativeContinue reading “A New Soul in Old Crow”
Travels in the Borderlands
I left Whitehorse for Watson Lake on Sunday, October 3rd – a perfect fall day by any standard. Driving down the Alaska Highway with the sun on my face, rocking out to my mixed CDs (not many radio stations along this stretch of road), life was good. I was headed to WL for a fewContinue reading “Travels in the Borderlands”
Aviation, Writing and the Best Bud Light Ever: Conference Season 2010
While many were working on their yards and tans the past few weeks, I’ve been making the rounds of conferences. Which, in weather-changeable Alberta, is probably a safer bet. The Creative Nonfiction Collective conference back in April started off the 2010 season. Held at the gorgeous Banff Centre, I let myself be inspired by theContinue reading “Aviation, Writing and the Best Bud Light Ever: Conference Season 2010”
Six Degrees of Dawson City
Dawson may be a small town (1,200 permanent residents) and the Yukon Territory may be one of the most sparsely populated places in the world (30,000 people in 2006), but it seems everywhere I go I find connections to the place I will call home from October to December of this year. The first ‘coincidence’Continue reading “Six Degrees of Dawson City”
A blond on the Yellowhead Trail
I’m taking a break from reno work in Edmonton for the next week and focusing on my ‘real’ work: writing, researching, and promoting myself shamelessly. So yesterday morning I packed up the Mini Cooper -still sporting Wyoming plates – and jumped on Highway 16 out of Edmonton headed for British Columbia. A few months agoContinue reading “A blond on the Yellowhead Trail”
My film debut
I am sitting in the Ottawa International Airport (YOW – my favourite airport code!) after a whirlwind trip to my hometown, and am now awaiting a flight to my newly adopted hometown of Edmonton. Not much would have lured me away from the chaos of my first house and all the accompanying DIY projects, butContinue reading “My film debut”
The Trees in My Mind
It’s a funny feeling, being split between two worlds, but it also seems to be at the core of this writing thing. The other day I was musing about how living here, in southwestern Wyoming, my physical world is high plains desert: sage brush, antelope, and very few lakes, rivers, and trees. Researching the settingContinue reading “The Trees in My Mind”