DianaT
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The Eastern Part of the Northwest Territories
A little over a week ago we arrived home from a six week, 9000 mile trip to explore parts of the very far north --- a really great trip. This is just
a small part of the first of our trip. Through the US we drove like crazy because it was all familiar territory. Getting north of Edmonton was our
goal.
I don't want to say that we were disappointed with Northern Alberta because going places we have never been is always interesting and educational, but
it just was not what we expected. We did like the town of Peace River a lot.
This picture just wraps up Northern Alberta for us. After finding only the family type playground campgrounds at Lesser Slave Lake, we headed for the
quiet civic campground in High Prairie run by the Elks. Opps, it was rodeo weekend.
We were in search of the boondocks and about 3000 miles from home our vacation began here. We LOVED this remote area where the population is thin and
the distances great. We did not visit it all, but what we experienced was great and so different than where we have been before. I have no pictures
of maps for this area, but those who are interested, check them out
The Northwest Territories is about 440,000 square miles in area and there are only about 43,000 people. And about 19, 000 live in Yellowknife, the
capital that is located in the eastern part at the top of the Great Slave Lake
The distances are far and the campgrounds great. The territorial campgrounds have showers --- the very best one being the Twin Falls Campground.
Water falls are a special part of this area.
They are quite different than we are used to because of their color as they run over limestone. The Mackenzie Highway is also known as the Waterfall
route --- the Deh Cho route. Just a few pictures.
The Alexandra Falls
The Lady Evelyn Falls that often has a rainbow around them, but the light did not cooperate.
A rock hanging on at the Lady Evelyn Falls
The Sambaa Deh Falls and area. We could have hiked to the bottom of the falls, but the weather was turning really bad. This was the closest we have
ever come to being hit by lightning! On the trail, suddenly there was a huge flash of light with monster crash at the same time. Scared the poop out
of us and we made a quick hike back to the campground where the camper was on four rubber wheels. 
In this area is where we first started to hear about how climate change is very real in that area. The winters are just not the same. Lots of
concerns and no deniers there as they are living it.
One of the goals was to see the Great Slave Lake. As a geographer, it as something John always wanted to see. If there was a summer road to the
Great Bear Lake, we would have been there.
We were told that at the town of Hay River on the south end of the Great Slave Lake there was a fish fry every Saturday where the families cook up the
catch of the morning --- we had to check it out and it was good and a great place to meet the locals.
With a population of around 3,000 it is considered a big town. Because we never saw another USA license plate, people were anxious to talk with us
--- a good thing. At the table where we sat we met a man who told us he was a 79 year old member of the Chippewa Nation and he wondered why there
were people in the US who supported Trump! He and his companion just could not believe it. It was a common theme up there!
This is just one picture of the Great Slave Lake. It really does look like an ocean and is such an important link to the north. It is a very special
place.
We loved that this area was the beginning of the mighty Mackenzie River --- later in the trip, we would be at the ending of the Mackenzie and the
Mackenzie Delta in the even further north in the Territories.
At the fish fry we were told that even if we didn't go all the way to Yellowknife, we had to go to the restaurant/truck stop at Fort Providence
because the food was really good. Shoot, the girls telling us this had been there for lunch just the other day. Going a 100 plus miles for lunch is
just fine. So we had no choice.
The road off of the Mackenzie to Yellowknife is paved --- so to speak. The truck stop at Fort Providence did have a great breakfast buffet out in
the middle of nowhere. It is where we learned about all the fuel that is transported to Yellowknife to be stored until the ice roads open up for a
couple of months in the winter. Then for two months, there are a mass of trucks taking fuel to the diamond mines in the arctic. For us, it was fun
to hear all about how a large tanker truck has to drive the wave in the ice road.
The place is nothing great looking, but hiding some good food and company
As well they should, they are very proud of the fairly new Fort Providence Bridge as it gives 12 month access to the area. So many of the areas are
totally isolated during the fall freeze up and spring thaw when the ice road is no good and the ferries can't operate. It it really a beautiful
bridge, but then again, we just really like bridges.
When we were crossing the highway patrol told us that we needed to get over quickly and wait for a wide load headed for Yellowknife. Wide it was, and
even in the rain, he was driving quite fast.
In the 1960s the Wood Bison were endangered so they were protected in a reserve in this aarea. What a great thing as they are doing quite well and
one is well advised to just let them have all the road they want.
And some times, the youngsters just have to roll around feeling their oats.
It is a magical land to which we returned later in the trip --One can not drive straight to the west side of the Northwest Territories, so there were
a lot of great things in between ---- to be continued.
[Edited on 9-9-2015 by DianaT]
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David K
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Nice photos! Thank you!!
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wessongroup
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Thanks much ... kinda makes it go away 
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chuckie
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Thanks for sharing! Gr..eat trip, brings back memories
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Skipjack Joe
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What an adventure you two had. Thanks for sharing and I hope there is more.
I marveled at those waterfalls. Now those are falls. I shoot pictures of cascading falls here in Oregon and the amount of water is pitiful compared to
those monsters up north.
And of course Pompano comes to mind when I look at this area. Pompano and his walleyes and northern pike.
My favorite shot was of that long narrow gorge with water running through it. Thanks for sharing and welcome back. I hope the mosquitos were not too
ferocious.
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DianaT
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Thank you for the comments, and Igor, there will be more. These just scratch the surface of what was in that part of the territories. :-) It was a
great trip! So many new and different places for us.
John and I both take pictures and your favorite, which is also a favorite of mine is one of John's, however, he doesn't do any processing. And
anywhere in the far north always makes me think about Pompano as he always has enjoyed our trips to the north --- I sure hope he will be back!
