Northwest, and Still Going

'Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage

To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea;
Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea...'

-Stan Rogers

The view from The Explorer Hotel, downtown Yellowknife. Highy recommended.

So, here I am, drinking beer in my Yellowknife hotel room, trying to figure out how I got to the point where I kissed my new wife goodbye to be a nurse in one of the most remote communities inside of the Arctic Circle for three weeks.

Frankly, I blame Star Trek.

The Call of the Frontier

I grew up on Trek. Whether it was reruns of the original series, watching The Next Generation as a ten year old, or totally missing the subtleties of Deep Space 9 as a teen, it's been a fixture in my life. And in each series, there's been a frontier doctor. McCoy, Bashir, or Crusher- they've been can-do, make-do medical professionals on the edge of known space. My personality definitely skews more McCoy than anyone else, but there's always been a call to find a place to push myself.

Maybe that's why I became a nurse- I wanted to help people, like McCoy and Bashir did.

Even in nursing school, I talked about heading north. I mean, how many people get to see the far north, in general? I'm being paid to travel out here, to do what I enjoy most- helping people. Will it be hard? Almost certainly. Will there be privation and misery? Absolutely. I'll be in a 'portable' with seven other people for three weeks, Limited internet access, a cooler full of food, and none of the many comforts I've become accustomed to after spending most of my life in Toronto and Ottawa.

Of Noble Heart and Mercenary Mind

It's rather gauche to point out that it's not just the vague idea of wild frontiers and simple charity that draws many nurses out here. It's the big, big dollar signs. The locals hate the idea, but it's simply a fact. Not everyone is coming to the ass-end of nowhere out of the goodness of their hearts. I'm one of them, I'll admit- as much as I love the idea of frontier medicine, quadrupling my weekly pay was a draw, too. I'm not sure who or what I'll find tomorrow when I arrive tomorrow- but that's part of the adventure.

Best case scenario, I do some genuine good, and I enjoy it.

Worst case scenario, I do some genuine good and loathe the experience.

Either way, it's an adventure. I'll actually be able to see the last few steps of the Franklin Expedition.  It's only about five miles outside of town, and I fully intend to see where they met their end.  It may be a warning, it may be something else- but why turn down the opportunity to see something that historic, that rare? 

Comfort is overrated, anyways.