"Bore"hole Surveying

For those uninitiated, who are wondering about the exciting, thrill-a-minute, action-packed life of a geophysicist working in the subarctic, I offer this photo. I suggest that the image portrays the drudgery of the hurry-up-and-wait life that accompanies borehole surveys. The large spool in the center is the kevlar-sheathed, three conductor, 1.2km long cable that we use to lower the probes down the 3 inch diameter hole (you can see the cable heading off diagonally up to the hole casing. The poor sap sitting in the chair is waiting for the receiver to finish collecting the data before lowering the probe 10 meters to the next station. It takes a couple of minutes to read the Z-component, and about 5 minutes or more for the XY. The average depth of holes in Raglan is probably 800 to 850 meters, and we usually survey half the length of the. Meaning that surveying a hole can take anywhere from 6 to 24 hours or more, depending on what happens to go wrong on a particular survey, and if the whole has to be read in more than one section because of risk of collapse. This type of survey has been aptly nicknamed "snorehole".

L'Hiver Est Arrivé À Raglan

Well, while Heidi was watching her sister get married on the beach near St. Lawrence, NL (Congrats Beth and Jeff!!!) I understand it was a little on the cool side. However, I ask you to note this picture taken by my helper and new chum, François. We were working yesterday, the 15th of September here in the subarctic, and it was also what we call "on the cool side". The weather trend continued today with more of the same. It actually gave me a rather cozy feeling, kind of like Christmas is around the corner, but I am sure this feeling will pass and I will tire of the wind and snow in short order. I guess I better enjoy it before my brain smartens up and realize I am on the tundra, 1600km from home, and I left my big logans at home....oops.

Who's got the ball?

Ashton may have the Chuck-It, but Maggie has the ball...

White Point

Nothing fancy, just us and the boys at White Point beach. Okay, I know Maggie's a girl. Sorry Mags.

My Nephews

My sister Daphne, her husband Russell and their two boys Spencer and Ashton all came to Newfoundland for a few weeks this summer. They came down Winterland way for a visit and we had a lot of fun hanging out, going to the beach and just visiting. I had never met Ashton before this summer and only met Spencer a couple of years ago. They are beautiful boys, and as you can see, we had no trouble becoming fast friends. I look forward to seeing them again really soon. Hopefully Crone will be doing some work out west in the near future!

Another Sunset!?!

I know sunsets can be kind of cliche, but I saw this one on the way out to the Crone workshop and snapped it. I just kind of liked it so decided to throw it up here on the blog. The mine headframe is in the shot, and I think that the pond is what we use as our water supply for the camp. This is the view from the parking area as you enter the camp.

Northern View

This photo is from a walk I took with Tom last week, but today was the same kind of dreary, foggy day- what Newfoundlanders call a "mauzy ol' day" (spelling is my own). So here is a picture of the inukshuk that overlooks our camp. The inukshuk is perfectly profiled on the ridge when you look out from the back of the camp. Donaldson Camp (the exploration camp that Xstrata operates as part of its mining activities here in Raglan) is visible just right of the inukshuk, and at the far right is the old mine headframe and the big yellow cylinder is the diesel tank we currently use, with other various buildings in between. The weather can remind one of Newfoundland sometimes, but you only need look around and you realize how far from home you are.

A photo of Neil

In a moment of vanity I thought people might want to see a picture of me, so here it is. I am waiting for Terry when we were laying a loop out in Cross Lake, which is about 50km from our camp. we drove part of the way and were picked up by helicopter and flown out there to lay a loop for a drill that would be surveyed a few days later. The spool of yellow wire is just visible at the left edge of the photo. This area was very hilly and rugged, markedly different than most of the other areas we work. This is the area where I photographed the purple flowers below.

Arctic Colours

Vibrant colours are rare up here in Raglan, other than say the bright yellow Crone receivers, the yellow Crone wire or the orange drill shacks. I found these beauties on a loop laying trip out to Cross Lake, a short helicopter ride from camp. They may be Alpine Phlox, and each flower head is only about a third the size of my pinkie fingernail. They were abundant out in the craggy hills of Cross Lake and certainly a noticeable and appreciated display! It's a shame they were just starting to wilt a little before I found them.

