August 5- Camp Nanuq!

For some of us, the day started at 12:30 AM when our overnight train stopped in Gillham. At this point, some of us tried to spread out in our train car because certain people (hint Jacob Leila Sami and Soren) were taking up all the room in our makeshift beds. However, we were thwarted by the conductor and had to return to bed for an uncomfortable and cramped night of sleep. In the real morning, we woke up to Julie’s leftover bagels and cream cheese and got ready for the train. We met most of the junior rangers, except for Quinn and Shady, who we had been on the train with. On our way to Nanuq, we stopped on the side of the road to see our first polar bear, which was really exciting for all of us until we realized it was a bird. Finally, we arrived at Nunuq! By this point, we were absolute pros at unloading all of our food and gear, so we did that for a final time before we go to Nester 1. While most of us unloaded, Julie and Jacob (the favorite because he can lift a food bin by himself) went to the airport and finally retrieved all but one of our missing bags! After a miscellaneous lunch of protein bars and leftovers, we started bonding with the junior rangers through an intense game of Mafia. And after that, we set out for a busy afternoon of random little errands.

When we got back, we FINALLY got to see Carla. We made dinner and had a dessert of cookies. Lizette became a Spot It pro, telling stories and teaching lessons along the way. We got to go on our first sunset safari of the trip, and despite missing the actual sunset, it still gave us a gorgeous view of the bay. Bedtime got a little intense, with Julie handing out C-‘s left and right for not being in bed on time. But, we are now all settled in and ready to start sampling sites tomorrow!

Signing out,

K-ster and L-ster (Kaya and Leila)