I had planned to have a couple posts scheduled to get published today and tomorrow but I just never got around to it.
I am currently up the Ingraham Trail and in on Hidden Lake. The weather have been so great lately and I wasn’t sure how much longer there would be snow so I am taking advantage of it and gone sledding for a couple days.
For those of you who don’t know, the Ingraham Trail is the road the leads west of Yellowknife for about 60kms. Along the road there are many lakes with boat launches and day use areas. It is not unusual for someone to drive up the road for the weekend, whether to camp somewhere along the way or to go to there cabin. Which there are many of. Other than Dettah which is actually a community along the way there are small communities of people who live along the way. Cassidy Point, Prelude East, West and Main all have year round residents. There is also two seasonal campgrounds, Reid Lake Campground and Prelude Lake Campground.
If you have never been up the road just go for a drive on a Sunday afternoon. Don’t forget to take your camera. You never know what you’ll see.
Over and over I seem to be talking about why I love Yellowknife and the North. Well I have once again found another reason. I mentioned that I love the clear, blue skied, days we get here in the winter and alone with those days we seem to see more visitors. Not the visitors like you think though, I was thinking more of the white, fluffy, winged kind or better know as Ptarmigan.
You may not think they are good for anything, or good at anything either, but you are wrong. Well, okay, maybe you’d be slightly right, and I suppose they can’t figure out how to pick through your garbage like their second cousin the Raven. What they can do magnificently well though, is camouflage. Have you ever seen a ptarmigan in the summer? Probably not! That is because they’ll look like just another bush among the trees. It is much the same in the winter; the white balls of fluff plop themselves in the fluffy snow and you’d never know they were there.
That is exactly what happened to me the other day. I walked up my driveway and in the front door and found a cat that was going crazy at the front window. When I peered out the window to see what the commotion was I was shock to see what I had just walked past. No word of a lie there must have been 50 ptarmigan sitting on the lawn. I quickly grabbed my camera and snuck back outside, only scaring away a couple.
A couple weeks ago I took a basic digital photography class put on by Dave Brosha, so as I was prancing around the yard I was trying to remember what he had taught me. I’m sure if I had of practiced what he had taught me the following photos would have turned out better, but here are some ptarmigan for your enjoyment. Tell me what you like the most about Yellowknife Winters?
Normally it is a twice a year occasion, where both the Merv Hardy Ferry and the Mackenzie River Ice Road are out of service. What does this mean for Yellowknife? Well we have no road access and when most of are amenities are trucked in, can be a bit of an issue.
If you are new to Yellowknife, you may be thinking “Oh know what are we going to do, everything is going to be really expensive”. Yes and no. You may notice that Wal-mart starts to collect trailers in their lot, which contains stock to keep them going through freeze-up/break-up season. Most big stores like Wal-Mart along with the Grocery Stores try to make sure they are stocked up before hand, but it is hard to guess when the access will be cut off and for how long. Co-op tries to ease the frustration by flying food and supplies over the river and although this costs more the store itself absorbs the cost. Therefore there is not price change on the customers end.
Gas Stations are another service that try to keep topped up as much as possible during these times. Although don’t we have a huge tank farm out behind the Sand Pits?
Since this has happened for many, many years. More like, the entire time Yellowknife has existed, the City has adapted to it and everyone is use to it and for the most part can continue on with there lives undisturbed. Unless of course you had plans to drive south of the Big River. If by chance you are paranoid and want to play it safe, go out to the store now and buy enough food for two weeks and fill up the car.
Actually I don’t think it will even be two week. What I don’t think many people know is that they have been building the Ice Bridge across the river for a couple weeks now. The Ice Bridge is built a KM or so up river which allows them to start construction on it, while also keep a path clear for the ferry. If you ever get a chance to see the ferry operating this time of year it is quite neat. On occasion they put a back hoe onto the ferry to move ice that may be in the path across the river.
Personal my life isn’t affected, sometimes when I’m not paying attention I will miss the occasion altogether, which isn’t a bad thing. Although I’m not affected doesn’t mean you aren’t. Does this inconvenience you in any way? Do you care? What tips would you suggest to people about Break-up/Freeze-up time?
There’s no easy way to put this: I’ve packed on the pounds since I moved up here last February. Be it the cold creating an out-of-control urgency for carbs or the long, dark nights with my new big screen TV, my wardrobe no longer fits.
“It’s time to take myself in hand” I muttered Jan 1st. But unlike Vancouver where there’s low-cal everything everywhere and a seawall that begs to be run, Yellowknife looked awfully cold and daunting. I don’t like exercise at the best of times, but I knew it wasn’t just a case of eating less (although, alas, that’s part of the plan. Farewell, TimHo’s French Vanilla Capuccinos! Farewell, snacks, gorgeous, home-made snacks, on every third workstation at work!) … it wasn’t just a case of eating less but of integrating activity into my lifestyle. *le sigh* I’d much rather be blogging.
I gingerly considered my options. I am simply not a gym person. And that UltraIcyRockDeathByColdExcercise thing going on up here just makes me faint to think of it. Xnay that. I also get bored easily of any one activity. So with a buddy in Vancouver, we came up with a list of activity options. Turns out, there’s a real variety of possibilities!
squash
shoveling snow
swimming with the help of a coworker who coaches
Wii Fit / Active
shoveling snow
power walks
yoga
Zumba (talk to Donna Wong. Exercise has never had such an evangelist!)
X-country skiing
Snowshoeing
shoveling snow
skating
Agility with the daschunds (in the spring)
Running groups at Bodyworks (in the spring)
exercise podcasts (justifies the big screen tv, non?)
