Aurora Magic and the Northwest Territories

August 17 – Crossing the 60th Parallel Again

We left High Level, Alberta around 11:00 and headed north once again.

Before long, we passed Mile 0 of the Mackenzie Highway and crossed into the Northwest Territories. We also crossed the 60th parallel for another time on this trip.

Our destination was Hay River.

We arrived around 2:30 in the afternoon and got set up in Site C19 at Hay River Territorial Park, located along the shores of Great Slave Lake.

It was a beautiful spot.

We walked over to check out North Beach, which we had chosen as our location for hopefully seeing the aurora later that night. Afterward, we registered with the camp host and settled in for happy hour.

As evening arrived, we headed down to the public beach, only about 400 metres from our home for the night.

The sunset over Great Slave Lake was beautiful, stretching out across the water and along the shoreline.

A little after 10:00, Saturn rose.

At about 10:45, the moon appeared.

And then, around 11:30, things started to happen.

The aurora appeared in the south.

WOW. WOW. WOW.

What followed was absolutely exhilarating—every bit as spectacular as the aurora display we’d seen in Sweden, although completely different in character.

The sky filled with greens, reds, purples, whites and pinks.

At one point, it felt as though we were standing underneath a giant magical chandelier. White, pink and green lights twisted, twirled and shifted above us.

Then we watched an enormous curtain of light sweep across the Big Dipper and continue all the way to the horizon.

It was simply mind-blowing.

There are moments on a trip that you know you’ll remember forever.

This was one of them.

We finally got to bed at 2:00 in the morning, still buzzing from what we had just witnessed.

August 18 – A Quiet Day After an Incredible Night

After getting to bed at 2:00 in the morning, we slept until around 11:00.

No surprise there.

We eventually got ourselves going and cycled into downtown Hay River. There wasn’t a great deal to see, but the ride gave us another chance to explore the area.

By the time we returned, we’d covered about 25 kilometres.

June did some laundry while I spent some time reading.

We had happy hour and enjoyed a relaxed evening.

At 9:30, we decided to cycle back over to North Beach to watch the sunset.

Unfortunately, it was mostly a bust.

But since we had seen the spectacular aurora the previous night, we decided to give the sky another chance.

At midnight, we went back to the beach for about an hour.

There was some aurora activity, but compared to the night before, it was almost nothing—mostly an all-over haze.

Still, after the show we’d seen on August 17, we certainly weren’t complaining.

August 19 – Along the Mackenzie River

After another late night, we slept in again.

We left Hay River around noon and continued north.

It was a relatively short drive today, with good roads for most of the journey. The only significant interruption was about 25 kilometres of construction near the end.

We drove through Fort Providence before arriving at our destination.

In some ways, the community reminded us of Utqiagvik—formerly Barrow—although fortunately, there was no need to rely on an airplane to escape!

We arrived at our campsite in a territorial park along the north shore of the Mackenzie River.

Site A15 was a beautiful surprise.

It was a large gravel site with plenty of room, and we had a fantastic view along the river.

We were also pleasantly surprised to discover that we had 30-amp electrical service. We had expected only 15 amps.

Even better, we had full internet and cell service.

Not bad for a beautiful campsite in the Northwest Territories!

August 20 – Bison on the Road to Yellowknife

We were technically on the road by 10:30.

Well, at least we had made it as far as the dump station!

Eventually, we really did get underway and headed north toward Yellowknife.

The almost four-hour drive was mostly uneventful. There were lots of scrubby pine trees and stretches of somewhat rough road.

Thankfully, these weren’t the worst roads we’d travelled on. There were no major potholes—just rolling pavement that made the motorhome feel a little like a boat riding over waves.

The scenery wasn’t particularly exciting.

But the bison were.

They saved the drive.

We saw several along the way, and after our previous experiences with bison in northern British Columbia, we were always happy to see these enormous animals again.

When we arrived in Yellowknife, we got set up in Site 35.

Compared with the beautiful territorial parks we’d stayed in recently, this campground was nothing particularly special.

I wasn’t going to let that stop me from exploring, though.

I headed out on the bike for a 20-kilometre ride through downtown and around town. Along the way, I checked several souvenir shops looking for an NWT licence plate sticker.

No luck.

Apparently, that particular souvenir would have to remain elusive.

August 21 – Cycling Yellowknife and Catching Up with Friends

Today was a good day for catching up with people.

We Skyped with Peter, Dianne and Nina and talked about Nina’s stay in Ontario. We also had a brief chat with Peter and Dianne about Berlin.

Then it was time to get back on the bikes.

We cycled downtown, headed out onto the peninsula and then looped back past the campground. From there, we continued out through the Giant Mine area and across the Yellowknife River.

By the time we got back, we’d covered 37.5 kilometres.

Later, we watched Toni’s slideshow from her Viking cruise and then Skyped with her afterward.

It was nice to spend the day combining our own travels with hearing about everyone else’s adventures.

August 22 – Leaving Yellowknife

(As a side note, this is the closest that we got to the mine where June’s Maple Leaf Diamond came from)

We packed up and started the long drive south out of Yellowknife at 10:15.

Once again, there wasn’t a lot to look at along the road.

Except for the bison.

And once again, they didn’t disappoint.

We eventually arrived at Lady Evelyn Falls Territorial Park around 2:45 and got set up in Site B6.

Another beautiful territorial park.

June settled in with a book while I washed the motorhome—or at least, parts of it!

Later, we went for a walk to see Lady Evelyn Falls.

The falls were beautiful and made for another pleasant evening walk.

Back at the campsite, we had a campfire and called it a day.

August 23 – Farewell to the Northwest Territories

This morning, we pulled out of Lady Evelyn Falls Territorial Park and headed south toward the 60th parallel for the final time.

But we had a couple of stops planned first.

Our first stop was Louise Falls in Twin Falls Gorge Territorial Park.

We walked out to the lookout and then continued down to the brink of the falls. It was a beautiful spot and definitely worth the stop.

Then we got back into Juergen and continued over to Alexandra Falls.

Alexandra Falls was equally impressive.

Here, we walked along the river above the falls before heading out to several lookouts for different views.

The Twin Falls Gorge area was a fitting final stop in the Northwest Territories.

About an hour later, we crossed the 60th parallel and left the NWT behind.

Our northern adventure had taken us from the Yukon into British Columbia, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, through some of the most remote and spectacular parts of Canada and Alaska.

We had watched the Northern Lights dance across the sky, stood beside the Arctic Ocean, crossed countless kilometres of gravel and frost-heaved roads, seen whales, bears, moose, caribou, lynx and bison—and somehow managed to survive a broken refrigerator and a few other travel surprises along the way.

Now, for the final time on this trip, we crossed south over the 60th parallel.

Another remarkable chapter had come to an end.