← older posts newer posts →

6/5    While we were waiting around to get our Rogers hotspot we decided to go to the Wanuskewin Heritage Park ( Wanushewin is Cree, meaning “being at peace with oneself”) . This park, in the Opimihaw Creek valley, was used by the First Nation people of the Northern Plains for more than 6000 yrs as a meeting place, a shelter from harsh winter winds ( the valley is perhaps 100′ deep and 600 – 1000′ wide which created an exceptionally good wind shelter and walking along it gave us a feeling of comfort and safety), and a buffalo killing ground (the buffalo were stampeded off cliffs and fell to the valley floor). The park has been the site of the longest Canadian archaeological dig, led by Dr Ernie Walker since 1984. We talked with Dr. Walker, while he was supervising a dig by his students; he allowed us to handle several artifacts found earlier in the day. One, a 4000 yr old spear point was incredible – it was so delicate in appearance and yet quite robust; it beautifully showcased the precision and skill of the ancient craftsman.

Wanuskewin First Nation Buffalo Hunter

Cree Dancer

Cree Dancer in action

6/6    Another slow start, my wireless mouse died; found a Best Buy and bought a replacement. Left Saskatoon around 11:30 heading towards Edmonton. The prairie winds were fierce and dropped our gas mileage down to less than 10 mpg, our average had been 13 -14. The countryside is very dry, quite a change from Minnesota and North Dakota. Camped at the Elk’s campground in Vegreville, AB. The Vegreville area was settled by Ukrainian immigrants in the early 20th century and the Elk’s park displays plaques and artwork  including a large decorated Easter egg or pysanka which was constructed using more than 3000 aluminum panels.

Vegreville’s-Pynsanka

Tribute to Settlers

6/7   Northern Alberta is much like Saskatchewan except it is even flatter and has more oil wells and oil pumping stations. Camped at Sherk’s RV Park, Valleyview, AB.

6/8   An uneventful drive north. Stopped at Peace River to gas up and tried to find the statue of Twelve-foot Davis, a gold miner who struck it rich on a 12 foot slice of land, between two larger claims in the Cariboo gold fields. You wouldn’t think that a 12 foot statue would be hard to find but everyone we asked pointed us in different directions and The Visitor Center was closed so we struck out. Camped at Aspen Ridge Campground in High Level, AB.  For the next several weeks cell phone, an thus hotspot, reception will probably be very spotty so updates will be a problem.

Flat, flat, flat

Typical NWT Forest

Wooden Railroad Trestle

6/9   A gray drizzly start to the day, although the temperature wasn’t too bad – high 50s. Heading north along Rt 35 from High Level was pretty but fairly boring because the road was straight as an arrow and the forest, which was a colorful mix of spruce, birch and aspen trees, lined the road so you couldn’t see beyond; it was like driving through a tunnel of trees. We passed a wooden railroad trestle which was steaming in the sun after a passing shower but other than that nothing of note came into view.

We Made It!

Wahoo! Finally reached the Northwest Territories. Had a most informative conversation with the park ranger at the Welcome Center; she told us about the prettiest places to go, where to get gas – there are probably not more than 10 gas stations in all of the NWT), the best places to camp and where to find food stores. She also explained a little of the history of the region.
Camped at Louise Falls Campground, Twin Falls Gorge Territorial Park, Enterprise, NWT. Hiked down to Louise Falls, in the Hay River Gorge ; not Niagra but pretty enough and the sun broke thru so the hike was quite enjoyable, except for the spiral stairs which were not Arlyne’s cup of tea. The trail except for the stairs, of course, was that used by the Dene (the aboriginal people of the region) to portage their canoes around the Louise and Alexandra falls on their way to Great Slave Lake (Slave is the name for the Dene tribe who live in the area).

Not Arlyne’s Favorite

Louise Falls

Hays River Gorge

6/10  Leaving the campground, in the morning, we drove a short distance to the other twin falls, Alexandra Falls; again, no Niagra but worth the visit, and a bonus for Arlyne – no spiral stairway. Driving north along Hwy 1, the forests kept changing from mixed to stunted spruce and back again. Stopped for gas in Hay River and I asked the gas attendant what the winters were like.  He said that historically there was lots of snow in November into January and then it became too cold ( -40 to -50° C) for snow, but that recently the winters have been getting warmer. Last winter was unusually warm, only getting down to -20 or so, and even then only for short periods; then the temperature would rise to around +10°C, for a day or two – just enough to ruin things for snow mobiling.

Leaving Hay River we drove along Rt 5, about 50 mi of which was hard packed gravel in good condition but quite dusty.  Entered Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is larger than Switzerland. The Park protects the world’s largest (over 5000) free roaming herd of wood buffalo and is also the world’s only natural whooping crane nesting site. We didn’t see any buffalo or cranes – perhaps on the way out.

