detail from: KRK Art dizajn

ATTRACTIVE PARK'S OF CANADA 3

CHARMS OF THE NORTH – YELLOWKNIFE

Our hosts Dragica & Milan Stelkić have shown us their city

Yellowknife with its surroundings. We enjoyed it very much.

I used tourist prospects for finalization of the following text.

Yellowknife, Diamond of the North, is a place of beautiful contrasts. Located on the northside of Great Slave Lake, modern high-rise towers overlook the rustic heritage buildings. The brilliance of summer’s midnight sun gives way to dazzling winter displays of the aurora borealis. Yellowknife is a capital at the edge of the wilderness, rich in history, culture, adventure and prosperity. Yellowknife has about 20,000 population, blend of many southern and northern cultures. It is a modern city that still acts like a small town and this gives the city its unique flavor. Yellowknife celebrates National Aboriginal Day (June 21).

There is easy access to fishing, canoeing, hiking, camping, golfing and nature viewing. The city also features many parks, lakes and playgrounds. In the city is the famous Prince of WalesNorthern Heritage Centre, the museum of Northern life and art. This museum is also a home of delicious restaurants, with specialties of bison meat.

Yellowknife welcomes over 45.000 visitors a year, and close to 30,000 of them travel to the North of the Arctic Circle. Most of them want to experience some of the last untouched wilderness on the planet, world class of fishing and hunting, the Midnight Sun and Aurora Borealis, and Canadian unique culture. Indians, North Canadians, are friendly people, eager to meet others, and recommend their best spots for enjoyment. Some visitors, about 6,000 a year, prefer to visit in the winter.

Some visitors are coming to NorthWest Territories (NWT) from Alberta by the Mackenzie Highway 1, or from British Columbia by Highway 7, while many arrive flying from Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa. We have used a WestJet flight from Ottawa, through Calgary and Edmonton. Regardless of how anybody arrives, everybody is very welcomed to beautiful Yellowknife. For those who are coming by car, the 60th Parallel Visitor Information Centre is open from May 15 to September 15, where everyone is welcomed and offered maps, instructions and free coffee.

Thanks to the constant sunlight, during subArctic summer, many Yellowknife people find they can get two days packed into one. So, visitors also in summer have twice as much time to enjoy, and our memories will last forever. It seems to me that there are nowhere so many lakes and rivers close, so there’s no better way to reach deep Northern serenity than here. Driving the Ingraham Trail and/or Mackenzie Highway is life’s satisfaction. You are never far from a lake in Yellowknife, so it’s always and everywhere picnic time. Yellowknife’s midnight sun makes it one of the best places in Canada to work on a suntan. As summer turns to fall, Yellowknife’s surrounding shrubbery explodes with cranberries, ripe for the picking up. But, where there are berries, there are bears, so take precautions. The Canadian North has many bears. We have seen them too.

North Western Territories have thousands of lakes, but the most impressive thing is that all parks around lakes are so well arranged for tourists and trails through forests so well marked and protected that everyone enjoys their visits and stay. Yellowknife people go to the country as soon as the first warm days come. Many of them even start swimming in lakes before all ice melts. Herein some most attractive spots on lakes will be summarized, as information for those who might plan to go there one day.

Cameron Falls is about 45 minutes drive north from Yellowknife, by the Ingraham Trail and about 30 minutes walk from parking to the best picnic spot, overlooking beautiful waterfalls at Cameron River. Around waterfalls the air fills so fresh that everyone breathes with full lungs. Cameron falls are 17-metre high - particularly stunning after the year’s first snowfall.

Prelude Nature Trail is about 45 km from Yellowknife by the Ingraham Trail. Here begins a three-kilometer interpretive trail that climbs 247 meters above wonderfully beautiful Prelude Lake. The Ingraham Trail begins in Yellowknife and extends 70 km to Tibbitt Lake. It runs through Yellowknife cottage country. Prelude Lake Territorial Park is the largest campground along the Ingraham Trail. The lake has a small sandy beach and a boat launch docking facility. Panoramic view from the top is unforgettable.

Long Lake is located just across the airport and has a sandy beach, very close to the city. It is a very popular recreational area with many water activities, including swimming, boating, water skiing, wind sailing and jet skiing.

