Bullocks Bistro

Brian reporting:

Yes, this is a food place...no, the name does not reflect the prime ingredient in the cooking..

Susan has been here before and the local lore is that it serves the best fish in Yellowknife...
Certainly the fish is very fresh because nothing sits around for long...there was a crowd constantly coming and going and by the time we left they only had two orders of fish left which they were explaining to more arriving diners...the newcomers would have to be satisfied with Caribou and some shared fish...

And the varieties are very local...there were three choices on tonight's menu - Arctic Char, Northern Pike and Inconnu, a type of whitefish found only in the Arctic...the server tells you the ways it should be cooked and you choose a method...














I had the Pike pan fried (above)....and Susan had the Inconnu done on the grill...both were delicious


We were sitting at the bar in front of the chef who cooks, washes dishes and occasionally answers the phone and takes your money at the end of the meal if the two servers are busy...he seemed totally in control and not flustered in the least by the enormous number of orders that kept pouring in...

The atmosphere is early frontier overladed with thousands of pictures, trinkets and bumper stickers that remind you that if you leave children unattended they will be sold into slavery or that your village called looking for their idiot...a great diversion while you are waiting for your food...

Don't ask for a drink...just head to the cooler and pick one out yourself...at the end of the meal you go to the cash and tell them what you had...it is the honour system but I think the woman who was serving and greeting would remember every face and detail of what you had...it is that well organized amidst the chaos...

And for dessert you just step outside and watch the float plane come in...yummy

Going to the Dogs

What I really wanted to post here is a video I made of Brian at this dog depot. But I can't make it work, though you're supposed to be able to download video to blogger now.

So, here's a photo of this crazy place on the edge of town in an industrial area called Kam Lake, where people keep their sled dogs in a communal kennel. It's as big as a football field, with all these makeshift dog houses and hundreds of barking, howling canines, which don't look like anything you'd think would pull a sled. It's quite surreal--and noisy.

We went there after dinner at the Wild Cat Cafe, as I searched for a different setting for his arrival photo. Stay tuned for the movie...

Today we had lunch together at the museum. True to his Slow Food philosophy, Brian ordered the Bison Burger. (He had the muskibou stew (muskox and caribou) at the Wild Cat.

I returned to work and he explored the museum and the legislature, then made the trek back to Nova Court on the Frame Lake Trail.

Here's a wideshot of the cafe--quite a stunning setting.

culinary note from Brian...
When my Bison burger arrived the server recommended that I put HP Sauce on it..
Later, while viewing an exhibit about hunting and eating Beluga whales in the Beaufort Sea I saw a reference to a dried whale meat that the aboriginals enjoy best with HP Sauce!
First we spread religion...then we spread HP Sauce...nice going, White People...

As promised, here is the video of the sled dog compound...

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Meet the Murals

This is the street mural I should have posted when I was writing about the bear invasion in Yellowknife. It's right on Franklin Avenue, near the Noodle House. On Sunday, I went on a photo excursion for this and some of the other many paintings on the side of buildings in the city.

Some murals are quite vibrant; others are weather-beaten.

And the styles range from primitive to surreal.

Love and Rivalries at a CBC Station

When I arrived at News of the North in 1978, the editor Craig McInnes, was leaving, along with his partner of the time, Elizabeth Hay who worked at CBC radio. So I never really go to know them. But I read Craig's articles while he was at the Globe and followed Liz's career as a writer. Her upcoming newest work of fiction is creating a buzz up here. It's set in the 70's in Yellowknife--and, well, here's the description on Liz's website:

Elizabeth Hay's new novel is set in motion when a man hears a voice on the radio and falls in love. The story is set in 1970s Yellowknife and centres around the loves, rivalries, and entanglements of a small and unlikely group who work at the local radio station. One summer they embark on a canoe trip that takes them into the arctic wilderness, following in the footsteps of the legendary Englishman John Hornby, who starved to death in the Barrens in 1927. In the wilds they find the balance of love shifting, much as the balance of power in the North is being changed by the proposed Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline. Weaving stories from the past into the present, Hay builds a fresh, erotic, darkly witty and moving tale about the power of a voice and of a place to generate love and haunt the memory. Like radio, the novel creates sudden intimacy over long distances, and like the North, it is spare, compelling, and charged with unusual life.

