The road of luxury is paved with ice.
I’m not sure how many people will read this. I suspect that during my 3 month sabbatical, I have lost some of my readership. But now that I have culled my audience to a manageable elite, I bring you the latest installment of “Life in the Knife.”
Part of the reason for my absence was that I didn’t have very much to write about the past few months. I have spent most of my time in Yellowknife where life is admittedly quite boring. I managed to finish module 1 of 6 of the Chartered Accounts School of Business (they are courses I need to take to get my CA designation), but other than that, I can’t think of anything worth writing home about.
However, last weekend I was sent out to a small community for a few days to attend an inventory count for one of our clients. This entry is mostly devoted to that weekend.
My entry will be about luxuries.
Roads are a luxury. In my mind, the greatest engineering feat in British Columbia in the last 30 years was the Coquihalla highway. Things are no different in the North. This time of year is winter road season. The community I was visiting goes by the name Gameti (or Rae Lakes if you prefer). The community is nestled in among some little hills which they call mountains and many, many lakes (as the alternate name suggests). The only road access to the community is during a four to five week period when the lakes freeze over thick enough to make a winter road from Yellowknife. The winter road is a true luxury. During this time, the community of about 300 will turn into a ghost town as everyone jumps into their trucks to drive to Yellowknife to stock up on Pepsi and ketchup chips (both are surprisingly popular in the North). As the weather warms, the road is eventually officially closed, at which time the residents will still brave the journey for a few weeks. Why do they bother spending the money to make the road? Well, unfortunately that is the only way that they can get the necessary fuel into the community to run the generators for the next 11 months. At this time they will also bring in any heavy machinery and building supplies that might be needed. The road is such a luxury that many community leaders are campaigning for an all weather road which, as you can imagine, is a great symbol of prestige for the community. Even Yellowknife does not have an all weather road (a ferry crosses the MacKenzie River in the summer, and an ice road in the winter). Unfortunately, this also opens the door for undesirable consequences for these communities, which are typically dry (no alcohol – the RCMP will search your bags coming off the plane, but a truckload of groceries is another matter). Yes, a road, like many luxuries, has its downfalls as well.
I will be in Vancouver until April 15th, so I will not likely be updating before then.
Until then, you will have to turn to other corners of the internet yet again.
Part of the reason for my absence was that I didn’t have very much to write about the past few months. I have spent most of my time in Yellowknife where life is admittedly quite boring. I managed to finish module 1 of 6 of the Chartered Accounts School of Business (they are courses I need to take to get my CA designation), but other than that, I can’t think of anything worth writing home about.
However, last weekend I was sent out to a small community for a few days to attend an inventory count for one of our clients. This entry is mostly devoted to that weekend.
My entry will be about luxuries.
Roads are a luxury. In my mind, the greatest engineering feat in British Columbia in the last 30 years was the Coquihalla highway. Things are no different in the North. This time of year is winter road season. The community I was visiting goes by the name Gameti (or Rae Lakes if you prefer). The community is nestled in among some little hills which they call mountains and many, many lakes (as the alternate name suggests). The only road access to the community is during a four to five week period when the lakes freeze over thick enough to make a winter road from Yellowknife. The winter road is a true luxury. During this time, the community of about 300 will turn into a ghost town as everyone jumps into their trucks to drive to Yellowknife to stock up on Pepsi and ketchup chips (both are surprisingly popular in the North). As the weather warms, the road is eventually officially closed, at which time the residents will still brave the journey for a few weeks. Why do they bother spending the money to make the road? Well, unfortunately that is the only way that they can get the necessary fuel into the community to run the generators for the next 11 months. At this time they will also bring in any heavy machinery and building supplies that might be needed. The road is such a luxury that many community leaders are campaigning for an all weather road which, as you can imagine, is a great symbol of prestige for the community. Even Yellowknife does not have an all weather road (a ferry crosses the MacKenzie River in the summer, and an ice road in the winter). Unfortunately, this also opens the door for undesirable consequences for these communities, which are typically dry (no alcohol – the RCMP will search your bags coming off the plane, but a truckload of groceries is another matter). Yes, a road, like many luxuries, has its downfalls as well.
I will be in Vancouver until April 15th, so I will not likely be updating before then.
Until then, you will have to turn to other corners of the internet yet again.
posted by Byron at 8:56 PM
1 Comments:
Good for people to know.
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