Yellowknife, Northern Alberta, and back to Vancouver to prepare for the next stage.
2022 June 26 – July 9
Yellowknife proved to be a place we could live for a while – some good restaurants, a good brew pub, a couple of good cafés, good infrastructure, lots of lakes including the GSL, no mosquitos (!), and generally a positive ambiance. While we were there the weather was excellent, which no doubt helps. We plan to return, probably during early winter or late spring, seeking aurora borealis viewing (obviously not possible in mid-summer), as well as simply experiencing the city at another time of year.
We enjoyed our first breakfast in Yellowknife in the park overlooking the lake, which was enjoyable. Afterwards we met a couple of “Yellowknifers” who had been among the first to be born there after the city had been established, and who had returned after many years for a visit; we chatted and heard stories of how the city had been in the 1940s when they were living there.
We found the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre to be excellent, and learned a lot about the region and the First Nations in the territory. The Farmers’ Market was good, although we missed most of it having not been aware that there was one. We visited Down to Earth and the Gallery of the Midnight Sun, as well as the iconic Weaver & Devore, and picked up a couple of things at the very good Overlander Camping store.
One of our dinners was at the Wildcat Café, a semi-mandatory stop. The view from the Bush Pilots’ Monument was excellent. Another evening we met Russ and Brenna, whom we had met on the Dempster, for dinner with them, which was a great opportunity to catch up and hear of life in Yellowknife.
We were in the city on Canada Day and went to the Plaza overlooking the lake, where First Nations drummers and dancing were taking place, followed by a concert by William Prince’s band – a great day! It was a positive experience to see the variety of people there enjoying themselves, and to note also that everyone who wanted to speak was able to do so.
We took advantage of the local Jeep dealer to have our routine maintenance done, having to explain that “no we didn't need a block heater – the vehicle will spend its winters in Vancouver”.
Incidentally, we had a challenge to manage with respect to a separate trip planned for Europe, for which we needed to change flight dates; the pandemic situation meant that getting help on the ‘phone was impossible, and attempts to make the change online futile. We stopped at Top of the World Travel in the hope that they might be able to help, and I’d like to record that although this proved impossible, owing to the booking situation, their Manager was outstanding in her willingness and efforts to help with the problem – I cannot recommend her highly enough – many thanks!
We left Yellowknife to head south again, passing bison on the highway, picking up fuel at Fort Providence and Enterprise, and camping at the 60th Parallel TP campground, once again back into forest (and mosquitos!). The following day we stopped at the excellent Vistors’ Centre at the border with Alberta, then continued south to Indian Cabins, Meander River, Footner Lake, then finally into the transition to agricultural land entering High Level.
The High Level Visitors’ Centre and Mackenzie Crossroads Museum was a good stop, we visited the Farmers’ Market, and then continued southward via Twin Lakes Provincial Park to Leddy Lake campground, which provide to offer good birdwatching in the morning. From here on the surroundings became more agricultural, broken by areas of forest. We stopped in Peace River, walking by the river and viewing the statue of 12 Foot Davis; stopped for excellent ice-cream at Grimshaw, where this is clearly a major attraction, then stopped in the heritage centre of Sexsmith, and continued to Grand Prairie, the largest city we had seen for a long time. The Heritage Museum was good, although the time at which we arrived was too late to do it justice.
Our next stop was Dawson Creek, where we camped at the Mile 0 Campground, and visited the Pioneer Village, Visitors’ Centre, and Art Gallery, as well as taking the obligatory photos at Alaska Highway Mile 0. We had covered a fair amount of the Alaska Highway within Canada at various stages of our trip, however had not intended to “drive the highway” as such. Even so, we had sufficient time on these stretches to feel a connection of sorts.
We made our way then to Tumbler Ridge, known for walks and waterfalls. We visited the Visitors’ Centre and Dinosaur Museum, then continued to Canary Falls, saw beavers in Lake Green Bowl, and walked the trails at the impressive Kinuseo Falls. In the area, at various points, we saw deer, a marten (?), black bear, and another lynx.
(Lynx photo to be added)
Continuing westwards we stopped to see the chainsaw carvings at Chetwynd, camped at Caron Creek (noting that the staff were friendly, and the site itself well-equipped, its location between the highway and the railway line exposes campers to a fair amount of noise during the night).
In the next part of the trip we visited a variety of places, including Bijou Falls, Tudyah Lake, Whiskers Point Provincial Park, MacLeod Lake, and Davie Lake, before reaching Prince George. On this route we deviated the short distance to Mackenzie, which proved a worthwhile stop. The staff at the Mackenzie & District Museum were really helpful and interested in sharing their knowledge, and we learned about the tree-crusher, which had been built to tear down the forest in preparation for the filling of the reservoir in the valley here – neither being the finest moments in this history.
We had visited Prince George on our way north, and had been disappointed to find that the Art Galleries were closed. We now hoped to be able to visit them, however learned that one was closed because there had been a fire the day before, and the other we wished to visit was closed because of flooding! Marce’s diplomatic and theatrical skills were put to good use and we were allowed into the excellent Aesthete Gallery, where we had long conversation with Shelby and found several items which we arranged to be sent to us in Vancouver – a great stop!
After lunch at Northern Lights Bistro at NL Winery we headed southwest again, stopping at Purden Lake Provincial Park, the Ancient Forest / Chun T’oh Whudujut Provincial Park, walking the circuit through the forest, then continued to Tête Jaune Lodge campground, which was full (although we subsequently returned and found it to be very good; we camped at Yellowhead campground that night.
The following morning took us on a walk in the Cranberry Marsh / Starratt Wildlife Management Area, and then on our way south we chose to take the River Safari at Blue River. We were fortunate: on our way there were showers, and on our arrival back at the dock after the boat trip a torrential downpour started, however throughout the boat trip the sun was shining! The scenery alone would have justified the trip, and we were fortunate to see a black bear, swimming across the river, and then on the bank.
Our destination that night was the Paul Lake campground, which proved to be completely full; however the camp host told us that we could camp in the “overflow” which was the car park above the beach at the lake, which proved to be an excellent alternative, probably better in our case than the campsite itself. In the morning the weather, and Cnut and Yuma who had also camped in the car park, encouraged us (Marce more willing than Alan) to go for a swim in the lake, which proved a great start to the day.
At this point we deviated from the “direct” route back to Vancouver to detour through the Okanagan, stopping at the Okanagan Market Place in Falkland, in Vernon, lunching at Block, the 50th Parallel Winery restaurant, and camping at Orchard RV retreat, overlooking the valley.
The following day we had coffee at the Lake Country Art Gallery and Coffee, Spirit of the Lake to be closed, picked up essentials at Indigenous Winery (with an unexpected Snowbirds air display thrown in), then took the Coquihalla Highway to Hope whence on to Vancouver.
This brief run through the Okanagan was far shorter than one would hope to be able to enjoy all on offer, however we needed to get to Vancouver and so it was essentially a taster for another visit in the future. Kelowna exposed us to levels of traffic we had not experienced since leaving Vancouver two months earlier, which was somewhat of a shock, although the Coquihalla was not heavily occupied, and did its job of getting us back to Hope efficiently.
Our next stages of the trip:
We’ll spend a few days in Vancouver, removing the bed and putting the rear seats back in to allow us to travel with Marce’s Mum, then head east along the Crowsnest Highway through Southern BC and into Alberta, then through the Rockies and back into British Columbia to head for Vancouver Island for the last chapter of the trip this year.
Hugs
Alan & Marce
Photos may be used for non-commercial purposes, with credit to alanymarce@gmail.com.
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