Mikes blog: Yellowknife NWT May 7th

Yellowknife NWT May 7th – 9^th 2012

I didn’t have any work to do in Yellowknife; it is merely a necessary stop over point to get to the western Nunavut communities.

Inside the airport. Picture doesn't do it justice

So I flew from Iqaluit to Rankin Inlet and then over here to Yellowknife. It still amazes me that you can fly anywhere in these territories without any security check. I thought for sure that going from Nunavut to NWT would require going through security, but nope. On you get. I guess even though the suicide rate in these territories is higher than the rest of the country, perhaps they feel if someone wants to kill themselves they wouldn’t bother with the expense of a plane ticket.

My first impression of Yellowknife? “Trees”. Woohoo they have trees. Pine and even birch trees abound. It amazing the things you miss when away from your home. What comes along with trees? Birds. This is a place actual birds (not just Ravens) want to live.

From my understanding Yellowknife isn’t land locked like the communities in Nunavut. Trucks actually reach this place. This brings the cost of goods to almost what we are used to in the south. I went to the grocery store and bought 2 litres of pop (something you can’t even get in Nunavut) for 99 cents. The same price as home. I went to KFC (ack) for dinner and paid under $10 for one of their sandwiches and fries. They have KFC/ Pizza Hut outlets in Nunavut, inside some northern stores as well. But I doubt the prices are as comparable.

I was to stay overnight and fly to Kugluktuk the next morning. Yellowknife is 2 time zones over from Iqaluit (and Ontario) so we arrived at 8PM their time. Instead of being booked into the super 8 (I was full) I was put in the Explorer Inn in downtown Yellowknife. This is the same hotel that Prince William and Princess Kate stayed in while in town a few weeks before. Of course I’m sure I didn’t stay in the same room they did, but it was okay even by southern standards. Evidently it was recently renovated. Likely would get a 3+star rating in the south.

I mention the Super 8 because it’s on Old Airport road and has a Wal-Mart across the street, and I found out later, a nicely groomed path around a late right behind it. I wanted to go to Wal-Mart. Blah. My buddy found a liquor store near there too, which I would have also taken advantage of.

Unlike in Iqaluit, taxis aren’t all $6 to go anywhere. They have meters like at home, and the trip from the airport to the Explorer was $16. The company picked up that tab, but I wasn’t paying $32 to say I went to the Wal-Mart in Yellowknife.

So the next morning was the first attempt to get to Kugluktuk. I got on our turbo prop that was to visit all the Nunavut Western Kitikmeot regions communities, with Kugluktuk being first. Oops, the ceiling is too low. As I understand it, the planes are given a minimum height, say 400 feet. If they are coming in and reach 400 feet and cant visually see the runway, they will abort the landing. It’s a safety thing and understandable. So off we fly to the next stop, Cambridge Bay, with thoughts of now seeing the airports of every darn community in the West and then back to Yellowknife. Ugg.

They radio our predicament ahead and they hold the jet that’s in Cambridge Bay for us so we can make a second attempt. Ahh, the jet. That’s better. Sadly the ceiling hasn’t changed and the jet can’t land either, so back to Yellowknife. Can’t say I’m too sad, lol.

This time the explorer was full too and I have to stay at the Chateau Nova which is also downtown. So another $16 cab ride. Once I arrive I’m told apologetically that I’m staying in the suites. I think “yah, so, suites are nice”. Then I’m told the suites are two blocks down and its starting to rain. Bear in mind I’m doing all this for work so I have my large piece of luggage full of parts, food and clothes and my Large duffel full of my tools, cords and parts which both weigh over 50lbs. Plus my CPAP so I can sleep and my backpack with my laptop and other necessities in it. So I trudge my way over to the suite and find it’s on the second floor. An Elevator, why on earth would there be an elevator? Again “blah”.

It’s an okay suite. Fully equipped for me to buy food and cook. It was overly warm, even by northern standards where they buildings are always too warm. So I managed to get the half dismantled A/C unit working and cooled the place down. Even the TV had better stations, and I got to watch “Long Island medium” a show my wife and I both enjoy. Not sure I believe her but the people she meets sure do.

The next morning, May 9^th 2012, we made our second attempt, this time with the jet, Ahh, the jet, and we manage to get in.