Mike and I climbed up to Pilot's Monument to get a view of the city from a great vantage point. The picture right gives you a view of downtown YK from "old town". From this point, you also get a great view of YK Bay (Great Slave Lake) and the Back Bay. Float planes, boats, barges and houseboats are sprinkled all over the bays; some anchored, some moving. You can see how difficult it is to build here... it's all rock underneath. Canadian shield. Solid. Difficult to penetrate for those who want their houses to stay put.
And yet there is new development, perched on an incline looking over Back Bay there is a new row of housing going up. I don't see any housing coming down, so I conclude that YK is growing. Nice, though, that it's still the kind of place you can move around in without a car. You can drive, take the transit system (all of maybe three buses?), ride a bike (snowmobile in the winter) and of course, you can walk. Really. It's a good hike from one end of town to the other, but certainly do-able.
If you live in a houseboat, you have to canoe to shore first. And you need to acquire your own source of potable water and deal with any sewage waste on your own. Oh yeah, and provide your own heat and electricity. That's the trade-off for not having to pay property taxes... you need to supply all your own utilities.
But doesn't it look like a serene way to live? No neighbours right beside you, no late night noises from firetrucks, ambulance or the kids down the street having a backyard party. Nice. Just the lapping waves and the odd motorboat. And floatplanes using the bay for take off and landing. Watch out!
But doesn't it look like a serene way to live? No neighbours right beside you, no late night noises from firetrucks, ambulance or the kids down the street having a backyard party. Nice. Just the lapping waves and the odd motorboat. And floatplanes using the bay for take off and landing. Watch out!
That's what the beacon on top of Pilot's Monument is for. It's there to warn boaters in a visible (flashing) kind of way that a float plane is coming in. Keep an eye on the sky... especially if you're in a canoe or kayak.
No sunrise or sunset pictures this trip. According to time and date dot com, the sun rose at 4:37 AM this morning and will set at 10:50 PM tonight. I may be up to see the sun go down but I'm certainly not up early enough to catch it coming over the eastern horizon!
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