Practically in the city of Yellowknife there are Frame Lake; Range Lake; Jackfish Lake; Niven Lake and Kam Lake. The biggest lake, of course, is Great Slave Lake, the tenth largest in the world by area, and second largest in Canada (28,438 km²), one of the deepest lakes (614 m) in North America. In the lake there are hundreds of rocky islands and cliffs where eagles and hawks nest.

The Northwest Territories are vast open landscapes with scenic boreal forests, breathtaking waterfalls, mountains, plains and valleys. Savor the wide-open spaces and quiet of the wilderness. Natural beauty of territorial parks, picnic areas, campgrounds and traditional villages are extraordinary. All parks are well maintained and wildlife opportunities are magnificent. NWT parks and campgrounds are owned and operated by the Government of the Northwest Territories, open from May 15th to September 15th and done perfectly.

After crossing the 60th Parallel (Alberta – Northwest Territories border), on the way to Yellowknife and/or towards the Mackenzie River, there are many lakes, waterfalls and parks. Those are: Twin Falls Gorge with Alexandra and Louise falls; Slave River, rolling north to the Great Slave Lake; Lady Evelyn Falls, forming a giant curtain of water over a limestone sill; The Kakisa River, with excellent Northern Pike; Redknife River, a favorite fishing of Pickerel for local Indians; Fort Simpson Territorial Park, recognized place for bird-watching, located near Fort Simpson community (pop. 1200), meeting place of aboriginals with Europeans for fur trading; Mackenzie Valley, where it meets Willow lake River and lovely view to Mackenzie Mountains. Wrigley, a community with the most Denepeople, who live in log homes and carry on their traditional hunting, fishing and trapping; Hay River, located on Great Slave Lake, the community (pop. 3300) a fur trading centre since 1858 is beautiful with great fishing; Wood BuffaloNational Park, the largest park in North America and the UNESCO Heritage Site (44,800 km²); Rae (pop. 1500), the largest Dene community, an old hunting and trading spot; Great Bear Lake, the eight largest lake in the world, good for fishing for trout and pike. The above mentioned are only some of many lakes and parks in Northwest Territories.

North of the Arctic Circle, where there are 24-hours of daylight for six weeks during summer is Inuvik, where Canada had the large-scale exploration of oil in the Beaufort Sea. Inuvik is a modern Arctic community (pop. 3,700) in the Mackenzie Delta. Being 220 km north of the Arctic Circle, Inuvik experiences the true Midnight Sun from May 24 to July 24. Sun does not set for 57 days. This is contrasted by about 30 days in winter (December 5 to January 5) when the sun does not rise above the horizon, but still provides four hours of twilight. Located in Inuvik is Happy Valley Territorial Park, overlooking the east branch of the Mackenzie River, with a wonderful view of the Richardson Mountains. Tuktoyaktuk is one of few places in the world where there are ice hills, a unique experience on the flat Arctic tundra. The Mackenzie River stretches 2896 kilometers through the Northwest Territories, flowing from the western reaches of Great Slave Lake to the Delta at Inuvik and to the Arctic Ocean.

Old Town is where Yellowknife’s gold-mining started. It is home to many long-time residents, as well as the Aboriginal settlement of N’Dilo. This is the city’s waterfront, a place where to buy art and enjoy the sunshine. Old Town is the cultural heart of Yellowknife. Galleryof the Midnight Sun is the NWT largest gallery and gift shop which offers fine arts and crafts from across the North, including Inuit sculpture. Just Furs sells the North’s best selection of furs and Jewelry. Particularly nice is the building of the Legislative Assembly, designed to resemble a snow-house. At the Great Slave Lake there are about 20 multi-colored floating houses, in which people live year-round, in order not to pay taxes. Just a few kilometers from Yellowknife by the Ingraham Trail there was a gold mine, which has been closed. Diamonds are what makes the city famous the world over, and gives it the title of Diamond Capital of North America. There are now three diamond mines (Ekati, Diavik and Snap Lake) in operation (up to 300 km north from the city), as well as diamond cutting and polishing plants in downtown Yellowknife. Canada is now the third largest producer of diamonds worldwide. Yellowknife may have been built on gold, but its fortunes are now tied to a different type of rock – Diamond.

Lunch beside the Citu Hall Prelude Park, Yellowknife May 2012

At Prelude Park, Yellowknife May 2012 Cameron River, Yellowknife May 2012

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