Arctic Panhandler

After setting a temperature record of 117° (that's 47.2° Celsius for non-Americans) I find myself back in Ralglan where today it is 15°C, quite reasonable for this place actually. When I got back to our drill the other day this little guy was sniffing around our transmitter gear. They love to eat our wire, particularly the black electrical tape on our splices. They'll dig down through several feet of snow for a chomp! This guy was looking for some snacks, I think the drillers like to share their lunch. He was very brave and followed me around so I tried to snap a shot. He was very cooperative, hamming it up for the camera. It's amazing how different he looks from his winter counterpart, you can see a picture of the winter version here on Tom's blog.

Home from Vegas, but Neil's not home...

We made it back safely from an amazing vacation visiting Grandma and Grandpa Evans in Las Vegas (and of course we also got to see Addison, Valerie and Carl!) but Neil has hit the road yet again and is back at work in northern Quebec, making a quick turn around after leaving the desert and returning to Newfoundland.

Red Rocks Canyon Park was a natural wonder that we enjoyed visiting - hiking through the desert with flame-red rocks all around and a scorching sun above hammering down while a hot dessicating wind blew down from the mountains. In the first shot, I (Neil) am hiking through the red sandstone of the Calico Hills, home to many neat and unique rock climbing routes. The trail in the second photo leads off into Icebox Canyon, a hike we'd intended to return to do but never got the chance, I guess we'll have to go back to do it sometime in the future! In the third image we are standing at the trailhead to several different trails, one of which was the Keystone Thrust trail that leads to a unique geological structure, this is the trail we had intended to take. However, I was leading the way and neglected to listen to Heidi who was certain the trail went "this way" and we ended up on the wrong trail that went several miles further than we'd meant to. The best part of this photo is that Heidi is still smiling (phew!). The hike was still fascinating and very enjoyable. I've also thrown in a photo ofthe Venetian tower, the hotel/casino/resort where we went to see the Phantom of the Opera show that was a highlight of our trip, a jaw-dropping production we recommend to everyone who is anywhere near Las Vegas. We really had a blast!

O, Say, Can You See

Our first day in Las Vegas was July 4th, Independence Day. There were fireworks at the Casinos nearby, visible over the houses across from Grandma and Grandpa Evans' house. You could also see fireworks all over the city which you can see from up here. It was really pretty. The next day, the 5th, was record-tying 116 degrees F! It is a stark contrast to the tundra in Raglan. We also got to spend this afternoon at The Marriott, lounging by and in the pool, with waterfalls, and palm trees all around. It's a tough life but we are trying to muddle through!

Welcome to Vegas, $100 on Black!

We made it to Las Vegas, and the welcoming home of Grandma and Grandpa. The weather is everything we've been told, and more. Today is supposed to be about 115 degrees, which is about 46 for you Canadians. That calls for a siesta this afternoon! Unfortunately we only have a dial-up connection so you'll have to wait for photos. We'll keep you updated with our exploits as they unfold. Viva Las Vegas!

Off To Sunnier Climes?

I just got back from northern Quebec and the vibrant greens of Newfoundland are a warm and welcome sight. It's like being on vacation, yet in just a few days I'm off again even further south, all the way to Las Vegas! The City of Lights! (and 40+ degrees!) That is a bit of a turnaround from the snowsqualls of Raglan. I've included a photo of Heidi in front of her house, just to show the beautiful greenery that I am enjoying so much, but I guess next week it will be the red and browns of the desert and the neon lights of the Strip. Heidi is off on Saturday to Toronto to visit with Caroline for a few days and then I fly to Toronto on Monday, I'll drive to Peterborough for the night to visit my cousin Ian, and then finally, we meet up for our flight south to see Grandma and Grandpa, and Phantom of the Opera! Yay! We'll update from there. Happy Canada Day!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Dad! For those of you who don't know him, that's my Dad sitting between me and my brother Paul. We are in Dad's backyard in St. John's, a couple of years back. The other photo is in PEI when I guess I was about 6 or 7, I'm the one in the front trying to reach the water with my paddle! I wish that I was around more so that I could see him, do more together these days. He is a generous, loving, caring man. I'd be lucky to be half the man he is. Love you Dad.

