July 21, 2024. On my walk in the morning I found an egg not unlike a duck egg. The inner shell seemed strangely thick, as if the egg never developed. I had walked the same area before, so was curious how the egg shell got here.
I was low on battery for my good camera (Nikon with zoom lens) so only had my cell phone with me. The shot above is a Bonaparte gull, which we’d seen before in the NW Territories years ago on Nueltin Lake. We went to Nueltin Lake twice; the lodge closed down after our second visit, and never reopened.
I also saw what turned out to be a type of currant.
I also took photos of the cabins that housed the cook and support staff.
Nearby were two containers that looked like small silos. One had an open door and had boat motors in it. I was told this mini silo had grain and the indentations were from a bear. As in a big, hungry bear.
I spent some time in the front of the lodge near the water and stumbled upon this white admiral butterfly. I didn’t think I’d see a butterfly in the arctic.
Meanwhile, one of the other anglers walked around trying to find something to take home to his kids. He’d told them he was going to near where Santa Clause lived…and was quite happy to have found some some reindeer moss, which he took home in a Ziplock bag.
For breakfast, we had breakfast burritos. I think I could eat breakfast burritos every day. These were quite tasty. After that, we went back to the room to pack. We had LOTS of stuff to pack.
After a brief boat ride with Manny and a couple other guides, we landed on shore again. The guides loaded up a trailer, which was towed up a hill toward the landing strip. Brent checked out the tractor closely–it sounded like there seemed to be one like it in his family.
I stopped to take only a few photos on our hike back to the landing strip, including this one, which is a type of alder bush. I loved the cones/pods. But mosquitos were hungry, so I did not loiter long.
This shows Mark with Great Bear Lake in the background.
Near the landing strip was this bird, which is a type of grouse. I kicked myself afterwards for not embracing the mosquitos and taking a photo with my good lens, buried in my camera bag. I had just enough battery to take another shot or two.
The plane was waiting on the landing strip, but there was stuff to take off and our stuff to load up. I had about 15 minutes to walk around…and wait for another bird to show up. No luck.
Once we were on board, I skimmed through the in-flight magazine.
What jumped out at me about the article about pilots is the name Yvonne. Remember the lady who met us at the Explorer Hotel and who enjoyed Mark’s white skunk photos? I had asked her if she knew the guy named Angus that we ran into in the parking lot during the air show, and she said no. But she’d also said she’d been a pilot.
The article above mentioned–and quotes–a woman named Yvonne Quick who joined up with a man and started teaching pilots to fly in 1968. That seemed like a very long time ago, but Yvonne not being a super common name, I asked Chuk, the main contact at Plummer’s Arctic Trophy lodge. He verified in early September 2024 that the Yvonne in the photo to the left is the same Yvonne Quick that is in the article above, meaning, she recently turned 94 years old, and meaning, she was a pioneer in the flying world in Canada and taught many pilots how to fly.
The article also said that since 1993 Yvonne has organized a biennial Midnight Fly-in, which brought in adventuresome pilots from around North America. There was such a fly-in in 2023; the article said the future of this is in jeopardy given Yvonne’s age.
How cool to have met a legend in the flying world!
Our flight landed back at the Yellowknife airport without a hitch. Daryl loaded up our luggage and dropped people off at the two motels. Mark and I went up to our room in the Explorer Hotel to take a nap. On the floor this time was a muskox painting.
At our room, it occurred to me that the pattern on the chair may have been inspired by the image I saw on Great Bear Lake one day.
We took a short nap and met Ina and Brent for dinner at their motel, the Chateau Nova, which is next door to the Explorer. Dinner was so-so (small steaks, strangely flavored fish tacos), but dessert looked amazing. Mark got pie with ice cream, the photo for which got corrupted. I think this was Ina or Brent’s dessert.
Manny joined us part way through dinner–he’d apparently spent part of the afternoon at a place called The Coyote with the other guides. We raised our glasses to a great time at Bear Lake. And with that, we all said our good-byes and parted ways.
I personally hoped we’d see all three of them again sometime.
Mark and I wandered back to our motel, turned on the news and learned that President Joe Biden had dropped out of the presidential race and that Kamala Harris would be taking on former president Trump in the upcoming election. So, the day before we headed to the lodge, Trump got shot; the day we got back, Kalama Harris got the support of Biden for the US presidency.
July 22, 2024. This would have been my dad’s 88th birthday had he survived cancer. We lost him in 2012, and every July 22 Mark and I raise a glass in his honor, wherever we are.
This morning, we slept in, though, exhausted from having been so active for so many days. I also didn’t feel particularly well, as if I were coming down with a cold. We didn’t know if we’d ever be in Yellowknife agina, though, so showered and walked to the Independent Grocery and got some donuts that, by 10:00, were the ones leftover, like key lime donut and a cheesy, pastry. We got Minute Maid and went back to our room.
After breakfast, I went for a walk around the area, my camera tucked in my camera bag, which looks like a backpack. I was advised not to carry my camera and long lens in the open.
Near a museum, I ducked down a little path made of pallets in a small wetland. I heard a bird chirping, waited for several minutes, until this bird came out to take a look. I think it’s a song sparrow, which we see in Michigan.
On my walk I also discovered this tribute to miners.
Other things I sighted on my jaunt: a bumper sticker I’d never seen before. And “Inuk” on a license plate, which is the singular of Inuit, the indigenous people of the arctic.
