Hometown Gong Show?

I admit it. I thought the hometown screening in Courtenay was going to be a bit of a Gong Show. It had all the signs: a small screen and folding chairs in the Upper Legion; music emanating from the Lower Legion; a wimpering baby in the corner; a malfunctioning DVD player that would stop for a 1/2 second and start again; and the people who trickled in late, including a guy in search of a washroom. Whatever.

Lesson: Relinquish control!

In the end it turned out to be a great crowd (150+) who really got the film (and all my jokes). Many stayed after for the Q&A even though my film was in the last slot of a very long day of films. And many family and friends came out - including good friend and a key Cinematographer on "The U.S. and Us" - Kim MacNaughton (also a 'Courtenay girl').

Moral of this story: Bring on life with all its curve balls - we can handle them!

Doc to Screen at Hometown Film Festival!

Finally, a chance to redeem myself after a misspent youth in Courtenay on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

After wrapping up the cross-Canada tour, I'm returning to my hometown of Courtenay to screen, "The U.S. and Us" at the World Community Film Festival at the Upper Legion on Saturday, February 7th at 4:40. Sid Williams ticket office: 250-338-2430. Check out the rest of the line-up at: www.worldcommunity.ca/film2009.htm

I hope Mr. Brodie, my Grade 9 Science teacher, shows up. He hid behind his tree on Halloween and (physically) caught my friend after we threw eggs at his door. I think I need some closure.....

When the World Community Film Festival wraps up, it gets a travel bug and transforms into the Traveling World Community Film Festival and heads out of town to: Vancouver, Grand Forks, Salt Spring Island, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Prince George, Winnipeg and Antigonish, Nova Scotia (one of my favourite places; wish I could go)! For more info, visit: www.codev.org/filmfest/travellingfest.cfm

Day 2: A Bigger Footprint but So Much Fun!

After an amazing day of snowshoeing, we rose the next day to a dramatically different landscape; in the night, the wind had blown all the snow off the trees. I think I detected a collective sense of loss with this big shift. Hey, wait a second - that was a bit too fast! It seems we're continually reminded of the impermanent nature of - well - nature!

VIDEO: "ICEFISHING ON FISH LAKE ANYONE?"
In an effort to cram as much 'northern experiences' into 3 days, Katie and I hopped on the snow machine - as many call it in the Yukon - and headed up Fish Lake. (I had to be reassured the ice was very thick and could, for example, handle the big trucks of the Tommy Hilfiger shoot as well as the production activities of the CBC series "Northern Town".) Okay, I was convinced and ready to go! We crossed the 10 km length of Fish Lake and found the trail, that took us deeper into the wilderness of the Subalpine forest, until the trees got more and more scarce. It was an entertaining ride with lots of dips and corners that sent us leaning in the opposite direction in order to stay on track. Most of the time we were successful but the softness of the snow, and my wrong-direction-leaning, resulted in us careening off the path a couple of times. (But isn't that where life is more interesting?) The first time it happened, I was ready to pack 'er in as I had no experience with this heavy mechanical beast but Katie's expertise got us easily back on track and deeper into the mountains.

VIDEO: "BACKSEAT IN THE BACKCOUNTRY"
We had a few stops, during our 4-hr/50 km outing, to stretch and refuel with a yummy lunch and ginger tea. And we gave the right-of-way to a group of 4 dog mushing teams from a local ranch that offers tourists guided trips.


VIDEO: "DOG MUSHERS"

Our snowmobile trip took us to the height of land between the Fish Lake and Ibex watersheds.
We then had to hightail it back as we were losing the light. Funny, on the way there we were chasing the light and witnessed many sunsets as we rode from mountain to valley to mountain again.
"LOOKING BACK ACROSS FISH LAKE"
On our return trip we chased the sunset, with a handy back-up in the snow machine's headlight, which helped us navigate across the lake past the - now defunct - fox farm. During that final leg, I took the helm and noticed my inner redneck surfacing, the one who wanted to go faster and faster and faster! Then it was home to a nice warm house and a chili dinner prepared by Dennis. Nice. "HELMET HAIR"

The next morning I took off back to Vancouver, brimming with wonderful memories of my time in the Yukon, and one sore arse! But I'd do it all again as this was an amazing way to wrap up the cross-Canada tour of my film, "The U.S. and Us"!

Snowshoes and Exploding Ptarmigan!