Camped at Queen Elizabeth Territorial Park, Fort Smith, NWT.

Alexandra Falls

6/11   Tried my luck at fishing and hooked a good sized pickerel ( about 20″) worked it for a minute or so but then it threw the hook ( NWT requires that hooks be barbless, so I’ll blame the loss on that). Fished for another hr or so but no further action.

We drove to the Salt Plains, about 25 mi W of Fort Smith. Springs leach salt from subterranean salt deposits and percolate to the surface leaving vast salt sheets on the plain. Bear, wolf, buffalo and other wildlife tracks indicated that the salt is a large draw for animals, although none were visible this afternoon.

Salt Plains – from overlook

Salt Plains

6/12   Caught a 25″ northern pike which made a fine dinner, very mild and rather bony but quite nice. Hiked down to the Rapids of the Drowned, named for five employees of the Northwest Company who drowned in the rapids in 1786.

Who would believe pelicans! Yes pelicans frolicking in the rapids. Apparently, White Pelicans migrate to this area, the northern most nesting site known, and roost on the islands amid a cornucopia of fish to raise their young.

Happy Are The Rapids

Here Fishy, Fishy

What a Great Place to Nest

6/14  

Deh Cho Bridge

Continued on Rt 1 and then branched off on Rt 3 to Yellowknife. Crossed over the Mackenzie River; the Deh Cho Bridge (deh cho is Dene and means “big river”) is a marvel.  It was built in 4 years – the crews continued to work through extreme weather conditions.  The state-of-the-art deck system is one continuous structure running the entire length of the superstructure, the longest such bridge in North America, and cut the mass of concrete required by 30%. The further north we went the more scraggly the spruce trees appeared, probably due to the extreme winter conditions and poor soil. There was more and more exposed bedrock as we proceeded towards Yellowknife; the land reminded us of Newfoundland which is basically a big rock covered by a dusting of soil ( the Yellowknife Golf Club issues players a square of astro turf to place the ball on when taking shots since the fairways are mostly sand and rock, and the greens are pure astro turf; also, if your ball gets stolen by a raven there is no penalty to replace it). Wood buffalo all over the place, the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary, which Rt 3 cuts through, hosts a herd of about the same size as that in Wood Buffalo National Park.

Lots of Buffalo

Buffalo and Calves

Walking Is Such Hard Work

And Thirsty Work

Slow Down Ma

We passed numerous camps of morel mushroom hunters. Extensive forest fires last year have given rise to an abundant crop of the mushrooms which bring $10 – $20 per pound. Tempted to stop and try our luck but the hunters would probably not look kindly on it since it is their livelihood and not ours.  Camped at Fred Henne Territorial Park in Yellowknife. Good strong cell signal so the Rogers hotspot works fine.

Log Cabins for Rent

Yellowknife Houseboat

6/15 – 6/17 Yellowknife is a relaxed city of about 24,000, which is almost half of the population of the entire NWT. The uptown section contains the usual architecture of any modern city, including skyscrapers, while Old Town consists of original one room log “shacks” sitting side by side with modern houses on irregular lots which gives the area a picturesque character. Out in the bay are houseboats which decidedly live up to their name. First stop was the Yellowknife Visitor Center where James gave us the lowdown on things to do and places to see; he also gave us a parking sticker so we wouldn’t have to feed the meters. Lunch at the Wildcat Café, in Old Town. The Café is one of the oldest buildings in Yellowknife and exudes the history of the area. The food was delectably delicious and up to the standards of any 4 star restaurant.

Wild Cat Cafe

Delegate’s Meeting Room

Next stop was the NWT Legislative Assembly Building. The building is unique, among legislatures we have seen in that it is flooded by natural light giving the rooms a warm, congenial feeling. The government is also unique in that there are no political parties and the 13 representatives govern by consensus which assures that the concerns of each member is given full consideration.

The following day we went to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Museum which was incredibly well done. It contained a profusion of information about the NWT, its people, culture and industry. It also housed an exquisite collection of sculptures by Abraham Anghik Ruben a Inuvialuit artist. These works are the finest examples of Inuit sculpture we have seen.

Appeasing Sedna

Had dinner at Bullocks Bistro with a very nice couple from Calgary. Bullocks serves fish caught in Great Slave Lake; it’s unfortunate that transportation to and from Yellowknife is so arduous, otherwise the lake could support a reasonable sized fishing industry. As it is, the only market is local so there is no real commercial fishery.

More Yellowknife Photos

← older posts newer posts →