Cameron River Falls - outside of Yellowknife

The Ingraham Trail extends for about 70 kms east of Yellowknife. It was built in the mid-1960s as the first leg of a 'road to resources' into the interior of the Arctic but it stopped far short of its ultimate goal.  Nowadays, in the winter time the Ingraham Trail extends for about another 200 kms to Lac de Gras and three diamond mines that are in operation there.  This ice road is shown on the first season of Ice Road Truckers.

The Ingraham Trail just bypasses the old Giant Mine which entered production in 1948 and ceased operations in 2004. It produced over 220,000 kg of gold.

There is currently a large remediation project happening at Giant Mine and that's why some of the buildings are wrapped in enormous sheets of plastic.

All along the Ingraham trail there are several campgrounds and walking trails and the one I did today was the Cameron Falls Trail which is located within Hidden Lake Territorial Park.  The scenery along the trail was spectacular, as were the 17 metres high falls.

 You can easily tell which way is north (the darker side - which is actually a green power that will rub off) and which way is south (the white side) when you're walking in these forests - the bark on the popular trees tell you

Just to prove I was there

Back in Yellowknife I went to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territory.  The building was opened in November 1993 and is the first permanent home for the Legislative Assembly since the late 1880s when the Council sat in Regina.
The dome-covered, circular shape represents the non-partisan consensus system of government and the cultural traditions of northern people.  In the consensus system all Members are elected as independents.

Speakers in the Legislative Assembly form 1975 to 1993 used this chair as Members travelled to communities around NWT and held sessions in community gymnasiums, halls and other facilities in an attempt to bring government closer to the people.  The chair was dismantled and loaded on a Hercules aircraft, along with other equipment and supplies and shipped into communities for these sittings.

The Chamber is where the 19 Members of the Legislative Assembly work on behalf of the people of NWT.

The Caucus Room is used mostly for private Caucus and Committee meetings.  The room is also home to a series of paintings done by A.Y. Jackson, a member of the Group of Seven, depicting northern mining landscapes.

And for those who didn't know, Margot Kidder, the actress probably best known for her role as Lois Lane in four Superman movies was born in Yellowknife.