A lot of people will be reading this one, trying to match the characters with people from the past--even though we all know authors never base their characters on real people ... I'm just glad I arrived after she gathered her material.

Michael Moore and Old Friends

At the end of a week when the Canadian Medical Association elected a president who wants to expand the role of private health care delivery, it's rather fitting that I went to see "Sicko" tonight. Michael Moore, as usual, takes the viewer on a journey that is both entertaining and enraging. Ok, so he sees universal health care, from Canada to Cuba, through rose coloured glasses, but it's the contrast with the American system he's after. What a storyteller--and humourist.

I dropped in to see Aggie this morning to return some books and we decided to go see Moore's doc together. Afterwards, we had some mint tea at Javaroma which holds open mic night on Saturdays. The son of senator NWT Nick Sibbeston was performing, while an older gentleman played his flute. It's been a week of getting together with a number of people I knew from the late 70's. After having dinner with Marie on Thursday night, I had lunch with Anne Crossman Friday. She too worked at News of the North, but left to take up various CBC posts, most recently in Inuvik where she was station manager. Now, she's living in the Valley in Nova Scotia where she edits an online newsletter called Permafrost. It's a digest of articles about the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline and other resource related issues. Anne came back to Yellowknife for a wedding this weekend, and this is the first we've seen each other since 1979. We met at the museum restaurant, then that night Judy and I had dinner at the Office, a dark old style restaurant with a great bison steak. It's too bad the group of us couldn't have connected at the same time--just like in the old days when we might meet at the press club, or for Women's Night Out. And then there was the time we printed up t-shirts declaring "This is Not a Wet T-shirt" to protest the wet t-shirt contests at the Explorer Hotel... I still have that shirt.

(And thanks to two of my dedicated readers, I have amended the previous sentence to read "Wet" instead of "Dry". Thank you truenorth and Eustacia Vye.)

Wild Time at the Wildcat

The afternoon radio show celebrated the Wildcat Cafe's 70th anniversary today with a live remote from the summertime restaurant. It was a fabulous show that ended with a live play written by the CBC's own David Miller, who also played the role of "Gumshoe". Dubbed the honey bucket caper, it featured local personalities, including the mayor, an RCMP officer and MLA Sandy Lee (above) who, Dave wrote, has "more curves than the Ingraham trail", yet sharp enough to cut a man in half.

Trail's End host Norbert Poitras went into the kitchen to interview chef Pierre LePage, who is known for using northern ingredients creatively.

Pierre cooked up a sizzling dish of muskox and cranberries, one of the menu items available for $44.

Marie Wilson and I had dinner together at the Wildcat, after the remote. We haven't connected since I first arrived; it was great to meet up again now that I've had a few weeks back in the north under my belt. Rumours are that she's running as a candidate in the upcoming territorial election but, wisely, she neither confirmed nor denied. Marie and her family live in an amazing house in Oldtown, designed by architect Gino Pin. The interior is organic, all angles and curves, with soaring ceilings, lofts, and hideaways. And it's packed with arts and crafts from the north. The yard, too, is far from conventional, with its own twists and turns and surprises. Exposed boulders share the space with trees, lawn ornnaments, perennials and plants potted in everything from buckets to shoe-shaped planters.

Wild Animals Invade Yellowknife

I've been looking for an excuse to post this photo taken on a side street in downtown Yellowknife. It's a powerful and textured mural. Real muskox may not be roaming the city; however, black bears are definitely becoming urban creatures. A bear was spotted on Frame Lake trail on Friday. When wildlife officers arrived, they saw two bears swimming in the lake. The next day a bear was found eating garbage in front of a house near a residential street--not far from my exit to the CBC. That's like seeing a bear on one of the streets near the Halifax Common or around High Park in Toronto. Another bear sighting was reported today near the Explorer Hotel and later at Niven Lake, that other trail with the fancy houses. This one wisely ran off to the ski club when wildlife officers approached. The other one near Frame Lake returned to eat more garbage and, so, it was shot, standard practice around here when a bear shows a lack of fear of people. The good news is that despite this apparent invasion of black bears, no one has been hurt--or even charged.

