So I've returned from my trip to Yellowknife and I have to say that it is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever visited - and I've been a lot of places! I really had the time of my life and I wish that everyone I know could have the opportunity to go there. I had a busy week spent with my gal pal Noelene who is quite possibly the best hostess in the world (but I already knew that before I went there - we used to be roommates!) and her boyfriend Mike.
Saturday after my arrival they took me for a driving tour around the town and we had lunch at the Wildcat Cafe which was very cool and I think it's been there nearly as long as the town itself. In honor of being in the north, I had an Arctic Char chowder which was very delish.
Sunday, I went into work with Noels and helped her and her co-workers wash and groom the Dash 7. It is pretty cool standing on top of its wings - one can really appreciate its size from up there! I learned how to install and remove seats when they configure the plane for passengers instead of cargo. Much less exciting was my lesson on how to empty the lav....!!! That night Noelene and I had an amazing dinner at the Oldtown Landing where I had Great Slave Whitefish stuffed with crab!! Yummy! The restaurant had an amazing view of the water where float planes and boats could dock and come up for a bite to eat. Something to see!
Monday we had a full day which began with a great hike on the Prospector's Trail which is a 4 km loop right in town where there is a great diversity of land: from volcanic rock to marsh land. There are points of significant rock marked all along the trail, however somehow we managed to forget the guide and only picked it up after we did the hike. I guess I'll just have to go back and do it again!
After our hike I was lucky enough to hitch a ride along in the Dash 7 up to a closed gold mine which is currently undergoing an environmental clean up. The plane was carrying supplies in to the clean up crew. It is such a small world, especially in the aviation community, because the FO of my flight was a fellow I had known in Moncton when we were doing our flight training! It was a pretty nice day so I was able to see the vast expanse of nothing but trees and water. It was really beautiful and much more exciting to see when one is looking out the front window of the mighty Dash 7!! People up there refer to the Dash 7 as the "QuodOtter" and for good reason - it is an impressive plane.
That night we had a bbq at Noelene and Mike's place where I got to meet many people from Air Tindi. What a great bunch of people; it was so nice to put faces to all of Noelene's friends that I have been hearing about for several years! After everyone left the bbq a few of us went out for a drink at one of the local bars called the Black Knight Pub where of course we met more pilots! Yellowknife is simply full of pilots!
Tuesday, my last day, I did a bit of shopping to see what kinds of local things were to be found. I visited the Gallery of the Midnight sun which had many beautiful carvings which were far outside of my budget! We visited a great bookstore where I could have stayed all day and spent a fortune. I was so impressed with their selection of Northern books. There was everything from northern art books to recipe books to fiction books to biographies to history books on the area. I bought a book called Rogue Diamonds which is about the discovery of diamonds in the area and the interaction with the Dene people on whose land the diamonds were found. I have yet to begin the book, but am excited to learn all about it!
For dinner we went to a friend of Noels for dinner, Sonya where she and her friend Miles cooked us the most amazing salmon dinner. After dinner Miles took us for a boat ride up the Yellowknife river where along the way we stopped and made a fire and cooked our dessert on the coals! It was so beautiful that I don't think I will even attempt to describe it because I just couldn't do it justice. We sat by our fire on top of a large granite rock until midnight and it still wasn't at all dark. Time is very decieving in Yellowknife where there is so much daylight in the summer and I imagine it is not so fun in the winter when there is very little daylight.
So, I had an amazing trip and am already trying to think about how I can get back there again for another visit - maybe in the winter next time so I can see the extreme of Yellowknife.
Thank you Noelene and Mike for everything; I had the time of my life and I understand why you live there now!
