Monday

We arrived in Yellowknife late in the afternoon, and walked down stairs from the plane into the cold, cold air. We picked up our rental car, drove to our house, and found the plug for the engine block heater. At Coyote Family Steakhouse near our house, we had local pickerel, northern surf & turf (buffalo and arctic char), and poutine. We stopped by the grocery store for breakfast supplies; Grandma had packed cookies for dessert. When Kimberly's aurora alert went off around 11pm, we drove a few kilometers north of town and watched a wispy white aurora over the lake.

-47°C -53°F late Tuesday/early Wednesday night low
-40°C-40°F lowest temperature registered by car display
-30°C-22°F daytime temperature our first few days
-25°C-13°F highest temperature during our visit
We arrived in Yellowknife, walked down the steps from the plane, collected our bag, and set off for our rental house. It was -24°F, with an Extreme Cold Warning starting later that night.
warming up in our living room
Temperature in °F: It was about to get even colder, with an extreme cold warning for the next few days.
layered up to go out to dinner
NWT Brewing makes this beer just for Coyote Family Steakhouse.

Tuesday

The next morning, Kimberly walked to Frame Lake at the end of our street. The extreme cold had arrived: it was -36°F!

getting ready to walk to a lake down the street from our house
Walking along Frame Lake, my eyelashes and eyebrows froze at -36°F.
tracks across Frame Lake
On the way back, I spotted willow ptarmigan along the sidewalk.
Willow ptarmigan crossing the sidewalk
Their feet are covered in feathers in the winter.
Even more ice in my eyebrows and eyelashes!
We plugged in the car to an extension cord attached to a timer to keep it warm enough to start.

Our dog sledding trip was cancelled due to the cold. We took pictures with the thermometer, then went to the yarn store and Tim Horton's.

Dogsledding was cancelled because it was too cold: -30°C.
We took pictures with the thermometer near the dog sled staging area.
We dropped Grandma off at the yarn store and got donuts at Tim Horton's.
Evan threw boiling water into the air, where it instantly turned into snow.

Later in the afternoon, we drove the Dettah Ice Road across Yellowknife Bay. We got out to look at the amazingly beautiful patterns in the ice, and houseboats frozen in place for the winter.

In the afternoon, we drove on the 6km ice road across Great Slave Lake toward Dettah.
start of the ice road from Dettah
We pulled over to get out and walk on the ice road.
looking north toward Yellowknife
Most of the road is covered by snow, but there was a strip of ice on each side.

The ice was very smooth and slippery.
The sun lit up amazing patterns in the ice.
houseboats outside Yellowknife
This houseboat is stuck at an angle until the ice melts.
looking at the patterns in the ice

We had an early dinner at Copperhouse on the way back, then rested before our 9pm aurora tour pickup. The aurora alert went off as we were getting ready. Our guide Cristiano picked us up in his SUV, and we drove north and east, away from the city lights.

We left the big road and drove onto Prosperous Lake. Cristiano left the car running, so we could go back in and warm up when our feet or eyes got too cold. It was really, really cold: the car display only goes down to -40°C, but our guide said it was definitely colder. We posed for photos and went in and out of the car, watching the sky. The aurora was white and wispy to our eyes, but shows green in photos. Around 10pm, Cristiano knocked on the car windows to tell us to come out, quick! The aurora was expanding, dancing with movement and pink and purple color.

The aurora faded, and we got back in the car to drive to Cristiano's heated tent near Prelude Lake. We passed by a group of tour buses, and were glad we got to experience the aurora and clear arctic night with just our car. We waited in the car while Cristiano unstuck the frozen tent zipper and got the fire going in the wood stove. We sat on camp chairs and had hot chocolate and Timbits (donut holes) while waiting for the aurora to reappear. Cristiano kept an eye on the AuroraMAX live feed, and went outside to look regularly, but the skies were quiet. Around 1:30am, we drove back to town, stopping along the ice road to check out the ice patterns by flashlight.

critter tracks in the snow, lit up by the car lights
We drove away from city lights, but could still see a glow from Yellowknife.
AuroraMAX is a camera with a live feed, taking pictures with a 4 second exposure. My aurora alerts site collects screenshots every 5 minutes and sends notifications when the aurora is active.
The aurora mostly looked gray, but we could see swirling pinks when it burst into activity.
The car thermometer only goes down to -40°C, but our guide saw -47°C on another thermometer. He kept the car running the whole time we were out.