After my film screening at The Old Fire Hall and my stint at a B&B in downtown Whitehorse, I leapt at an offer to be billetted by locals on the outskirts of town. Katie Hayhurst and Dennis Kuch - retired Parks Planner and Interpreter, live an elegant lifestyle off-the-grid at Fish Lake, 20 minutes outside of Whitehorse. Comfort (including heated floors!) is facilitated by wind and solar power as well as wood and propane. The first day offered perfect conditions for snowshoeing with minus 10 (compared to minus 35-40 the days before) and 2 1/2 feet of white powdery snow. While I had done lots of skiing in my life, this was my first go on snowshoes and, after a month on the train, my body craved the exercise. All-in-all, it went well except for a couple of spectacular nosedives which were good for the laughs. The beautiful Subalpine terrain - with its Spruce, Pine, Poplar and Willow trees - is also home to a variety of creatures (besides Katie and Dennis). We saw many tracks along our path including: Arctic Hare, Mouse, Red Squirrel, Fox, Coyote, Wolf, possibly Lynx and the famous-yet-illusive Willow Ptarmigan whose tracks just seemed to end. The tricky technique - of exploding from a roosting position - is a good anti-predator move, for sure. Above: intact and calm - not exploding - Willow Ptarmigan.
Back home, a bird feeder - outside the livingroom window - provides a mutually-beneficial arrangement for birds and birders alike. Visitors included: Pine Grosbeak, Hoary Redpoll, Whisky Jack, Black-capped Chickadee and Hairy Woodpecker. Katie and Dennis don't feed other creatures and choose not to own a cat or dog in order to attract wildlife throughout the year.

After pushing the muscles where they hadn't been for some time, I was happy to 'Do in Rome'. Katie and Dennis taught me the fine art of saunaing which made for the best sauna experience of my life: sit in sauna until you're good and hot, step outside and either douse yourself with warm water or plop yourself in the snow! (I did both but only one photo is fit to post.) Repeat 3 times - with the last visit to a birch-scented sauna - and you're done. Kick-back with a warm cognac and your new best friends!
(Coming up: Part 2 of 'Quinn in the Yukon' where she goes snowmobiling into a pristine watershed and manages to take two more spectacular nosedives off the back of the snowmobile.)

Wrapping 'It' up in Whitehorse

'It' = the cross-Canada tour, not my extremities although that was also important given it was 40 below when I touched down.

Whitehorse is an amazing place. It's superbly-lit natural beauty aside, the people definitely make the place. (This has surfaced as a common theme on my tour.) Case-in-point: the hard-working Andrew Connors, Yukon Film Society Programmer and filmmaker in his own right, who is dedicated to bringing in a diversity of films from around the world. (I felt honoured that my film was one of them.)

The screening of "The U.S. and Us" at The Old Fire Hall, a beautiful heritage building overlooking the Yukon River (above), was the perfect ending to my cross-Canada tour. And it surprised me. Even though I'd heard that Whitehorse is the northern Canadian cultural centre, with a vibrant artistic community, I was thrilled with the turnout and level of discussion during the Q&A. The questions struck a balance between 'issues', the filmmaking process and stylistic/aesthetic treatment. (Thanks to Council of Canadians, Tori Russel, who helped with the Q&A, and Kristina Mercs, Project Coordinator at The Old Fire Hall. (K.M. photos: 'Whitehorse Moon' and me by the river.)

(Please stay tuned for Part 2 of my Yukon experience which took me way off-the-grid to Fish Lake. New friends, Katie and Dennis, generously answered the call for a billet and showed me the time-of-my-life, snowshoeing one day and snowmobiling the next. Sore muscles were soothed in their homemade sauna where the hot sits were interspersed with plopping down into 2 feet of snow at 10 below.)

Whitehorse Bound!

As part of my cross-Canada tour with my doc, "The U.S. and Us", I'm heading up to Whitehorse today to screen my film at the Old Fire Hall on Saturday, January 10th at 8 pm. This event (my visit) is being sponsored by the Yukon Film Society. www.yukonfilmsociety.com

I'm excited about this visit as I've never been to Whitehorse in the winter. The first and last time I was there was years ago, in the summer, for a 2-week canoe trip down the Wind River. Now, that was a life-altering experience.

I just checked the weather and it's -33 today so I look forward to comparing it to Winnipeg's -45 in mid-December!

Travel VIA Rail Where it Snows on the Inside!

The last Edmonton/Vancouver leg was waylaid due to - yet another - CN derailment (more on this phenomenon and possible reasons, later). I passed some of the time talking with fellow traveler David Winter, Canadian Labour Congress, Regional Director for the Prairie Region. He took these last two shots.


Signs of winter and a long tour are definitely visible. (That dome car is holding me upright!) I'm ready to kick-back for the holidays at my Mom's in Courtenay where I will rest up for the northern leg to Whitehorse on January 9th. I heard it was minus 41 there today but I've been primed after -45 in Winnipeg!