August 5, 2011 Yellowknife
Depart Yellowknife 10:03-Arrive Gameti 11:16; Depart Gameti 12:52-Arrive Yellowknife 14:09
Distance 203 miles Flight time 1.3 + 1.4 hours
Today, Ed, Steve and Larry headed out flying with two of Steve’s friends, Blake and Robert. The three planes, our Cessna 177 Cardinal, Steve’s Cessna 182 and Blake’s Cessna 205 flew togther towards Rae Edso and beyond to Gameti. Here is the Tourism NWT website description of the community:
Photo - Spectacular NWT website
Gameti – “Rabbit Net Lake” Gameti is a traditional Tlicho community about halfway between Great Slave and Great Bear lakes on the chain of waterways connecting these two huge water bodies. Gameti (formerly Rae Lakes) is accessible by road only in winter. There’s year-round air service from Yellowknife, a motel serving meals and general store. Local outfitters and guides offer a choice of wilderness adventures beyond to Gameti .
As for me, I stayed at the hotel and wrote entries in my blog and responded to emails. My goal was to finish up early and go fro a nice long walk- to stretch my legs before our next long flight.
Frame Lake is just 500M from the Super 8 so that was my choice for a walk. It was a warm sunny afternoon with a slight breeze and the walk would be about 5 km – perfect!!
And it WAS perfect UNTIL halfway around the lake. As I approached the NWT Legislative Assembly building, a security guard came out to meet me. “Excuse me, M’am, but a black bear just walked across this path less than 30 seconds ago. I’d advise you to come inside the building and wait. We’ve called the conservation officers and they’ll be here any minute to try to get it to leave the vicinity.”
Northern black bear
My tour of the assembly building was most interesting. It is an impressive building by any standards -
November 17, 1993 marked the official opening of the first permanent home of the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly. Prime importance was placed on maintaining the natural landscape surrounding the building – the trees, the rock outcrops, the peat bog foreground and the lakeshore. Territorial architects Ferguson Simek Clark/Pin Matthews in association with Matsuzaki Wright Architects Inc. of Vancouver designed the 46,000-square-foot building. The building is anchored to the ground by a wall of indigenous stone. The walls are clad in both sheet and cast zinc panels, lightly tinted with green glazing. Zinc shingles cover the domed roofs and form the undulating roof edge. Zinc louvers with operable panels provide natural ventilation to each office. The zinc material was selected because it is mined in the North and because of its subtle weathering qualities.
The artwork inside the building is equally impressive: sculptures, beadwork, the mace, photos. The building and the artwork confirm the distinct heritage this territory claims within Canada’s mosiac.
When Ed arrived back from Gameti, he came with the rental car to pick me up. We drove back to the airport where Brian took me for a ride in the Air Cam. When we landed, a local walked on to the field to check out the aircraft. Ed looked at this guy and said, “I think I’ve seen you before.” They started to chat – it was John Curry.
John and his wife Carol moved to Yellowknife twenty-one years ago from Watson Lake, Yukon. That’s the village Ed used as a base for his Frances Lake Wilderness Lodge. We had to go say hi to John’s wife Carol, who was surprised – but like most long-timer Northerners, not shocked – to see us. People come and go in the North.
Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for the Meet the Buffalo final banquet.
