Chasing the aurora in Yellowknife

We headed out at 10pm, and drove to Prosperous Lake, about half an hour away from Yellowknife along the Ingraham Trail.
As we got out of the car, the aurora activity was much more pronounced than our first night, and seeing the lights dancing made us scramble to set up our tripods.




The activity began to slow, and I was upset thinking that I missed the majority of it dealing with a frozen phone, freezing camera and tripod, and numb extremities.

We continued on Ingraham Trail, and found ourselves at Prelude Lake with only one other car.

The aurora activity slowed down, and we decided to hop into the car and head back. En route, the aurora suddenly came back in full force, with some visible pink and dancing wildly. Unfortunately, we could not stop anywhere, so it was captured only by eye.

We arrived at Madeline Lake, which we had stopped by earlier. The sight of many tour buses made us continue on our way to Prelude Lake, but it has emptied significantly on our way back to Yellowknife.



The next morning, we made a breakfast of omelettes and toast, and headed out to the Snowking's Winter Festival.



When we got to the edge of the road, we realized the festival was out in the middle of Yellowknife Bay... so, off we went on the frozen lake towards the snow castle.





The festival actually began a few days after we left, but the majority of the castle was built, and we saw a lot of the progress being made on ice and snow sculptures.





There was an hour or so until the next tour of the interior, so we headed down the bay to Detah, a First Nations community just south of the festival. It was eerily quiet and so we stopped along the ice road - the cracks show just how thick the layer of ice is.





Snowking's Festival tour! We saw the interior of the castle, included the ice stage and future cafe area. I really wish we could have been there when it officially opened.




We headed back to the city centre, and had lunch at Javaroma, the local coffee chain boasting three locations across the city.

We browsed the city for souvenirs and postcards, and then went shopping for groceries at the local Independent. It was here that we saw someone being kicked out of the store for being intoxicated, a scene that was handled gently but firmly by the staff.



A dinner of garlic bread, salad, and pasta later, we checked the forecast - the aurora activity was low and the weather was cloudy, so we decided to retire to bed early.

The usual breakfast followed the next morning, and as we didn't have an activity booked until later that afternoon, our morning was free. I had began writing my postcards the previous night, and realized I was short a few, so I headed out as soon as the mall opened.

Sunday morning at the local mall and bank was honestly a little strange. There were many people taking shelter inside every open building, and stepping over sleeping legs to enter the mall was a new experience.



A shuttle bus picked us up for our next activity - dog sledding. To be quite honest, I had mixed feelings about this before coming; a lack of knowledge and some horror stories about the dog kennels back home left me conflicted.

When we arrived at Enodah Kennels, the staff were very eager to share the story of the dogs, and how the specific breed of Alaskan huskies were bred for their resilience to the cold. As you approached the dogs, you could see they were itching to run; they were full of energy and receptive to pats and cuddles.

We bundled up in the sled and were on our way.





Halfway through the course, we took a break and played with the dogs. They were all friendly, and a few overeager ones ended up pinning me to the ground with their ecstatic greetings.

Our guide was very friendly and informative, and let me stand at the back with him at once point - and it is a lot harder than it looks to keep your balance and now go sprawling into the snow.




We returned to the cabin to await the other groups; we were in the first group, and munched on snacks as we awaited their return.




It was dinnertime when we arrived back in town, and we opted for a dinner at the Red Apple Restaurant, one of the three Chinese restaurants in town. There was a gallery across the restaurant that some of us browsed as we waited for our food, and the owner regaled us with his stories of dog sledding races, the lost toes, and their eventual donation to Yukon's Sourtoe cocktail.





My hand was aching and my eyes were drooping, but I finished writing all my postcards as we awaited the aurora forecast.

The aurora danced, and we headed back to Prelude Lake for a bone-chilling night. Some purple aurora was captured, and I huddled in the car to ensure I left the night with ten toes.