[M.D. Holloway]

A few things a noticed about the mining camp I stayed at:

They eat real well – and a lot! The cafeteria is always open for drinks, fresh fruit and snacks. Meals are served hot and carbo loaded.

They use sweet and condensed milk in their coffee. Ya that will bulk you up quick!
The café, bunk house, bathrooms and offices are immaculate. I was expecting the place to be, well, a mine. It is on the outside but it is more sanitary than a hospital on the inside. The miners take pride in their home.

There is no alcohol allowed on site and smoking only in a designated room.
The miners were perhaps the nicest guys I have ever met in any industry. They work two weeks in and go home for two weeks. They can get stranded for several weeks on end in the winter where temperatures can get to 80 below 0F without calculating in wind-chill! The snow drifts can be 30 feet high.

The summer months are warm, peaking out around 70F with 24hour sunlight.
There are very little examples of visible wildlife. The tundra soil is teaming with microbes though there are no trees or shrubs. The millions of ponds, lakes and tributaries are the home of countless numbers of fish, Lake Trout, Pickerel and Pike. It is very common to land a 30lb Lake trout on your first cast. There are Grey and Artic Wolves, Grizzly Bears, large Jack Rabbits and Caribou as well as Wolverines but I didn’t see any. I did see Seagulls and even a Robin. He must have been lost.

Satellite service allows for internet access and phone service as well as TV.
There is always seems to be a game of Texas Hold’m going on. Buy in is $50. I think they just end up trading money after a few days – nobody seemed to stand out as a champ.

They do have Pool tables, Foosball and Air Hockey. Again, they all played well; then again there is not much else to do. There was a weight room with great equipment. It had a wide screen playing so the guys mostly watch TV and forego working out, yet the majority all appeared to be in great shape despite the 10,000 calorie diet.

Lastly the trust level is incredible. The bedrooms in the bunkhouses do not lock from the outside. It wouldn’t matter, these guys are ultra cool and I would trust them with my life. I will guarantee that I could have left my wallet, passport and $300 US in the hallway and it would remain untouched for the 5 days.

I asked if anyone ever tried to lift a diamond and I was told that if they even suspected it that they would fly you into Yellowknife and slice you open. For real!