Spring Comes to Raglan

Spring has finally announced its arrival, and it did so with torrents of rain and wind! Last night was a miserable night as the usual Raglan blizzard transmutated into a veritable rainstorm. The result was a lot of leaky windows in camp. We spent sometime just mopping up the water and trying to stay ahead of it but this got tiresome. We told Angie, the camp manager, about it and she mentioned that she had seen a trick using a bit of string and a bucket. So we got some string from a mop and an ice cream tub. We fixed the string to the window sill with a thumbtack right where the water was pooling and let the string hang down into the bucket. Voila! the water soaked the string was eventually slowly running down the string and into the bucket. Thanks Angie! I was skeptical at first but it works like a charm. I woke up with 3 inches of water in the tub! Better than on my head or in my laptop. I'll try and post a picture of the setup later.

Another Day In Paradise

Look, it's Tom! He's the man responsible for my being here north of 60! He's my good buddy who gave me the contact to start with Crone. You can check out his blog here. It's another easy day here in Raglan, no drills shutting down means no surveys to do. Today was pretty relaxed, about 2 or 3 degrees and no wind. A nice day. The geophysics we do here is pretty simple: we lay out a large wire loop that is a 600m square and when we run about 12 amps of current through it. This produces a large magnetic field that in turn produces current in any conductive bodies in the ground (such as sulphides, ore). Inside the loop there is a drill that has drilled down about 400-90om or more. We send probes down into the hole which can sense the magnetic field produced by the conductors in the ground. We have probes that measure in all three directions (x,y,z) so the company that has hired us can then model where the body is and what size it is. That's it, pretty simple, huh? Well, with all six drills still drilling, Ismail (my operator) and I were out laying a loop in preparation for a drill shutting down in a few days. So for now it's a waiting game until the drills all start shutting down, which will likely be all in the space of a few days meaning fast and furious work with little sleep. It can take between 10 and 20 hours or more per survey. But being busy passes the time a lot faster, and the countdown to Vegas will accelerate!

Miracle Worker

It takes a special touch to bring something back to life, but here I am working my magic! Perhaps nobody will read this as it's been comatose for quite some time, but hopefully word of the miracle of resurrection will spread! Very brief update: Heidi is cluing up another busy school year, her recital for private students is coming up this weekend, and then it's off to Vegas baby in July where it will be slot machines, blackjack and roulette for 1o crazy days! Ok, not really. We're actually going to visiting her grandparents, hopefully avoiding the casinos as best we can (except for the legendary buffets!), maybe catch a show and go for a hike in the Red Rocks canyon.

Where is Neil you ask? Most of you will know that I have been working in the subarctic, just north of the 60th parallel in northern Quebec, working for Crone Geophysics. It means that I'm away for 4 weeks at a time, but that's not too bad. Not sure how long I'll be able to do it, but it's a good opportunity for the medium-term. I should get to see some pretty remote and interesting parts of the country and even the world so it's worth sticking with for a while (the $$ is ok too, I guess, but that shouldn't be the only reason to do something).

This is a picture of where Neil is now. He really is in the picture, the little black speck. Click to enlarge it if your eyes aren't good enough to see him.

This is how Heidi and Neil stay in touch these days.

Here are a few pictures taken with Heidi's new camera (did I mention that it's pink?).

At Neil's Mom and Dad's when Neil got back from Raglan for the first time (maybe he's not smiling because she's choking him?).

Here is Heidi reading Murder on the Orient Express aloud during the drive back to Winterland .

A rainbow that appeared late one evening over Creston South (the sunlit community across the water from Creston North where Heidi's parents' house is located). Apparently it was a double rainbow, seen just to the left of the chimney, but it went unnoticed at the time. I guess Heidi is the pot of gold!