The lake ice is now 5cm and this morning when I checked the thermometer it was nearly -12 degrees. We knew it was going to be cool and the heater was on full bore and it was just comfortable. All I wanted to do was stand on the lake surface or walk on water. I stomped the ice hard and it cracked after some strong kicks, so it was now or never. I sheepishly put one foot on, put weight on it. It was okay so I stepped across and yay, it held all 79 kilos of me. It was enough time for a quick photo as I wasn’t too trusting, especially after filling my boot water days previously. I am still amazed that it happened so quickly!!
Walking around in a t-shirt and pants in minus 5 was actually quite pleasant for a while. I had to put on my hoodie, about 30 minutes later.We cleaned up our tent and bid see ya later to the team and we were off to Points ready for the start of our next chapter in our adventures. Cookie, the adventurous dog was keen to come along for the ride with Matt, Tan and I. At one stage there she licked my cheek while I driving. She is a nice little pug.
At Points we unloaded our bags and was about to see Matt off when we heard that familiar door locking sound. Cookie, in anticipation of the drive back to camp, had locked the car while she was standing on the seat looking out the windows. No problems but….. the keys were sitting on the centre console!! Umm…… After about 20 minutes of waving around and making Cookie go crazy in the car trying to unlock, we had no other resort than to break in. Oh, Cookie re-locked the car another 6 times during this little foray!!
We broke in with the help of a Points mechanic and Matt aka “Flash Gordon” was uber quick in grabbing the keys once we unlocked the door!! Another page in the Cookie chapter of fun.Waiting in the kitchen, we joked with some of the Points guys who were also flying out about how no one waits in the "terminal" for the plane.
It was about -6 when we left and both of out feet were cold when we jumped on the plane. A quick stop at Prince Albert and then we hit Saskatoon. The pilot commented that we weren't all "very excite" about arriving, more so we were relieved.
Finally, I got to have a tin at the Priarie Elevator, a bar at the Saskatoon airport, and Tan had an average white wine. We saw Corey, a bloke who I work with on arrival and departure. The poor fella had been waiting 4 hours to catch the plane north.
We caught our 45 minute flight to Edmonton, met another Canadian who was ultra-polite and nice at the Thrifty desk, and jumped in our Yaris. Driving in a city, on unfamiliar roads, at night, tired, wasn't too much fun but we made it to our luxury hotel, "The Meterra" on Whyte. We found the second time we drove past this low profile trendy joint! It was nice to empty off our gear and head out for a tin. On Heather's recommendation we hit "The Black Dog" for a quick tin. The Canadians also get into Halloween and the pub had some great jack-o-lanterns flickering away. We are a little way from the downtown part of the city, but old Strathcona, is a pretty spot.
Ten minutes later I was showing Derek the ice and sounds the rocks make when Cookie the avid adventurer went skating again. This time she come back near the grassy lake edge and fell through to her tummy. I had enough so I grabbed her and took her back into her tent. Matt was up most of the night probing a drill hole so he was sleeping. Not for long! Ten seconds later we heard “Get off the bed!!”. Cookie was giving Matt an unwelcome wake up lick in the face with wet paws!
Dave, our great chef, made up an awesome lamb curry and we could taste it was made with love. It was hit with most people and we really enjoyed it!! I’ve had two up here now and both were good. Tan played guess that song and she was, as usual, spot on the money with her music knowledge.
Lindsay and Matt knew we were off tomorrow so the packed us a little Happy Halloween bag full of goodies. It was great as it contained the two things everyone craves up here – beer and chocolate!!
Later that night Derek, Darcy (D.P.), Heather and I had tins. Dave, Travis, Tan and Cliff joined us later on and the night turned out well. Not to raucous, but I got to shot gun two tins, one successfully, the other I won’t talk about. 
The following morning the snow fall from overnight was sitting on the thin sheet of ice, mostly confined to the edge of the lake. I check the ice every morning by throwing rocks onto the ice which all break through.
This morning I got up walked the 25m to the lake and piffed my yonnie on to the ice. To my amazement it bounced and rolled. The stone was stranded on the lake surface. Even though the photo doesn't look like it the entire lake surface is frozen solid.
Today was all about finishing up the core logging at Points North and it was quite a relief seeing that last hole go out the door. Yay!! 
We made it back to our really toasty tent at Raven. Who needs insulation when you have a great stove and snow all around the thin canvas tent.
She made it, Tan went 4 weeks alcohol free! Tan was wrapped and I was proud. She savoured her glass of Wolf Blass Cabernet Shiraz Merlot and it tasted better than she remembered. 
The morning of the 24th we had to pack up the office at Points. As soon as we got to Points it decided to snow. Not just a flurry but what would apparently be almost classed a blizzard it was that heavy. Everything including the runway was covered in a matter of minutes with snow and it proceeded to get thicker and thicker. A good excuse for a snowball fight. The packing up of the office and core shed continued with the snow filling up the back of the two trucks. Matt and I were happy to wrap up and head back to Raven Camp. 
On the drive back to Raven it became evident just how much it had snowed in the last few hours with suddenly everything covered in a blanket of white. It was rather spectacular.
Kewen Lake is my favourite fishing spot. It's hard to believe from the shot below that we wading in this water catching pike a few months ago.
That day we both did some work in the office in the morning with Cookie, the pug, wanting to help out. 
Both the dogs are enjoying playing out in the snow.
In less than a fortnight we will be there!
The signs are there because a fellow actually got attacked 1km from here a couple of years back and was killed. Here’s an excerpt from an article.
We are in the wilderness and cognisant of the fact that we need to take precautions. This little walk today just re-affirmed the case.
That night, Tan, Matt and I went to Raven for tea. As we were driving over the bridge at Kewen Lake, a bald eagle flew past us. We stopped and it landed close by in a tree. After a photo I made it fly a little further away by piffing a yonnie in the water. 
The northern lights were out last night, nice green streaks, but we were spoilt by the display two weeks ago. 
