Trip to the North West Territories August 2012



Trip to the North West Territories August 2012
The Shaftesbury Ferry across the Peace River, just south of the town of Peace River.


Alexander Mackenzie marker across the river from Fort Fork, just upstream from the town of Peace River,
where he spent the winter of 1792-93, on his trip to the Pacific.
On the map, John is pointing to picture 16+17 of this trip.
Please ignore the goofy grimace.

Ruth on the border of Alberta / NWT.


Sandhill Crane.  They were already, in mid August, mustering up for their flight here.

A black bear, resigned to the hundreds of black flies and mosquitos buzzing around him.

Construction of the Deh Cho bridge across the start of the Mackenzie River

A Wood Bison, tormented by flies, in the Mackenzie refuge, (.pdf)


Ruth's engagement ring and a core from the probable source of the diamond, the Ekati Diamond mine.


A dance tribute to bush pilots by the Yellowknife Dance Collective,
during the "Old Town Ramble and Ride"


John looking south towards Great Slave Lake from the Bush Pilot's Memorial on
"The Rock" in old town Yellowknife


The well-worn steps into the tavern in "The Gold Range" hotel in Yellowknife


John in "The Strange Range".
Although it doesn't look like it, John has had only one. No. . . . really.


John at the door to Weaver and Devore, the store for all your bush supplies.
Everything from lady's perfume to cast iron stoves to geologist's hammers.


Ruth at the counter in Bullock's Bistro.
Not cheap, but a great experience, especially while watching the action from the counter.


The menu at Bullock's.  Whitefish, char, salmon, buffalo and beef.
The scraps of paper are orders- dipped in cooking oil by the waitress, and stuck to the grill for the cook.
The walls (even behind the grill) are covered with bumperstickers and graffitti.


The headframe of the Yellowknife Giant Mine.
Toxic tailings are a problem still.
Labour relations were fatal in the past.

John (and Charlie) at the dock of Gateway Aviation, Yellowknife, September 1975.
CF-BQJ crashed in Antarctica less than a year later and is still there.

John at the same dock in August 2012.

A modern (or modernificated) house in the old town of Yellowknife



The former speaker's chair of the NWT legislature.
It was made to be collapsible to make it easier to transport to remote to NWT villages.


Caucus room in the NWT legislature building.
11 pictures of the NWT by A.Y. Jackson are on the wall.

The NWT legislature.

John at a Pionjar "portable" drill on Ragged-Ass road

The view towards 'new' Yellowknife from the 'Rock' in Old Town, Yellowknife.

For the "Old Town Ramble and Ride", we were given a small FM radio to receive a running (or walking) commentary.
At one station, we were greeted by "That's me (Anthony Foliot, "The Iceking")  you're listening to on the radio"
Go to page 12 of the linked .pdf



Good dirt is at a premium in YK, so people have taken to planting flowers and vegetables in old boats.

An Old-timer's house on Ragged-Ass Road

John's toes are pointing to a dark xenolith.

A water lily along the Prospector's Trail in Yellowknife

Mountain Avens, the territorial flower of the Northwest Territories

Lichens along the Prospector's trail
John along the Prospector's Trail, Yellowknife

The remains of a 1930's prospector's camp along the trail

John pointing to the chilled margin (link to video) of a vein.
Ruth and John with Fox Lake in the background.

Pillow basalt.

A small garden in Yellowknife, opened by Prince William and Kate in the summer of 2011


Glowing in the setting sun, the not-yet-finished Deh Cho bridge over the Mackenzie River
The bridge opened on November 30, 2012

Bugs.  Dead bugs.  Lots of 'em

Ruth in the chilly water of Great Slave Lake, at Hay River.
Although it is only knee-deep here,
GSL is the deepest lake in N.America. Here is the 2nd deepest.
Ruth being welcoming in Fort Smith.

Pelicans at the Rapids of the Drowned on the Slave River at Fort Smith, NT.

The grotto in the missionary historical park in the center of Fort Smith

The hundreds of power poles between Hay River and Fort Smith make handy platforms for raven nests.


The beginning of the Cassette Rapids, the first of a series of Rapids along the Slave River
between Fort Fitzgerald and Fort Smith, NWT
Ruth at the Cassette Rapids.

The over-large Catholic cathedral in Fort Smith.
It was built in anticipation of Fort Smith being the terrritorial capital, but Yellowknife was named capital in 1967.

In the early 50's, my father helped build this large hospital, the second built at this spot by the Oblate fathers in Ft. Smith.
Oblates made great contributions (.pdf) to the history of Western Canada.

We all know what bears do in the woods, but why do coyotes do what bears do in the woods right on top of what bears do in the woods??
Marking territory? One - up - crittership? Nose-thumbing?
Children's sad graves in the cemetery in Fort Fitzgerald.
One grave is 'fenced' by a crib.

Sunset over 'Fitz' and the Slave River
A small herd of buffalo along the Salt River in Wood Buffalo National Park


Decisions, decisions.


A maudlin display of teddy bears and stuffies at an accident site east of Hay River

A sinkhole formed by the collapse of limestone.
A fire tower is behind.

An injured (almost certainly by a vehicle) buffalo browsing in the late afternoon sun.


Alexandra Falls.
In 2007 Tyler Bradt went over these falls in a kayak
A world record.

Ruth and Doug Lamalice, our guide to the Twin Falls and their history.

A light drizzle brought out hundreds of otherwise invisible spider webs along the ground.
It also brought out Ruth's artistic side.

Marshall Lawrenceat the Gateway Jamboree in Enterprise




An aspen used a scratching post by a bear, along the trail between the Twin Falls.


Louise Falls, the second of the Twin Falls on the Hay River


She hears the beat of a different drummer.


Our trip was book-ended by ferry rides over the Peace River.
Shaftesbury at the beginning, and this one at LaCrete, close to the end.
These ferries are replaced by ice bridges in the winter.  Spring and fall, you just have to go around.


La plus grosse abeille du monde, a Falher, Alberta.
Plus gros que le ti-Jean.
Named after Constant Falher, an Oblate.

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