I headed down an urban trail adjacent to a parking lot and found a small lake with a boat on it, unmoving. Nobody else was around. I saw no birds, either, but found this grasshopper. He jumped onto some gray gravel and practically disappeared.
As I headed back down the urban trail toward the museum again, I found a small open area with boulders. I love scrambling up boulders, so climbed these to get a look around…only to find several empty bottles of alcohol strewn on the ground. At the top of the rise–instead of a nifty overlook–I looked over to my left and saw a tent. A homeless person’s tent, probably. That and the booze bottles made me turn around and walk back to the hotel.
Right before dinner, we stopped at the souvenir shop again and picked up a few more items that will become Christmas presents. We had dinner at the Black Knight Pub–Mark had a pot pie, I had a very tasty veggie burger. We wrapped up our day by quizzing a few people on the elevator about what painting was on the wall on their floor. Three of four had no idea–they hadn’t noticed the paintings until we’d said something…and they stepped out onto their floor, and went, “Oh!” Only one man, who looked like an Inuk, knew what painting was on his floor.
We went to bed early, knowing we had a long day ahead of us. Oddly, I found it hard to sleep, though, because the curtains let the light in from the parking lot. I got up and took this photo from our room at 11:56 p.m. on July 22.
This photo was taken at 4:28 a.m. on July 23.
July 23, 2024. We went down to the lobby around 5:00 a.m., checked out, and had a few minutes to take a few last photos. We jumped on a shuttle provided by the hotel and were at the airport about ten minutes later.
At the Yellowknife Airport a dog also awaited our flight. I began to miss my own dogs.
I was happy to be getting on a plane and heading towards home. Our first flight started with a mimosa and very garlic pretzels. It was not a winning combination. We also got a light breakfast.
This flight took us from Yellowknife to Edmonton.
As I waited in Edmonton to board our next flight, I stumbled upon a display celebrating bush pilots and showing what one particular bush pilot wore in the 1930s in an open cockpit. Brrr.
Mark, meanwhile, was befriending a four-month-old puppy that was traveling with us. When we boarded the Airbus a half hour later, the pup went by in a backpack.
This flight took us to Toronto. It lasted about four hours, which gave us enough time to enjoy a nice meal and a Canadian beer.
Mark and I have had a few health scares over the years, so we toast our trips and all we get to see and do. We were grateful for every minute of it–the people we met, the landscape, the animals and birds.
We arrived in Toronto with very little time to get across the airport to catch our final flight to Detroit. We arrived at the gate in time to hear that carry-ons needed to fit in the metal display near the check-in area. While I was pondering how my camera bag might be bigger than maybe it should be, I realized I’d hastily left the previous plane without my rain jacket. As in, my Simms jacket, which Mark bought me years ago, which goes on every fishing trip and has kept me warm and dry. Not to mention the fact that it matches my bibs, the style and pattern are not longer available, and well, I was bummed.
I asked the airline reservation agent if Air Canada had a lost and found. She gave me the link I needed, and after we boarded, I had just enough time to log into the site to list my lost item. Hours later, at home, I added a photo of myself in the jacket so there would be no question as to what I was describing.
I frankly never thought I’d see my jacket again.
We landed safely at Detroit Metro at around 8 p.m., got onto a Quick Park shuttle in a matter of minutes, and about 15 minutes later were at my car. We loaded up, I cranked up the engine…and nothing happened.
So here’s a tip for you: if you ever have to travel out of Detroit Metro Airport, park your car here. The place is gated, secure, and their shuttles are super efficient, but more importantly, if your car battery is dead, there are kind people who work at Quik Park who will help. I know this because my car was dead–perhaps because we left in a hurry on our way out? We waved down the shuttle driver who’d dropped us off. She stopped, said she’d get some help. Within minutes, along came a guy with a device to jump start us. He connected his gadget to my battery, my car started and we were ready to go. I gave him and the nice lady each $20 for their kindness. I was quite touched. And super glad, because AAA would have been a long time out.
It was after 8:30 p.m. And I was wasted.
We made it home by 9:45 p.m., said hello to our cat, Preto, and went to bed. The next morning, we went to the doggy day care/spa to pick up our spoiled dogs. This photo was taken a week later, when they’d both had their teeth cleaned (hence the bandages around their legs).
By the time we’d gotten home late July 23, 2024, I’d gotten an email from Air Canada saying they had my rain jacket. I paid for them to send it to me, and on July 24, 2024, I received my rain jacket in the mail. The tiny bottle of water I’d gotten on the plane was still in one of the pockets. I was super happy.
I later learned, though, that Air Canada was responsible for damaging luggage belonging to one of my nieces (while going home to NJ from Alaska), and that Manny had been delayed 6 hours in Alberta as he attempted to get home elsewwere in Canada. But we had a great experience with Air Canada.
And even got away with what is likely oversized carry-on luggage.
A few things we learned on this trip:
First, Plummer’s Arctic Trophy Lodge has all the fishing equipment and lures you might need to catch fish. Next time, Mark and I are taking two boxes of lures (not six), and leaving our poles and reels at home.
Secondly, there is plenty of time for birding if you make the time to walk around. And there are lots of nifty birds to be found on Great Bear Lake.
Third, Great Bear Lake is a great place in the summer–it’s safe to wander around the arctic, the fishing is decent, there are giant lake trout to be caught, and the people are friendly and hard-working. Plummer’s “hug and release” motto is also pretty great.
Finally, a great guide makes or breaks a fishing trip. Manny was awesome. In fact, I think Mark adopted Manny as a son. We’ll know for sure if he shows up for Christmas dinner.