time lapse video by our guide Cristiano

time lapse video by our guide Cristiano

No lines, no crowds: just us, our guide, and one other traveler out on a frozen lake under dancing skies. (photo by Cristiano)
photo by Cristiano
photo by Cristiano
photo by Cristiano
on the Dettah Ice Road, with Yellowknife in the background (photo by Cristiano)
our phones showed -40° on our way back (same in both C and F)
We stopped along the Dettah Ice Road on the way back and lit up the ice.

Wednesday

We slept in after a late night, then went downtown to look for a mid-afternoon lunch. We dropped Evan and Sabrina back at the house, where they watched a flock of fluffy cute willow ptarmigan outside the window. Paul and Kimberly walked along Yellowknife Bay for a bit, looking for the trail to the ice falls, but turned back when the light started to fade.

willow ptarmigan outside the house

Kimberly & Paul walked out onto Great Slave Lake to look for the trail to the ice falls.
We weren't sure we found the right trail, and turned back because we were running out of light.
walking back up from the lake

The aurora alert went off again as we were getting ready, and it was already visible overhead when our guide Sean Norman picked us up at 9pm. He folded down the middle seat in his minivan so it was easy to get in and out, and had hot chocolate and cake for us. He drove out of town and along an ice road built by a gold mining company across Walsh Lake. We stopped next to a small island with snow-covered trees and wide open views across the lake. It was really really cold again (-40°C), but not as cold as the previous night. Sean said his car only registers down to -40°C, but he saw -47°C the previous night on a thermometer.

The aurora stretched from horizon to horizon overhead, with ghostly patterns that changed slowly as we watched. It was quiet and peaceful to be outside, just us under a huge sky. Around 11pm, Sean pointed out an aurora on the southern horizon that was a good sign for increased activity. We stayed warm in the car as it gradually thickened. Soon after, Sean knocked on the windows to tell us to get out: the aurora was moving ribbon right overhead. It looked like it was raining directly over us, with waving curtains and blooming pinks.

The aurora was visible over our house just before we met our second guide.
Sean lit us up and used a long exposure to capture the aurora in the background.
The aurora stretched from horizon to horizon. We turned around for another view.
from Sean's camera on a tripod, 10pm
looking north at 11:30pm (photo by Sean Norman)
We parked on on Walsh Lake, next to a small island with snow-covered trees.
The aurora was a ghostly rainbow over the island.
Just before 1am, the aurora expanded and danced overhead. (photo by Sean Norman)
(photo by Sean Norman)
(photo by Sean Norman)
(photo by Sean Norman)
looking north toward the island

Thursday

We went back to Tugáh Northern Experiences for our rescheduled dog sledding. We stayed warm in a cabin with a wood stove while they got the sled and dogs ready. We borrowed Canada Goose parkas and fur mitts, and loaded into the sled for a beautiful but very cold loop around Kam Lake. Our guide appreciated the new picture button on the iPhone, operable while wearing big warm gloves.

Paul and Kimberly went out to dinner at NWT Brewing; one last chance for poutine and flights of local beer, including Bug Repellent IPA and Honey Bucket Brown Ale. The aurora alert went off just before 11pm, but the sky was cloudy and we stayed in.

After dogsledding, we warmed up by the woodstove with hot chocolate and bannock (a biscuit-like bread).
We bundled up in borrowed Canada Goose parkas and fur mitts for a dogsled ride around Kam Lake.
Paul meeting the dogs after the doglsed ride. The dog wearing booties is a house dog; the sled dogs don't need them.
Grandma with the sled dogs.

Paul & Kimberly had poutine and beer flights at NWT Brewing.
The aurora alert went off around 10:45pm our last night, but it was cloudy. We saw aurora after we got above the clouds on our early flight out of Yellowknife.
Our wonderful guides, who took us out onto frozen lakes to experience the aurora and the peaceful arctic night: Sean Norman and Cristiano
Aurora monitoring: AuroraMAX camera and Kimberly's Kimberly's aurora alert site
Dogsledding with Tugáh Northern Experiences
Itinerary