My entries are probably going to be random as I begin my countdown to departure on Sept. 8th and look for ways to post some of the gazillion photos I've taken. These are the sled dogs, kept by Aggie and Terry, who I've written lots about, including their indoor dog, Magic. They also keep a team of sled dogs which they use to get to their cabin in the winter. My 'hook' for using this photo now is a news item on Northbeat tonight about the challenges of Nunavut dog mushers competing in the NWT. Their dogs, which have bigger fur, have difficulty adjusting to the warmer climate (it's all relative) and to the softer snow here. The trainers have to come two months early to acclimatize the dogs. And the style is quite different: in Nunavut the riders lie down on their stomachs, but they must learn to stand to compete in the NWT. During the interview on TV tonight, the woman had a tiny husky puppy on her lap that whined until she stuffed it inside her sweater.

One of today's highlights was a conversation with Mabel English, the Gwich'in host of Nantaii.

She calls from time to time from Inuvik and today she asked what will happen to all those interviews she's done over the years. As I've posted before, Mabel is 70 and will retire in November. She wants to see those interviews with elders put on CD so their stories and the language are preserved. And, she suggested, the CBC could "give back" to the people. In the course of our chat, she told me about an interview she did at a fish camp this week with people who trap and use just what they need--"no fancy stuff". That led Mabel to recall her life growing up, when they'd pick a barrel of berries, burying some in a birch bark tray to preserve them for Christmas to share with her mother's sisters.

I'm learning to appreciate random.

Snow, Suds or ....?

The fluffy white stuff is foam on Frame Lake, whipped up by the wind. As I walked to work this morning, there were whitecaps on the lake and bits of foam tumbled across the trail. It's the second time I've seen this foam. It isn't pollution, as far as I can tell. Most foaming of lakes is a natural process, created when the surface tension of the water is reduced and the air is mixed in, forming bubbles. Decomposing algae releases cellular products into the water, which lessens the surface tension even more--and voila, sudsy white foam. However, swimming isn't allowed in this lake, for reasons I have yet to learn. Maybe the foam is, indeed, evil.

Simon Says: Cats Rule

Simon isn't the cover cat for the 2008 SPCA calendar for Yellowknife. But he couldn't care less. At 15 years of age and a weight in excess of 20 pounds, he's happy to hang around on the furniture, eat, and drink water out of the bathtub. And he definitely had no interest in making friends with me.

Simon's servants are Mark Solnoky and Gabby, who invited me over for a barbeque this afternoon. And what a glorious afternoon it was--summer reappeared, allowing us to enjoy the outdoors, including an after-dinner walk around Rat Lake. It's yet another interesting neighbourhood, near the old Con Mine site, the last of the gold mines.

Their house is two trailers, stacked on top of one another, and nestled into the boulders.

We ate in the screened gazebo, though bugs weren't a problem, nor have they been an issue in Yellowknife this summer. I have used neither my bug juice nor my bug jacket.

It was pleasant to spend time at someone's home, sharing food, stories and laughs. I'm starting to get cabin fever at the hotel.

Mark is the senior producer of Northbeat, the daily TV supper hour show; Gabby teaches special education. They came up from Toronto two years ago, where Mark worked on CBC News Sunday.

While Mark is proud of his manicuredgrass lawn, a rarity around here, his next door neighbour has a zen-like pebble and rock front yard. The owner does pottery, and here you can see it used as lawn decoration. Sure beats gnomes, and those carboard cutouts of women bending over in the garden...

Cruising the Downtown

It's my 13th full weekend here and, I have to admit, I'm running out of things to do. There's one last trail I wanted to hike, Prospector's Trail in Fred Henne Park, but I'm told even the visitor's bureau admits it's not well marked. Given my experience with the so-called marked trails, that's not a good sign. And the fact a bear was sighted in the park this week, convinced me to stick to the downtown. It's not extensive, but here's a bit of a pictorial tour. First up is the Diamond Plaza, one of many government buildings in this government town.