Riding lessons
So here’s my plan. I’ve created a set of activities, but only through March. Then, to prevent boredom, I’ll switch it up to something spring-ier.
For now, I’ve joined the Raquet Club. I have to give them a shoutout. It’s the most down-to-earth, cozy kinda/sorta gym I’ve ever been to. We even have candles in our Nia class, for heaven’s sake! And people there come in all shapes and sizes (and I contribute to that) and age ranges. It’s not the yummy mummy lululemon club (which is not to say there aren’t any. It’s just a nice variety of people.). Anyway, if I can be comfortable there, I’m guessing anyone can be. I imagine the same applies to Breakaway and BodyWorks
So it’s Nia Class at the club on Tuesday evenings, and Spin at the club on Saturday mornings.
Thursday, a group of us power-walk at lunch to the hospital and back. Anyone is welcome to join us – we meet 12:05 in the courthouse lobby.
And last, I’m hoping to learn to snowshoe (pssst – anyone have a second hand pair you’d like to sell? I’m too cheap to invest in a new pair til I find out if I like it).
Wish me luck, folks. And if you have any more ideas, I’m wanting to hear them – leave a comment below.
This is the story of Jeannine a single mother trying to make it in Yellowknife while raising her son. She is the first women in Canada to be a certified Diamond Cutter. For the next 7 years she excelled at her job for a local diamond plant, until the industry took a turn for the worse. Here her story in her own words in this sound slide.
On a very gorgeous Sunday afternoon we ventured out on snowmobile around Yellowknife. About half way between Yellowknife and Dettah we stopped and took a break to take in the view. It was peaceful and quiet. We thought about months earlier when we were able to get in our boat for the first time on Great Slave Lake before all the ice was gone. It was about the same spot we were stopped today where the ice started. While standing out on the ice with no gloves on recording this video, I thought how bizarre it was that it was warm enough to do so in the middle of January. I can remember when this was the time of year when Yellowknife had weeks of -40. Are those times over?
Earlier today I received a message informing me that the Dettah Ice Road was now open to the public. As I had to venture downtown anyways I thought I would take a drive out on to the ice and film it. I was certainly not the only one out there, word definitely travels quickly within town.
Experience the first drive on the Dettah Ice Road for the winter season of 09/10 through my trucks eyes.
Living on a houseboat is an experience like no other. Creating power by your own means, solar, wind or generator. Waking up each morning to stoke the fire. Both in the summer and winter living on a houseboat gives you a backyard like no other. It gives you a thrill like no other to know that you depend on no one but yourself.
That being said there are 2 times a year when living on a houseboat can be some what risky. During freeze up and thawing. Think about it, how do you get from mainland to a house when the ice is to thick to cut through but to thin to safely walk on. Well this video I found will give you an idea. You will also get a tour of some of Yellowknife’s more famous houseboats.
To continue the discussion of food prices in the north, Hughie took some photos of food items for me during a recent trip to Inuvik. Inuvik is located 3000km northwest by car from Yellowknife. It is in a similar situation as Yellowknife, it does have a road leading to the town but as it is much further north it is undoubtedly more expensive. Inuvik also gets a lot more materials barged and flown in. As you can see some items are double what they are in Yellowknife. I’m not sure if there are any current Inuvik residents reading YkOnline, but it would be great to get past and present alike to chime in with their experiences with food prices in Inuvik or any other northern community for that matter.
If you’ve got something to say about Northern Food Prices please do so in the comment section. If you want to share your thoughts on Yellowknife Food Prices head on over to the Yellowknife Food Prices post. Thanks again to Hughie for the photos.
To continue with the Winter Vehicles Tips series I will share some more tips I have gathered about the actually driving your vehicle in Yellowknife’s winter conditions.
Warming up: Once your vehicle has been plugged in for the suggested amount of time from the last set of tips, you should let your vehicle idol for at least a couple minutes. There has been controversy about how long a vehicle needs to idle, but setting aside personal opinions and whether or not it is warm inside your vehicle, it is probably a good idea to let it idle for 5 minutes. Why, because all the liquids need a chance to warm up and get moved around inside the engine to properly do their jobs. Think of it this way, if you start your vehicle and then scrape all your windows, by the time you are done your vehicle should be good to go.
Tire Wear: With all-season tires, ensure the tread will still give traction on slippery roads, and having studs on all four tires is also excellent for traction. If not, then snow tires become your best choice. For front wheel drive vehicles, your ’snows’ should be on the front. And always store your ’summer’ tires on their sides as opposed to on their tread, which can cause flat spots and cause them to become unbalanced. Letting a slight bit of air out of your tires can help with traction, but can be a pain when your tire are frozen from sitting all night.
Winter Front: Having a winter front is a good idea for not only your vehicle, but for your benefit as well. Having one on your vehicle can speed up with time your heater will blow warm air.
Twist your Wheel: A good tip I learned from a a car dealership is about loosening up your power steering. By turning your steering wheel lightly from side to side before you start driving can help loosen the fluid and get it moving for when you are driving. The prevent those pesky blown lines.
Driving the Street: In Yellowknife the hard packed snow on the roads can be as slippery as ice at -30. It is a good idea to keep a little more distance from the vehicle in front of you and begin starting to stop sooner. Remember braking distance is increasingly further. Make sure to be more cautious of your surrounding.
Many tips and tricks can be formed for safe driving and as they are complied we may do a part 3 of this series. If you have any of your own remember to share them.
