Final Clown Down

I always wondered what the words were in that chorus... :-)

Space Station Orbit

I just watched the International Space Station (ISS) fly over Vancouver this evening at 9:29 p.m. It's scheduled to make another pass overhead at 11:03 tonight, but I intend to be asleep in my bed by then.

But then again, knowing it'll fly overhead again in exactly 70 minutes from now (as I write this) will probably keep me awake until its return.

The last time we saw an ISS fly-past was during a Sarah McLachlan concert in Ambleside Park in North Van. That was probably about 5 years ago.

Yellowknife Polar Bears

My trip to Yellowknife was a bit longer than planned (about 8 hours longer) as an aircraft part malfunctioned and required replacement prior to take-off. Right before take-off actually. We'd already taxied out to the runway but had to return because of the finicky part. 

It turned out well however (and not just because it's always better to discover a faulty part on the runway as opposed to in-flight) as I reclaimed my rental car and went exploring. I photo-documented Yellowknife’s rich culture of abandoned vehicles, one of which was relieved of its license plate as it sat on a boat launch with smashed windows and full of debris (the plate is now adorning my office cubicle wall J). The car was a former taxi and, according to the tag on the plate, had been inoperable since 2003.

 

The license plate donor vehicle (with truck open).

 

Explore Canada's Arctic.

A pair of bears.

Olds 442 Polar Bear.

VW Beetle Polar Bear.

No plate on this one.

This truck had a "Friendly Manitoba" plate.

You just never know what might be hiding in the hedge.

More Yellowknife

Before my next trip, which might actually be to Inuvik, I thought I should post a few more pics from my Yellowknife adventure. I did a bit of travel research prior to my departure in order to maximize my time on the ground, which I knew would be in short supply. My work assignment was to be in the newer part of of town, the "urban sprawl" area to use metropolitan slang, and the interesting stuff was to be found in Old Town, at the eastern end on the shores of Great Slave Lake.

The view from Pilot's Monument looking south across Yellowknife Bay.

Another view from Pilot's Monument looking north to Back Bay of Great Slave Lake.

Just east of Old Town is the Painted Rock which is a monument to the cross cultures of the region: the Metis, Dene, Inuvialuit, and English and French Canadian cultures.

These blue berries atop the Painted Rock looked like Blueberries...I didn't have enough information so I didn't press my luck by tasting them. 

A view of Back Bay from the north side of the Painted Rock.

This"road" leads to the Woodyard, one of Yellowknife's original shanty villages along Yellowknife Bay of Great Slave Lake. Some of the shacks are inhabited by "off-the-grid" locals.

The boardwalk that leads south to a bird sanctuary along the shore of Yellowknife Bay.

The shoreline Poplars of Fred Henne Park.

The striped bark on some of the Poplars is a striking feature.

Charms of Yellowknife

Shoreline houses along Back Bay of Great Slave Lake. 

Probably the best perk of this job is the travel. Although I suppose, given enough time, I'll grow weary of it. Or not. Who knows? At this point at least it's still novel.

They sent me to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories for a couple of days last week. If it'd been a closer destination it would only have been a (long) day trip, but considering the available flights it turned into an overnighter. And a longer overnighter than planned as it turned out because on the return flight the plane had to return from the runway to the terminal because of a faulty part. A new one had to be flown in from Edmonton in the early afternoon. So, after setting the alarm for 4 a.m. planning for a 6 a.m. flight, I found myself sitting in the Yellowknife terminal at 8 a.m. wondering what I was going to do to occupy the next 8 hours.

I briefly considered commandeering a cab to take me back to the city, but the city's pretty spread out. And I didn't remember having seen any suitable restaurants in which to have breakfast (I'd skipped it save for a bit of leftover fruit I'd bought the day before). All I could remember seeing in my travels the previous afternoon and evening were fast food joints.

Surprisingly, the cost of the rental car had been quite reasonable for such a remote place. Conversely in St. John's, Newfoundland a few years ago we found rental vehicles relatively expensive and scarce. So I decided to throw caution to the wind and just pay for a rental car out of my own pocket to do some exploring in a place I may never get to again. Turns out they just gave me the same car I'd turned in and continued the contract.

The airfare is pricey to get to Yellowknife (at least it was for this spur-of-the-moment business trip) and driving there takes about three 8-hour days; the same as driving from Vancouver to Winnipeg. What a great idea it turned out to be to explore while I had the chance. Yellowknife is small, but it proved to be quite interesting, especially Old Town, Ragged Ass Road and the Wildcat Cafe.

Interior of the Wildcat Cafe. It was built in 1937.

View from the top of Pilot's Monument.

These signs get stolen so often that now they're bolted in place. And yes, Tom Cochrane did name his album after this road.

This was a very strange sight to see upon leaving the airport and taking the turn towards Yellowknife. It's a 50s or 60s WardAir cargo plane set up on pedestals for permanent display.

This shot was taken at 10:30 p.m. I was going to wait until full sunset at close to 11, but there was a narrow band of clouds on the horizon that would have obscured the actual sunset, so I cut my visit short to Fred Henne Park.

How many towns can boast of their dumpster art?

And as a bonus, when I returned the rental car I was just under the 24 hour rental period so I didn't even have to pay for another day!

Tofino 2015

I ran out of time last weekend to post photos from our recent trip to Tofino. But I did find time to create a collage. I had originally set out to combine 4 selfies I took of myself and Tannah. But somehow I couldn't find a template that would arrange 4 portrait oriented photos in line.

Tofino 2015

Mirth-mobile

Wayne's World, Wayne's World! Excellent, excellent!

I mean really! When was the last time you saw a Pacer, the original "Fishbowl on wheels"?

This one looks like it just shot out of a time machine. It's immaculate.