Arrival: August 11, 2011

(To those of you who already read our first blog, this is the same, but with some pictures finally)
As the train started chugging down the tracks, leaving Cochrane, there were mixed feelings of anticipation of what lay ahead and the reality that there was no turning back.  This was finally happening.  We were on our way to the James Bay area for Phil to put his years of schooling to practice by beginning his teaching career in Moose Factory.  Our home in Thunder Bay felt far away.

 The children were thrilled to finally be aboard the Polar Bear Express, an actual train!  It wasn't only "pretend" anymore, as they'd been playing for weeks in our home... this was for real.  Their restless excitement and curiosity meant most of the trip was spent exploring, walking through the swaying cars, eating in the dining car, enjoying the scenery from the dome car, and playing in the children's play area.

The scenery from the windows mostly consisted of bush and wilderness.  There were a  couple of rivers and a variety of northern trees... white birch, poplar, balsam fir, tamarack, black spruce, jack pine, etc.  It was beautiful in its own way.  Every now and then, we'd catch a glimpse of our minivan riding along ahead of us, as we rounded a bend.

About 5 hours into the trip, we saw a few houses pop out of the wilderness and suddenly, we were pulling in to the train station at Moosonee!  I'd figured we'd view it from a distance first... but, no, all of a sudden, it was just "there," right beside us.

In no time at all, the van was unloaded and we had a pile of bins sitting by the train.  Phil took care of getting the van and bins down to the barge and the rest of us (Josiah, Elena, and Phil's parents) walked the length of the town to the river where we easily found the docks with water taxis waiting.  Basically, they were boats with wooden sides and plastic built up and around to keep the water and wind out.

Our boat took us around an island or 2 for about 10 minutes til we caught our first glimpse of Moose Factory, our new home.  There's a really neat entrance to the island with a large dock and up the hill, the Ecolodge, an eco-friendly motel/restaurant.  (Can't wait to try out the restaurant on a date once we find a sitter!)

                                          first glimpse of Moose Factory (sorry, got blurry)

                                out of the boat on the dock in front of Ecolodge (Josiah and Elena with Phil's parents)

While waiting for Phil to arrive on the barge, we enjoyed fresh bannock roasted on a stick in a tepee (that's not the right word.. it was a different shape, had two points instead of one).

 The barge was exciting, especially for Josiah.  (He's been drawing and building all kinds of boats/barges, etc. with Legos ever since!)

Or van was already off here, but this person got his back wheels stuck in the mud when he backed off.

We headed to our new home with our loaded up van and Carleen, the Humans Resource worker who met us with her truck.  It was fascinating to finally see this place!  We've known people from this community for years and always wondered about it... now, our curiosity is being satisfied!  It has a "town" feel and is very well laid out.

(I guess I don't have a picture of our place from the outside yet!  Will have to take one soon.)
Our home is only 1 floor but has 3 bedrooms, and we're loving it.  It's becoming home quickly.  The deck is an added bonus!  (although much of the time we're here will be winter)

I must sign off now.  But for those of you who are wondering about us, hopefully this will at least let you know we are safely here and doing well!

Blessings!  Marcia