Saturday, July 13, 2024. We were up at 9:00 and off to the main level/floor of the Explorer Hotel for a buffet breakfast. I had breakfast potatoes, which were small, bite-sized potatoes and quite tasty; a few eggs; fruit; and orange juice. Mark had a bunch of good stuff, including a pastry that looked like a waffle with fruit cooked in it.
Mark asked our waitress where she was from; she was from China. It would turn out that many of the workers we saw in Yellowknife were from somewhere else.
To the left is the map of Yellowknife provided by our hotel.
We walked downtown at an easy, lolly-gag pace and found a local grocery. I got a toothbrush which cost me 94 cents. Around the corner at the Independent Grocer, we got pastries for tomorrow, per Daryl’s suggestion, since nothing would be open at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow…and we were to get picked up at 7 a.m. At the grocery, we talked to a lady and learned she was from Iran. She said immigration into Ontario took way too long and so she came to the NWT, where it will not take as long. She described minus 40-degree winters and leaving cars plugged in at home so batteries don’t freeze and once started, leaving vehicles running. She said that people get used to that…and having darkness for much of the winter.
Nearby was a souvenir shop with its OPEN sign on, but which otherwise didn’t look very open or inviting because its blinds were closed. The woman behind the counter said she was from Vietnam and had come to Yellowknife due to her sister having moved here. Her store had a variety of things, from cheesy souvinirs to nice clothes and native-made gloves. I set two of my favorite tees next to each other to take this photo. Mark got the one on the right.
As we headed back to our hotel, we saw guys jumping out of airplanes as part of an air show. They were attached to white and red parachutes with Canadian maple leaves on them, sometimes two or three jumping and temporarily connected together.
Daryl had told us there’d be an air show today but we I wasn’t expecting people to be jumping out of airplanes, let alone in pairs and triplets connected together. Luckily, all intertwined bodies un-twined and landed safely on the ground.
We stood in the parking lot of the Explorer Hotel, and nearby was a man watching the planes in the parking lot. He told us his interest in the air show was because he was a former bush pilot and years ago, worked with a young pilot to help him get into the Air Force. He said his name was Angus C-something (thought I didn’t catch his last name). He said he’d missed one local air show, during which his pilot friend did a cool maneuver (a stall, basically). After the young pilot landed, he asked a lady nearby if she knew Angus. The lady turned out to be Angus’ sister. The pilot was the pilot Angus helped get through basic flight school and into the Air Force. He had become a fighter pilot and later became a commercial pilot, though never reached out to Angus.
At home days later, I typed in “former pilot named Angus C” and found a letter from Angus Charlo, representing the Dene tribe. I regret not taking him up on his offer to send us photos.
After the air show we walked back downtown to the Black Knight Pub about two blocks away. En route I noticed the license plate of the Northwest Terretories, which I love. We also saw some artwork on the walls of a building across from the pub.
The small venue had seats inside and out; we sat inside. I had an amazing burger and Mark had a crab benny—crab cake with eggs benedict, which he said was also good. Two Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ales for me; one for Mark, followed by a Kilkenny’s Irish Ale, and we wandered back to our room.
Outside the Explorer Hotel I stopped in front of an Inukshuk. There are Inukshuks around Yellowknife and the explanation of them is to the left, attached to what would later go home with us as a souvenir.
Near the lobby of the hotel was a taxi. Not knowing how we would get back to the airport after our fishing adventure a week later, we asked the driver what hours the taxis ran. He said 24 hours, so I took a photo of him and his taxi, showing the number we could call. We chatted with him for a bit and learned he was from Ethiopia. We asked what he thought about the winters since there is no snow in Ethiopia…and he assured me people get used to it.
What a melting pot Yellowknife is!
We returned to our room and slept most of the afternoon. We had dinner at the Explorer and it consisted of a fresh, tiny loaf of dense and tasty bread, a salad for me with lots of tomatoes and fresh mozz on top, while Mark had what I called micro whitefish (4” piece, battered) with salad. It was $27 for that and cole slow. The total bill was $40 + tip.
Before going to bed, we checked emails and texts and heard of an assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump. I don’t care for Trump, but the new was an unsettling statement on our country. I posted some photos and went to bed strangely glad I was in Canada.
This is Mark with a rabbit he befriended. In fact, all the floors at the hotel had paintings of mammals found in the Northwest Territories. More on that when we return in a week.