NORTHERN CANADA / AKA: NO MAN'S LAND

  
Leaving Edmonton on Friday afternoon, we started our trek north to Yellowknife. We made it as far as High Level, which would be our last fuel stop until our destination. As the sun set I thought about what loomed ahead of us.... the frozen river we knew we would have to cross.

  
Crossing into the Northwest Territories we captured some local wildlife scampering around the sign. Actually there wasn’t too much activities anywhere around once you get this far north, other than seeing tanker trucks coming and going. We had to stop in Enterprise, Northwest Territories to purchase permits for the trucks and get weighed before crossing the frozen river. Both Craig and Harley were surprised that one of the Officer’s wife was baking cookies, which of course they were more than happy to sample as they waited for their paperwork to get completed.

  
The time then came for the crossing of the river. With much apprehension we left solid ground to traverse the frozen water. Seeing large cracks did not make me feel any better.

  
Slowly we drove, and laughed when we saw these two birds sitting on a snow pile just watching the traffic go by. It was almost like they were lying in wait for disaster to happen so they could take advantage of any leftovers.

  
With a sigh of relief, we hit dry ground again. It was still a few hours until we would arrive in Yellowknife. The roads were noticeably rougher, and no wonder, with the amount of tractor-trailer traffic this road got. We were told that there are only 6-8 weeks in the winter where the ice is frozen enough for fuel and supplies to get up to the mines which were even further north than where we were going.

  
I was not in position to get a proper picture of the sunset we saw upon our arrival in Yellowknife. I have never seen anything as beautiful as it before. As we pulled into Yellowknife Saturday evening the boat dealership was just closing up and we would be spending the weekend in front of their business.

  
As I mentioned before, we were able to listen to the Super Bowl on satellite radio and was happy to hear that the Colts won. We were able to watch the locals using their favorite mode of transportation around town. But with lounging all day Sunday we were ready to get to work and unload the boats on Monday morning.

  
I have to mention that it was very cold in Yellowknife and we made sure to bundle up good when we unloaded the boats. We made quick time of unloading both trailers and fueling up before heading back towards civilization and crossing that darn frozen river again.

  
I swear this time across the cracks were even bigger, and this warning sign is not one you want to see. But slowly we made our way back across onto solid ground.  



    
Now all along our route up and back from Yellowknife we saw warning signs of free roaming bison. It wasn’t until our drive back that we finally saw them along side the roadway. Not only that but we also saw a moose out for his morning walk. You certainly would not want to travel the highway there at night as you would never see anything come out at you until you were right on it.

Monday night we were in High Level, Alberta again and feeling just a bit closer to home. This afternoon we are in Edmonton for a short break to do a minor repair on the truck, shower, and hopefully laundry before heading toward the border.
  
Although we didn’t have a real opportunity to explore the area of Yellowknife, it was interesting to experience the cold weather and say that we were there. It would be nice, if the next time we are sent that way that, it would be in the summertime!