Looked out the window this morning after watching Everton beat Arsenal (yeah!!!!) I saw the sun brilliantly reflecting off the snow. A beautiful March Sunday, so I phone my friend Debbie and we decided to take a nice walk. Walking to her house (usually a 15 minute walk), the south wind was blowing in my face as fiercely as a north wind. My face and legs were freezing. The warmth of the sun couldn't penetrate the wind although the brilliance made my eyes water. Sidewalks are not shovelled so I walked in snowmobile tracks. This was like walking on sand dunes, up and down, up and down, my feet sinking in the snow making walking slow. Half way there, I stepped onto the road to continue my journey. As the city seldom ploughs the roads the hard packed snow was slippery and treacherous with ice. But alas, I persevered and arrived to find Debbie waiting at the end of her drive for me. Although I was ready for a hot cup of tea at that point, we had what turned out to be a lovely walk. I did get my cup of tea at her house at the end of our walk. Here is a picture of Debbie at her house standing beside the snow she shovelled off her driveway yesterday.

Great Big Sea

Originally, I wasn't too excited about seeing Great Big Sea, but now I say that if you have a chance to see them, do it! They have so much energy and get everyone stomping and clapping. They were great! A fine ending for all the hours the volunteers have put into making the Games successful. And this is the end of my Games commentary.
Took this picture to give you an idea of how many volunteers attended the final party. The huge ATCO tent was full tonight - I'm sure all 4,000 volunteers were there.

In a sea of orange coats, I found Sue at the Volunteers' Party tonight. She came from Ontario to take part in the Canada Games. Was great to see her. This pic is for Jenn.

End of Games

The photo above shows the flags of all the provinces flying at the Canada Games Centre.
This photo is from Mount Sima, our ski hill about 20 minutes outside Whitehorse where the skiing/snowboarding events took place. The closing ceremonies were yesterday afternoon and throughout the night I could hear the planes taking off from the Whitehorse airport. Tonight is the Volunteers' Party, a thank-you to all 4,000 volunteers that helped make these games a success. Great Big Sea is the feature band and it will be great to see everyone again all assembled under one big tent. The last of my house guests left today and soon life will be back to normal. It was an exciting two weeks!

I'm volunteering for Squash now. The venue is close enough to walk to every day - which is a pleasure now that the weather has warmed. There is only one court at the school, the others are downtown, but this is where the bronze, silver and gold games will be played so by Friday, it will become more exciting. Went to see the BC/Yukon Girls Hockey game tonight. BC won 15-0, but having said that the Yukon goalie had 98 shots on goal, so considering that fact, I think they did OK.

Here's Sue (all decked out in her Volunteer Columbia jacket) and her mum at the airport. She has been here for just over a week and is now on her way home. Was at the airport on Friday and as it was "turn around" day, the airport was packed with athletes leaving and new ones coming in. Unfortunately, due to inclement weather conditions across Canada flights were delayed or cancelled and athletes returning home are now stuck in cities across Canada for days, waiting for flights home. Today (Sunday) our airport had returned to normal. Tomorrow, I start my volunteering at Squash. Keep watching TSN, CBC and APTN to watch some of the action and see glimpses of our fair city.

Now, don't expect me to keep up my blog the way I have in the last week. I am just trying to keep you all up to date with what's happening during the 2007 Canada Winter Games - the biggest event ever to be held in Whitehorse. Today, I drove my house guest down to her venue, and grabbed my camera to take some pictures around town. This snow sculpture is just outside the railway station at the foot of Main Street (the picture doesn't do it justice - it is fabulous - the dogs circle around the mountain of snow).
Atco Place is the huge tent set up for opening and closing ceremonies. It is located on 2nd Avenue across from Northern Elegance and the plaza with the liquor store. In between ceremonies, it is a cultural and entertainment center (in fact, I'm going to see a blues band there tonight). As you can see, there are two new snow sculptures in progress in the front of the tent.
And this in the Canada Games Centre, which houses 2 ice rinks, the pool, and the multi-purpose room for a variety of sports including badminton and judo. I tried taking a picture of the flame, but with the wind chill it was -41 degrees C, and having to park a distance from the centre, I wasn't risking frostbite just for a picture!