Woke up early this morning and arrived at the airport by 7:30 am. The lines for checking bags were sprawling and motionless. Greg Lehn and I each chose a line and crossed our fingers. After almost half an hour in line we began preparing our bags and coolers of field equipment to be sent to Canada. My backpack had to shed a few pounds before it could join the rest of the field gear. Thankfully with some minor readjustments and generosity of the guy behind the counter, my bag was pulled through and tossed on the conveyor belt.

We arrived in Edmonton and were faced with our first checkpoint at Canadian Customs. Greg and I each had our own set of research supplies that we had to bring safely through customs. The customs official that called me to the counter seemed mildly suspicious of our project, despite the fact that all we are doing is collecting water samples. Several times she asked for specifics about the project including whether any Canadian universities were also involved. After a few more carefully chosen questions and equally intentional responses, I was allowed to pass through customs to pick up my bags. I grabbed my backpack and cooler off of the conveyor belt and headed upstairs to re-check our bags for our flight to Yellowknife.

Our flight to Yellowknife did not leave until 7:45 pm, so we got to spend most of the afternoon working and eating in the Edmonton airport. As the day progressed the airport filled with people. The terminal had green-inspired architecture, lighting, and even flaunted a few “green walls” covered in tropical plants. After several discussions about the project, politics, and humorous Internet videos, we grabbed a snack for the air and headed to the gate for the last stage today’s journey. Tomorrow we fly from Yellowknife to Kugluktuk as long as the weather cooperates. Cross our fingers for clear skies!

p.s. The title for this post came from the Ben Rector’s new album “The Walking in Between.” You should check him out!.