Saturday, September 10, 2011

The Road to Yellowknife

The road from Ft. Providence to Yellowknife was about 200 miles and took about 4 hours to drive. Driving this road was very similar to our travels on the Alaskan Hwy – a long stretch of road with nothing around – not a single building, billboard, fence, gas station – nothing. No cell phone towers, and no phone reception. Even our Garmin GPS had trouble keeping us located on the road (it kept telling us to “please drive to the highlighted route”).

There were only a couple on intersections along this road; leading to Edzo and Rae, a couple of small, remote, Indian communities lying about 6 miles off the main road. Nothing worth taking a side trip for.

The roadside scenery was beautiful……and changing. In 200 miles, we went through flat lowlands, rolling hills, stubby forests, and, finally, into a rocky area known as the ‘Canadian Shield’. And all along the way……there were little lakes and ponds. This is an area that is rich in water.

We passed along the edge of a Bison Sanctuary where a heard of free roaming Wood Bison had been thriving since 1963, when they were first re-introduced. All the literature and Hwy signs warn to “watch for Bison on the road". We watched…..but the only Bison we saw was this big fellow, quietly grazing beside the road. We stopped to get his picture…..I stepped out of the car, but was careful to stay VERY close to the car……

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And, when this guy turned to look at me, as if to say “Hey, what are YOU looking at?” I hopped back in the car….fast!

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The drive, overall, was uneventful….pretty good road, except for the last 50 miles….which were BUMPY……Again, reminiscent of a section of the Alaskan Hwy. This last section, we had to drive considerably slower…..and it still rattled our teeth and jostled everything in the camper.

Then, suddenly the road improved, we passed a fairly modern looking airport, and we found ourselves in Yellowknife……..

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