August 20, 2025 Today we entered the Northwest Territories in Canada by crossing the Dolphin and Union Strait. he highlight of the day was a sighting of some beluga whales. The small whales were off in the distance, but still visible. Beluga whales are sometimes also called white whales, melonheads (because of their rounded heads, and sea canary because of their high-pitched calls. We also saw a skua and a kittiwake. The sunset that night was beautiful.

August 19, 2025 We walked around the town of Cambridge Bay today. We started at the waterfront with its most well-know sculpture of the metal muskox. Made of recycled and repurposed materials, this sculpture symbolizes the resilience of the community of Cambridge Bay. A raven sculpture can be seen behind it. Nearby but closer to the beach were two metal sculptures of wolves. We next went to the Arctic Coast Visitor's Center and admired the Inuit art such as this whale bone

August 18, 2025 Today we visited Lady Franklin Point. It was named after John Franklin's wife who spent many years searching for him after his expedition disappeared in the Arctic. Years later it was the site of a radar station that was part of the North Warning System that the United States and Canada set up to help protect North America. Unfortunately, the station burned down in 2000 and is now abandoned. (Photo by ship's photographer - John Shedwick) The day began with a b

August 17, 2026 Once called Jenny Lind Island, after a famous opera singer, Qikiqtaryuaq provides many examples of Arctic plants. The photography group headed out to try our hand at some macro photography. We walked along a path with small rivulets of water and algae before coming to out destination where many examples of the arctic plants thrived. On our way we also saw the tracks of birds and musk ox that had also come this way. This miniature creeping willow seemed to take