Tour around town

Spare time is often very limited during work travel, so I took the opportunity to give my colleague Colleen Patterson a quick tour of Yellowknife before heading over to the conference to set up the NAHO booth in the afternoon.

As we drove around town, I pointed out the many venues where I used to cover sports events, such as schools, arenas, tennis courts, recreation centres, etc. When I first came to Yellowknife to work as sports editor, I remember being quite impressed by the high level of sport and recreation opportunities for a town with a population of 18,700. Unfortunately, opportunities for sport and recreation are much more limited in smaller, more isolated communities in the Northwest Territories. Even so, it was always inspiring to see the creative ways people around Northwest Territories and Nunavut stayed active year-round. I myself can claim to have gone running outdoors in -40C, but not before learning about safety precautions such as wearing warm, dry and wind-resistant clothing.

We eventually found ourselves in Old Town, a section that gives a lot of character to the city. Residentially, you can find anything from shacks with no running water to half a million dollar homes on the same street. Float planes and multicoloured houseboats line the edges of Old Town, which is surrounded by Great Slave Lake. Great Slave Lake is the second largest lake in the Northwest Territories, the deepest lake in North America, and the ninth largest lake in the world.

Adding to the character of Old Town is a very Down to Earth local arts scene. There is no lack of galleries, artist workshops and studios. I myself spent a lot of time in the area to practice photography and get ideas for paintings, activities that helped balance my well-being while working at the newspaper. It’s not surprising the arts community seems to be centered in this part of the city. With all the unique sights and sounds, you can’t help but feel inspired.