Across the road is this dental clinic, festooned, with flowers, and one of the low rise buildings between the towers that have sprung up since my last visit. Just behind this building is another new highrise, home to Canadian North, the aboriginal-owned airline, and to Javaroma, the coffee spot in the city. It's very popular, but they're desperate for help, as are so many other service industries here.







The downtown a study in contrasts--as is all of Yellowknife. Among the spanking new office towers are some old-time buildings that maintain the capital city's frontier look. The Gallery is a bar that I haven't had the pleasure of frequenting. Though I did have lunch at Surly Bob's, a sports bar just down Franklin Avenue, with the host of the morning show. It has that beery smell of a well-frequented bar, with over-priced, uninteresting food and yes, Bob, is truly surly.

The Greenstone building is yet another government edifice, a federal one, that you may have seen in TV footage when Prime Minister Harper flew through the north last week. And this is the front entrance to the Centre Square mall, home to everything from Reitman's to the upscale By George women's clothing store, as well as a music store, Hallmark, jewellery and a dollar store--as well as the library. The mall was built around the Yellowknife Inn (I've blogged about the once thriving Mackenzie Lounge there), which clearly is past its prime. The mall may not be pretty but, along with many other new stores in the city, it provides a lot more options than the days when the Tog Shop was the only place to buy women's wear. And, so, my retail therapy sessions have continued, unabated.

I started my day by helping to judge photos for the SPCA calendar. Now that was an interesting exercise. Not as many cat photos as dog pix had been submitted and there was a strong anti-feline contingent among the panelists. However, I'm happy to report that a cat made the cover, and a rat photo did not get selected for any of the months.

Against the Odds

It struck me today how complicated it is to get stories from other communities in the Territory. This week two of our Slavey broadcasters went to Fort Good Hope to do live broadcasts. First of all, the phone company didn't install the necessay lines. They were also missing a cable to make it all work, so it had to be sent up by plane. They couldn't do a live show on the first day. On the second day, when the phone lines still weren't installed, they set up shop at their mother's house (these two broadcasters are sisters).

This morning, we got word that a producer based in Fort Smith, who had been in Fort Chipewyan (in Alberta) to do a story, had missed her charter plane Tuesday night. It left at 10 but she didn't have all the elements of her story so she stayed behind and got a boat ride to Moose Island, wherever that is, the next morning. (What's the water version of hitch-hiking???) Love the name of the guy running the boat--Joe Voyageur.

And last week Snookie Catholique, who was also in Chip for another story (about residential schools), took a boat back to Fort Smith, too, with three others. Snookie had all her camera gear with her, and it was pouring rain. The boat broke down (sound familiar?) and eventually another vessel came along with a satellite phone, so they could call search and rescue. They were in a bend in the river and the rescue boat went by without seeing them. They floated further down the river with the current, and finally they were spotted. But they were only taken to an unpaved road on land, where they were told to wait for rescue by truck. However, heavy rains prevented a vehicle from getting them, so they trudged through the muck and rain to find an empty cabin. Snookie had a couple of salmon with her, but that's about all the four of them had to eat. In addition to the boat guy, there was an older woman with diabetes and an ex-con. Sounds like the makings of a reality TV show -- or sitcom.

You can get there from here in the north; it's just not always a direct route.

Inside the NWT Spaceship

From outside, at a distance, the territorial legislature building does look like an alien spaceship that has landed on the rocks at the far end of Frame Lake. (See Bronwyn's earlier reference and photo.) Inside, though, it's a spectacular building where functionality and aesthetics share the stage. The acoustics are amazing in this round building, that reflects the cultural traditions of the northern people and their consensus government. There are no parties here--candidates run independently in the 19 ridings. And, although Yellowknife, has about half of the population, it only has five seats so that the 32 other communities won't be dominated by this one city.

