Friday 30 August - NWT day 3

We had a late breakfast at the hotel again today, then headed to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. We did a one-and-a-half hour tour first then went back and looked at the galleries we were most interested in. There was one on the Special Constables in the RCMP who helped with working with the huskies and the language and traditions of the local people. They had a huge area to cover and -40C temperatures in the winter (and had no idea).

We then had a walk along the shore of Frame Lake before heading back to the hotel to attempt an afternoon nap. We are finding it a bit strange, we aren’t used to intentional naps!  

We decided to try the Ethiopian restaurant for dinner tonight. Haven’t been to one before, it was a nice change. I had a combination platter with about 9 small servings of different dishes. 

Sean picked us up at 9:35 p.m. for our last night of viewing and we headed east on the Ingraham Trail for about 40km. As soon as he got parked we got set up quickly as the lights had started. They were very bright tonight.

It’s amazing how different the three nights have been. We were lucky to see the lights all three nights. We saw the Milky Way only on our first night. Four shooting stars on first night only. Mosquitoes on first night only, too cold for them on the other nights (we didn’t miss them). The temperature was down to 1C tonight so a bit chilly. We got back to the hotel around 1:30 a.m., we must be getting used to this schedule, I wasn’t even tired!

Thursday 29 August - NWT day 2

We enjoyed a lie-in this morning. First look at the clock was 6 a.m. but no way was I moving! Managed to sleep in until 7:30, we will strive to do better tomorrow. We had a leisurely breakfast in the hotel before heading off to the NWT Legislative Assembly building, a short walk from the hotel. It is a lovely modern building on the shore of Frame Lake, where we had a great one-hour tour. They have 19 MP’s, who don’t belong to a party, but make decisions on their own based on what is best for their community, then they vote to see if there is a consensus. Sounds better than our awkward politicians never getting anything done! We continued into town for some lunch then visited a few shops and galleries, before going to the Old Town to climb up to The Bush Pilots Monument. You can see for miles from up here, lakes, small communities and float planes galore. Sean picked us up about 10 p.m. again and we headed a bit further out of town. We parked at the side of a small lake and waited patiently for the aurora to appear. She gradually came out, from a different direction than the previous night. The energy kept building, starting at our right and then also covering above us and to the left, almost like an arc around us. The dancing started and she put on a show, quite different from the night before. After a while she seemed to run out of steam and Sean said that would be it for the night, so we headed back to town and got to bed just before 2a.m.

Wednesday 28 August - Yellowknife, NWT

We were up before the crack of dawn. Red Car Airport service picked us up at 3:55 a.m. Didn’t bother with breakfast - who can eat at that time?

First flight left Toronto at 7, west to Calgary, just over four hours. Second flight was north to Yellowknife, about 2:20 hours. Two hours time difference- you forget how big Canada is!

Checked into hotel and rooms were ready early yay!!!  We walked around town a bit (it is very small, pop. 21,000, NWT - North West Territories pop 43,000) and had some lunch.

Our guide for three nights, Sean, picked us up at 10 p.m., then picked up 4 other people visiting from South Korea. We drove out to Hwy 3 and parked down a small lane to wait for the Aurora to show herself. For the weather, this was the best choice, we were here about four hours. Like Mother Nature, the Aurora comes and goes. The temperature dipped to about 9C but felt colder when you are hanging around. My semi-winter (Ontario) clothing wasn’t quite warm enough - hopefully we are better prepared tonight! I’ve uploaded a few photos Sean took of us (he has a better camera than mine). He also provided home baked cookies and hot chocolate - a good guy in my books! It was about 2:30 when our frozen bodies climbed into bed.