Trip to the Great Slave Lake- Part Two

Check out this gorgeous scene! Who needs television when you have this? The Northern Lights have put on a fantastic light show almost every night that we’ve been camping around The Great Slave Lake. A whole spectrum of colors can be found and it just takes your breath away. I often wonder if our dogs can take in this view as well? Frick and Frack seem almost immune to this display opting to chase each other and a few squirrels than to be involved in this viewing pleasure.

Mike has caught some great photographs of all this and he is even now clicking some more. He was planning on doing some night fishing but this took him away from even doing that and he rarely misses a chance to go fishing. Tonight he’s fishing for photographs of nature at its best.

Wow! The colors seen here almost appear as if they were shooting down from the heavens. It’s like a hail storm of colors. A rainbow pales in comparison to these lights. After Mike had completed his camera work he joined me at the ebbing campfire to catch the view above. We just laid back as our dogs joined us and took in the view while chomping down on a few marshmallows. Soon we’ll be heading back south to Michigan but what a way to end our trip. Fantastic!

Great Slave Lake Trip- Part One

Last summer, Darlene and I traveled into Canada to take a look at one of their “Great Lakes” not numbered among the US five. Darlene will offer her impressions in Part Two but I wanted you to have an understanding of just where we traveled to on this vacation. I also visited an inland lake with another tourist we met on this trip and I will detail that tomorrow.

Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada (after Great Bear Lake), the deepest lake in North America at 2,010 feet and the ninth-largest lake in the world. It is 480,300 miles long and 12 to 68 miles wide. It covers an area of 27,200 10,502 square miles in the southern part of the territory. The lake shares its name with the Slavey First Nations.

North American Aboriginal Peoples were the first settlers around the lake, building communities including Dettah, which still exists today. British fur trader Samuel Hearne explored the area in 1771 and crossed the frozen lake, which he initially named Lake Athapuscow (after an erroneous French speaker’s pronunciation of Athabaska). In 1897-1898, the American frontiersman Charles “Buffalo” Jones traveled to the Arctic Circle where his party wintered in a cabin that they had constructed near the Great Slave Lake. Jones’s exploits of how he and his party shot and fended off a hungry wolf pack near Great Slave Lake was verified in 1907 by Ernest Thompson Seton and Edward Alexander Preble when they discovered the remains of the animals near the long abandoned cabin.

In the 1930s, gold was discovered there, which led to the establishment of Yellowknife, which would become the capital of the Northwest Territory. In 1967, an all-season highway was built around the lake, originally an extension of the Mackenzie Highway but now known as Yellowknife Highway or Highway 3. On January 24, 1978, a Soviet Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite, named Kosmos 954, built with an on board nuclear reactor fell from orbit and disintegrated. Pieces of the nuclear core fell in the vicinity of Great Slave Lake. 90% of the nuclear debris was recovered by a group called Operation Morning Light formed with both American and Canadian members.

Not A Good Day For A Boat Trip

As a rule I don’t like big boats as I tend to get a tad seasick when upon them and these waves do nothing for my confidence. I have taken the Badger to Wisconsin many times but never on days when the waves are high.

It’s a good thing that they don’t show movies on ferry boats because it would be my luck to get The Poseidon Adventure. Or it would be my day to have Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Not that the amenities on ferry boats aren’t good, because they are, however on wavy days I would need to see a doctor preferably on the dock!

Waves are only good to swim in but not to ride up and down like a bucking broncho. It should be said that these boats are built to withstand high waves. One can still get seasick even on the best of days. Perhaps a nap in my quarters would be in order. Later!

Grant’s Resort- Part Two

These two photographs provide you with an “in and out” view of Grant’s Resort including the common cook-out area. As promised in my post yesterday, here are the rates for lodging at this resort year-round.

$48 per night or $285 per week for either of the two smaller cabins. (Sleeps five.) $56 per night or $335 per week for the larger cabin. (Sleeps eight.) Each cabin rental includes a rowboat perfect for fishing or exploring the lake. Four kayaks and a fire-pit are shared between the three cabins.

You can call the resort at (231) 266-5679 or (231) 510-2496 to make your reservation. They also have a Facebook page where you can view all three cottages and their accommodations. Give them a try sometime.

The Marion Boys Club Transition

1. This is something I never got to physically see. Before I left for the Salesian Boys CLub, the Marion Club had begun a capital fund drive to get this gymnasium. The reason it looks in such bad shape was due to a flood in 1988 that destroyed the electrical system. The club then moved to its newer facility. I wished they had repaired this club and left it as an extension for the main club. 

Grant’s Resort- Part One

Grant’s Resort is located on the north side of Big Bass Lake in close proximity to where the Dinty Moore Resort one stood. It is opened year-round and has three cottages for rent.

Being on Big Bass Lake means it’s easy to swim and fish right from the docks. They have row boats and kayaks available, and you can bring your own boats and jet skis. Tether them in the water right in front of your cabin after launching them from the lake’s public boat launch just a mile down the road. That was right next to our former property just to he west.

They also have a fire-pit ready for cookouts and s’mores. Being out there at night brings a whole new meaning to the word wonderous especially if the moon is fully out. I will have more on this resort tomorrow including the rates.