In between trips to Wekweti and other places, I got to explore the area around Yellowknife a bit. There's not very many places that are in easy driving distance of Yellowknife (like less than an hour), but there's one road called the Ingraham Trail. It has some houses, some cottages, some parks, etc. One of the more famous things on the Ingraham Trail is Cameron Falls, which I'd heard about but hadn't yet seen. Finally in late May, I had a chance to go out to the falls and see them myself. They really are quite beautiful! When I was there, there was still a fair bit of snow and ice around the falls, although it's a bit hard to see in this picture.
At the end of the main trail, you can see the falls on your right (as above) or you can look to the left and see the view downriver...
Quite something, isn't it? There was people fishing along the river's edge, so there must be more trails but we didn't look for them on this particular trip.
We did have Jasmine with us. I wanted to try to get some more pictures of her for the next SPCA calendar, so I took a few of her sitting on top of the rock overlooking Cameron Falls. Isn't she gorgeous? Yes, I know, I'm not biased at all. :-)
Biking to and from work a few days later, I got to witness some more awesome scenery, this time right along my commuting route. A soft mist floated over the cool, half-frozen waters of Frame Lake and two loons were fishing for their morning meal as I went by.
That's quite a way to start my work day!
While I was stopped to take pictures of the loons and the scenery, a few men walking the other way suggested I take a picture of them. I'm quite sure they were just joking, but digital cameras don't use any film so I said sure, why not? They introduced themselves after, but all I can remember is that one of them is named Raymond because we had a new student at school with the same name.
And then on my way home, the sun was dancing on the ice crystals that were slushing around in the lake. This picture doesn't come anywhere close to doing the scene justice.
On the following weekend, I went around the Frame Lake trail and took pictures of things that caught my attention. For example, check out the back side of the Prince of Wales Museum. See the steps going down into the water? A bit later in the year (when the ice is gone from the lake), I've seen canoes "parked" there.
In the other direction, the path continues on to downtown, home, and just about everywhere you might want to go in Yellowknife. The thing that's a bit funny here is the sign for the snowmobile crossing. It doesn't look at all out of place when everything's frozen over, but it seemed completely odd when I saw it at this time of year. What makes it even odder (although you can't see it) is the fact the trail comes up from the water on the left and goes back to the water on the right... the section on land is about 30-40 feet long.
The snowmobile crossing intersects what I call the Path of Flags. The walkway is lined with the flags of all the various hamlets and communities in the Northwest Territories. The brightly coloured flags are beautiful against the blue sky and I love the sound of them snapping in the wind. Sometimes I just sit on one of the benches and listen for a while - it's kind of like listening to the waves of the ocean.
When I was nearly home again, I passed a construction site near the hospital. There were piles of old tires everywhere, which I couldn't understand until I got home and talked to Karen, She said they're used as blankets to keep down the dust and debris when rocks are blasted.
Of course, like everywhere, changes in the seasons can come surprisingly quickly once they start. Less than two weeks later, the ice was gone from Frame Lake, leaving the way clear for other waterfowl - like this duck - to join the intrepid loons.
So no crazy adventures in this "episode", since it's about life between trips, but I wanted to share how lovely Yellowknife can be (in case I haven't done that enough already :-) ).
Jan