Here, our tour guide on Sunday afternoon shows off the main chamber, with its zinc wall at the back and polar bear rug just behind her. The building is filled with beautiful sculptures and paintings, including several A.Y. Jackson's of the north that were found in someone's basement. When the Legislative Building first opened in 1993, all provinces and the Yukon gave gifts. This hand-hooked hanging of the NWT coat of arms came from Nova Scotia and hangs in the caucus room upstairs, where the in camera meetings are held. It was the first gift the territory received.

The new mace is a work of art too. A 1.3 carat northern diamond sits at the top and within the shaft there are 33 tiny pebbles collected from the communities, which create a sound similar to a rainstick. I'm thinking of attending the opening of the next session of the Legislature on Wednesday just to hear what it sounds like. It will be the last session before the election coming up on October 1st.

It wasn't until the fall, right after I left in 1979, that the NWT members selected their own premier. Up until then, a federally appointed commissioner was the top guy. And the meetings were held in a room in the YK Inn on the main street, which has now been built up as a mall.

At the End of the Rainbow

For our last adventure yesterday, Bronwyn and I walked the Range Lake trail after dinner. True to form for the week, it started out sunny and then rained on us halfway through the trek. As we made our way through the subdivision, a full spectrum rainbow developed across the sky (I couldn't capture it all), with a partial double rainbow.

It was a fitting ending to Bronwyn's visit this week: at the end of a bad bout of weather, a symbol of hope and beauty. While it was by and large rainy and cold for her stay, each day had its own rainbow.

And so the daughter has returned to 30 plus temps in Toronto and, no doubt, will miss the cool Yk nights when she had to snuggle under the covers to keep warm.

Adrift on Great Slave Lake

See that rope at the back of the Coast Guard Boat? Well, it's attached to the Mary Ellen, who lost power on the way back from Horseshoe Bay in Great Slave Lake. Julie and Jan decided to take a chance on the weather to give Bronwyn and me a ride on their cabin cruiser, a 35-year-old Swedish vessel that runs on diesel. She's a sweet little cruiser that sleeps four and runs at about 14 km/hr.

We went in and out of cloud and rain showers, but the wind wasn't too strong and we made it easily to Horseshoe, where we anchored and enjoyed lunch. That's Tiffany, Jan and Julie's, daughter, who read her Harry Potter book for most of the trip.

Jan and Julie have owned the boat for five years, and put in a new engine just four years ago. But as Julie was at the helm on the way back, Mary Ellen lost power. It was just at the point when I was asking about the name. That's the original name for the cruiser, which they decided not to change. Jan is convinced the spirit of Mary Ellen has something to do with the breakdown. It definitely wasn't a case of running out of gas because the Coast Guard brought along some diesel, and that didn't get us going. So they tied up at the front-- after a speech about not being responsible for damage to the boat or injury to us, or having to leave us if someone in more distress called-- and towed us into the government wharf in Yellowknife.The distress call was made to Inuvik and the Coast Guard there contacted the auxiliary in Yellowknife, which operates with volunteers. It took them about 50 minutes to come and get us.

As we got closer to Yellowknife, they tied a rope to the side and pulled us in that way. As Julie remarked, it was rather pleasant: We had the speed of a power boat and the quiet of a kayak.

I Paid a Thousand Bucks for This?

The slave is rebelling, reclining on the sofa, whipped by the rain, the cold, a gigantic muskibou burger with sweet potato frites and a nightcap at Le Frolic.

Here's a self-portrait, taken on yet another blustery walk on Frame Lake Trail, after a writing session over coffee at Javaroma.

The 10 degree forecast for today was a record-setting temp for Yk at this time of year. Normal is around 20 degrees. Environment Canada meteorologist Dave Phillips said on the morning show that we should see more seasonable temps in five days.

However, some Yellowknifers say this could be the beginning of the end. It feels like November in Nova Scotia.

When we had dinner at Our Place last night, space heaters were plugged in all over the restaurant, while the air conditionning was on full blast. Not exactly a model of energy efficiency.

The Cinematic Parade Continues...

*whip whip* Here's another post.

So since YKSusan did only boring things yesterday (i.e. work) I have to blog..again. This is seriously cutting into my Facebook time. The things you'll do for your parents.