Mosquitoes---- John only got a few bites because I was along. I am one of those magnets and I have tried everything. I hate deet, but I end up using
it. It is a good thing it was not real warm as we have pictures of me tightly covered up from head to toe. Fortunately, the really bad season was
before we got there.
BTW--- we originally though this trip was going to be all about Alaska and we did visit some places we have been to before, but before we left home,
we just realized that we wanted to see new territory.
[Edited on 9-9-2015 by DianaT]
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durrelllrobert
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Good thing you weren't there in 2011
A huge fore in the area of Lesser Slave Lake nearly sestroyed the town of Slave lake, Alberta and some of my wife's relatives lost their homes.
The fire destroyed roughly one-third of Slave Lake; 374 properties were destroyed and 52 damaged in the town, and another 59 were destroyed and 32
damaged in the surrounding Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124, leaving 732 residents homeless. The town hall was completely gutted by
the fire, as was the library and radio station. The hospital, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) station and schools remained standing, however.
Insurable damage was estimated at C$700 million, making it the second costliest insured disaster in the country's history at the time. A local
developer suggested it would be months before the community could even begin to rebuild. An RCMP investigation concluded that the cause of the fire
was arson; however, no arrests were made.
Bob Durrell
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motoged
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Diana,
Thank you so much for the pics and story. As a Canadian, I too have yet to explore the northern reaches of my country. The NWT and Yukon are first on
my list.....
Yukon has some of that "Alaska" stuff....to see and experience.
The eastern reaches of the NWT opens up the arctic ....Nunavut is what that area is called and encompasses Hudson's Bay area, the Northwestern
Passages that connects the Atlantic with the Beaufort Sea....and the Baffin Island archipelago.
The sand on the Great Slave Lake beach looks as inviting as any in Baja....
Again,
muchas gracias 
Don't believe everything you think....
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DianaT
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Quote: Originally posted by durrelllrobert  | A huge fore in the area of Lesser Slave Lake nearly sestroyed the town of Slave lake, Alberta and some of my wife's relatives lost their homes.
The fire destroyed roughly one-third of Slave Lake; 374 properties were destroyed and 52 damaged in the town, and another 59 were destroyed and 32
damaged in the surrounding Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124, leaving 732 residents homeless. The town hall was completely gutted by
the fire, as was the library and radio station. The hospital, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) station and schools remained standing, however.
Insurable damage was estimated at C$700 million, making it the second costliest insured disaster in the country's history at the time. A local
developer suggested it would be months before the community could even begin to rebuild. An RCMP investigation concluded that the cause of the fire
was arson; however, no arrests were made. |
We read about that and about the floods that followed a few months later --- how very tragic for the town and the people, especially since it was
arson! I hope that person was caught!
I am sure that if we has stayed around there we would have found more things to like; out of our ignorance, we expected to be more in the boondocks
which is what we were looking for. But with all the gas and oil business, it is not the boondocks. We did eat lunch in the town of Slave Lake which
was interesting as the waitress was from the Philippines and talked to us for quite a while about the difficulty in trying to immigrate to Canada, and
about the recent changes in the guest worker programs. She was not sure she and her husband were going to be able to stay. She had quite a story.
She also told us to be sure to visit Toad River when we were in that area as she had worked there and had friends there. We did and we liked it.
Since you know Alberta well, I will say that one thing that surprised us was what sounds like a continual battle between Calgary and Edmonton over
money. Listening to local radio is always an education.
| Quote: Originally posted by motoged | Diana,
Thank you so much for the pics and story. As a Canadian, I too have yet to explore the northern reaches of my country. The NWT and Yukon are first on
my list.....
Yukon has some of that "Alaska" stuff....to see and experience.
The eastern reaches of the NWT opens up the arctic ....Nunavut is what that area is called and encompasses Hudson's Bay area, the Northwestern
Passages that connects the Atlantic with the Beaufort Sea....and the Baffin Island archipelago.
The sand on the Great Slave Lake beach looks as inviting as any in Baja....
Again,
muchas gracias |
From here, we went west and at one point we ended up going up the Dempster to Inuvik --- pictures will be coming. We had lots of rainy weather and I
sure felt for the people on motorcycles and bicyles. But wow, talk about a unique and wonderful area. And I LOVE the Yukon --- as a hotel manager
outside of Dawson City told me, it just gets into your heart. I would return to both eagerly!
Whitehorse was a real surprise as we broke down there about 16 years ago and had a bit of difficulty in finding a mechanic. It was quite small. Now
there is a Walmart, a Canadian Superstore, Canadian Tire, several car dealerships, and the Golden Arches!
While we have traveled to Eastern Canada --- New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, we really want to visit the Hudson Bay area and I
want to see all those puffins in Newfoundland.
Oh, the politics of those areas are interesting as we learned from the people. Didn't find any Harper fans. :-)
On edit --- while the Great Slave Lake is the tenth largest lake in the world and the deepest lake in North America, it seems to be a gradual drop
off, at least for quite a ways. It is used as a beach for the area and we saw people walk far out and still be only up to their waist.
Tommy --- says it looks just like an ocean, but it is not salty.
[Edited on 9-9-2015 by DianaT]
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bufeo
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Thank you, Diana. Most enjoyable. That part of Canada has been on our short list for years. Nice to see your photo-journal of it.
Allen R
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DianaT
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| Quote: Originally posted by bufeo | Thank you, Diana. Most enjoyable. That part of Canada has been on our short list for years. Nice to see your photo-journal of it.
Allen R |
Thank you. It is so very different --- go for it and your will not be sorry, '''
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