What makes Yellowknife Unique

There is nothing unusual about Yellowknife, except it is built on a rock. Oh, and it has a thriving downtown with lots of tall buildings. (Grande Prairie had one tall building.) 

 

There are two malls.

 A theatre.

 This says it is the hottest Nightclub in Yellowknife. 

Oh, it has about 10 lakes in the city limits. 

This subdivision is on the edge of town and shows some of the lakes and ponds just surrounding it. You can also see the large outcroppings of rocks.

There are people from many parts of the world here. We have met people living and working here from Trinidad, Viet Nam, Philippines, South Africa, Mexico, England, Scotland, United States, France, Germany, Greece... There are 11 dialects of First Nations also spoken here.

Yellowknife has a blend of life embracing modern, frontier, vibrant arts, history, language, exotic. Food in Yellowknife is not plain, normal, or bland. Year round Festivals showcase the diversity of this place. Winter and summer sports thrive. 

Even something like golf is not done in the normal way. 

There is not much natural grass at the 18 hole golf course. There is a layer of sand on this rock. The greens are astroturf. You rent an astroturf mat to use to play your ball as you golf. 

 

We went to the golf course and Elder Brown hit a bucket of balls one P-day. 

People live in apartment buildings and they also live in mobile homes and fabricated homes. They have to fit in the landscape somehow. 

 Don't know where the prefabricated or manufactured homes are made, but there are lots of them. Notice the rock statue? It is an Inukshuk. They are very popular in Northern Canada. Inuk means human being. A way for humans to communicate where there was safe passage, cached food, good hunting, way home, or other messages. 
 Rocks are incorporated into landscape and structure.

 Really can't build at the water edge. Niven Lake is a boggy lake with permafrost that is normally  found in the tundra.

 Mobile homes have to be level.

Just go with the flow when confronted with a challenging landscape.

House on Yellowknife Bay.

Can't build at the water's edge.

There is space under this house this house with a skirt around it.

This house has no skirt.

 All houses have tanks on the side or back for their heating oil.

 Quite a few homes have a teepee. They dry meat in them for one thing.

They don't typically have basements. The houses don't normally sit on foundations.

 This is a Habitat for Humanity Project. The home is built on a frame.

This building has steel posts drilled into the rock.  Then a girder platform is attached to the things drilled into the rock. Then the building is framed on that. These are two new apartment houses. They are a continuation of the ones you can see in the background.

 

    Strange things we have seen in Yellowknife. 

This is the first plane to land at the North Pole.

We took this bear's picture as he was strolling the Ingram Trail. Yes, we were in the car, but he was right there.

Other (tamer) Wildlife

                Loons

 Raven

                                                                                         Robin

 Red-wing Blackbird

                                                                                        Chickadee

 Seagulls

Tent Caterpillars

Trees grow out of rock and are very spindly.

                                                                             Very dense and spindly near the boggy lakes.

Being protected from beavers in the area.

Beaver Lodge                                              

Things we have done in Yellowknife.

Went to a Northwest Territories Diamond Showroom. Robyn "helped" polish a diamond.

Mobile ATM

Attended the first Farmer's Market of the season. We got there early and left early. They don't sell products from farms. The local restaurants set up booths. There were entertainers. Actually, there aren't farms here. There is no grazing land or farm land, or livestock of any kind. There are some community garden spots with grow boxes. All the produce is flown in. That would account for $6.99 a pound for cauliflower and $1.79 for one ear of corn. "Toto, we aren't in Kansas anymore." But we can fish, or get fresh fish from the store, or buy fresher fish from one of the commercial fisherman.

There is everything unusual and special about Yellowknife. It is such a unique place. There is a lot to do. Today is the longest day of sunshine of the year, the summer solstice. The sun will be up for 19 hours, 59 minutes, and 14 seconds. It will be light for the other 4 hours. We have good blackout curtains so we can get some sleep. But, not tonight. We have to experience all of this, eh? Bruce was made the Branch President two weeks ago. He is keeping busy. We really want to help this branch grow and there are a lot of people we are trying to bring back. Living in a small place, and everyone knows each other, can be a Hatfield and McCoys environment. We love these people. And, Heavenly Father loves these people. They are all so special. We have a convert baptism this Saturday. He has lots of friends and there will be lots of support. People are flying in. Sunday we will have a Linger Longer (potluck) after the block. Looking forward to a great weekend.  

Love, Sister Brown, Grandma, Mom and Robyn