I walked around Frame Lake. The trail is kind of scrubby on one side and then hooks up with the more pedestrian friendly part which runs alongside downtown. Felt very Frodo a la LOTR settling out on my ginormous treck through 'the bush' while braving bears and such. Oh, picture -->

And then some overfit, overspandexed, unnecessary thing ran by me. Like it was just her normal everyday run. And then she'd go bake cookies for her kids, do some volunteer work & start on her Christmas cards.

The weather was tempermental to the extreme - it rained and shone three separate times during the walk. It's all about layers here. And not so much about my new patent leather flats.



While I didn't see or hear any hungry bears I did hear something which I thought was a loon. Until I listened to the movie later. It could have been an angry spirit back from the dead.

More pics of my walk:

The Leg looking like an evil spaceship -->(above)

Oh and we went to the Simpson's movie (hence title).

Note from mom: it's frickin' freezing here!

Working Vacation

OK so I'd say my mom flew me out here to be her blog slave except that I flew myself out here so really, I sprang my own trap. Funny how that works...

Yep so I went to the Prince of Wales museum today. Suprise suprise it has a giant painting of Prince Charles in it and he almost looks hot!! Granted the painting is from 20 years ago. I wish I had a photo of that painting now. It's making me kinda sad....

I saw exhibits on: Old Planes, Traditional Styles of Making Clothing, Artwork, Traditional Styles of Making Boats and...shoot...I dunno. The best part was the soapstone sculptures which never fail to impress me and the acrylics which make full use of the broad spectrum of colours that arise from the long sunsets and reflections off the ice. At least I hope that's what happens, this is the most north I've ever been, it could be pure exaggeration, who knows.

I also liked the video about the making of the moose hide boat.

Note to museum, fix your frickin' interactive exhibits! I don't know WHERE on your hard drive the slideshow is! Believe me, I spent 5 minutes looking but there was a lot of folders! Don't even get me started about the subfolders!!! I still love you though because you feed me in nice ways. But get more bison! That's what I really wanted!

This is far too long.

This is Susan doing what she does - multi-tasking. She can have a chat on the phone and flash you a cheery smile all in one go!

I went to Yellowknife and all I did was go to the Movies!

Bronwyn: Winter comes early to Yellowknife! Freezing today, low teens. It became sunny by the time we trudged off to the Taste of Saigon restaurant but it was still autumn-like. We ate delicious bowls of noodles etc. with the pleasant aftertaste of stomach ache. Then we saw Hairspray. A big draw on a Tuesday night - 1/2 price. The entire theatre was full. So yeah, we laughed through the entire thing. John Travolta was awesome as the mom of the main character. There was lots of singing and dancing. Very enjoyable. And caustic enough to keep me interested - most musicals are too saccharine, in my opinion. But still with the wonderful message of peace, happiness and love for all!!! What the heck else to write?

Where's the Sun?

Margot (from the morning show in Hx) asked me: Is it really sunny all the time in Yellowknife or do you just blog about the good days? Well, it actually has been an amazing summer. But today was cool and rainy, only the second day that's been consistently dismal. We did walk half the Frame Lake Trail to the Visitor's Centre without getting drenched. And we made it to the top of Pilot's Monument just before the clouds couldn't contain themselves any longer. But, as you can see, it was very windy.




The monument is on a hill in Old Town where tanks once held water for the original community. Now, it's a look-out spot, commemorated to bush pilots. The view is panoramic, taking in the downtown and the surrounding water, including Back Bay and Yellowknife Bay.





You also get a good view of the houseboats; many of them are anchored next to Joliffe Island. A couple of houseboats are advertised for sale in the paper this week. One, which is solar powered and has a generator, comes with a canoe. The price--$35,000. No wonder people want to live on the water. When a one-bedroom apartment costs $1,100 and a mobile home can fetch over $300,000, a houseboat is a bargain. Okay, so there are no services. And during freeze-up and break-up it's difficult to navigate back and forth between home and the mainland. And there's that small issue of what to do with your waste. But it all sounds so idyllic--from afar.