Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, CanadaAcross the Northwest Territories From Inuvik to Yellowknife
During August 2023, massive wildfires rampaged throughout the Northwest Territories, coming within a few kilometers of centres such as Yellowknife, Hay River, Behchko, the K'atl'odeeche First Nation and Fort Smith. The small village of Enterprise was almost destroyed. The Territory was ablaze. One of the worst fires in the NWT's history, some 1.7 million hectares burnt. And two-thirds of the territory's 45,000 residents were evacuated.
Under imminent threat, the capital city of Yellowknife was evacuated, and thousands of residents drove the 1,500 kilometers to Edmonton in the south. Unrelenting international media reporting suggested that Yellowknife could be annihilated at any time. At one stage in our planning, we were on tenterhooks as to whether we would ever see the city on our route from Inuvik, NWT, to Iqaluit, Nunavut.
During 2019 and 2020, Australia experienced similar devastating wildfires. At our tiny village of Crowdy Head, the fires came just a kilometer away from our home.
Our one-way in, one-way out road was closed, we had no power or water - and our only way out if fires had reached us was to evacuate by boat.
Thankfully like Yellowknife, our village was spared. Needless to say, our hearts went out to those affected by the NWT fires.
Curiously, as we flew across the NWT that morning to our next destination of Yellowknife, we could not see any remnants of wildfire damage to the extensive taiga. But then again, it was the cold season, and the country was shrouded in thick snow.
A Late Afternoon Arrival from Inuvik
The Inuvik Mike Zubko* Airport is 12 km east of Inuvik. It has a military classification of Point of Entry for international passengers and is staffed by Canada Border Services. It also serves as a forward operating base for CF-18 Hornet military jets operated by the Royal Canadian Armed Services.
*Mike Zubko (1923-1991), a Polish immigrant to Canada, was a highly respected aviator who made a huge contribution to enabling air transport to the remote communities of the Mackenzie Delta.
The airport is serviced by Canadian North, Air North, Kenn Borek Air and North-West Airlines, which carries civilian passengers to many regional and remote settlements in the NWT and beyond. The airport was very pleasant. The main foyer featured a mandatory stuffed polar bear and a fascinating Arctic floor map. Like a massive globe, it was hard not to be mesmerised by the immense detail and orientation of the various countries sharing the Arctic Ocean coastline. Not surprisingly, Russia and Canada stole the lion's share. The map was so interesting that it felt barbaric walking over it.
Our Canadian North Airlines flight was almost eventful. We had not realised that once all the passengers had checked in, a flight could leave as early as it wished in northern Canada. Sitting around, waiting for the scheduled boarding time, we almost missed our flight, which left forty minutes ahead of time.
We were pleasantly surprised with our Canadian North Airlines flight. The service was excellent, and the inflight staff was friendly and helpful. We were even provided with a hot meal and drinks. Unlike our woeful European flight experiences the year before, it was served with grace, and there were no additional charges...
A Very Pleasant Evening at the Chateau Nova Hotel
As usual, Alan did a sterling job of selecting hotels. The Chateau Nova was no exception. Our hotel room was spacious, well-furnished, and very comfortable. Once again, we had the luxury of two queen beds, a refrigerator, and full coffee and tea-making facilities. There was even a guest's laundry conveniently located almost next door to our room.
The hotel was a bit out of town, but seeing that there wasn't much there, it didn't matter. Furthermore, the hotel operated a good restaurant that provided breakfast and evening meals - a godsend, not having to trudge through blizzarding conditions to find somewhere to eat.
We would have had to admit, however, that one of the best features of the Chateau Nova was its wonderful "Quarry Bar" which was always packed with friendly and interesting people. And a very special barmaid named Ann.
From the minute we met Ann, we became firm friends. She was warm, welcoming and a hell of a lot of fun. Everyone from the General Manager of the Nova Hotels to the guests in the bar just loved her. Megaphone in hand, she would call out to patrons, "Come on in, darlin's. Make yourselves at home. Now, what can I get you all to drink?"
On the other hand, Ann took her job very seriously. One eye was on the customers she was chatting with, and another was on anyone needing a drink or top-up at the bar. Ann ran her bar with tight precision.
The Quarry Bar was a great introduction to Yellowknife and an opportunity to make friends not only with Ann but also with several pilots, engineers, and other workers servicing the far northern mines and regional communities. Interacting with people living and working in the High North was fascinating, and it was the beginning of some lasting friendships in Yellowknife.
While Watching TV in our Room...
That evening, while watching the Canadian Broadcasting Commission (CBC) news on television, we were shocked to see full footage of the container ship Dali ramming into, and annihilating the massive Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US city of Baltimore, Maryland. The second-longest bridge in the US and third longest in the world, it carried some 34,000 vehicles per day.
The ship, out of control, hit some of the bridge piers full-on, causing it to reel, bend, snap and explode in seemingly slow stages before collapsing into the harbour. Fortunately, that evening, the bridge was closed for maintenance. Sadly, however, six members of a maintenance crew working on the bridge were killed. But it was a miracle there was not more carnage. CBC link: https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/operator-of-ship-in-baltimore-bridge-collapse-to-pay-100-million-in-settlement-222633029842
So far, the CBC television news had been saturation coverage
of the death and funeral of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. A
much-revered statesman, he was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from 1984 to
1993. He was given a state funeral with much pomp and ceremony just days
before, on 23rd March 2024. Commentators affirmed he was a fine person and a good
leader, often credited with helping to end apartheid and freeing Nelson Mandela.
There was also much coverage about the upcoming US
Presidential election in November 2024. President Joe Biden looked old, fragile and medically unfit. Certainly not a world leader. And as
usual, former President Donald Trump, blustering and abusive, behaved as grotesquely as
ever. Yet, this guy was Teflon-coated. The more aggressive and outrageous his
behaviour, the more his rusted-on supporters rallied around him. What a distressing choice of leaders. Surely, the US could do better than this?
And the Gaza genocide continued to be as horrific as ever.
While the world watched on with barely a “tut, tut…” The continued bombarding
and death of over 40,000 Palestinians, primarily innocent civilians, was
utterly shocking… Had the world turned on its head? Watertight, unconditional support for
Israel was sickening. Did it really have "the right to defend itself”? Yet a nation occupied by Israel, bombarded with incessant air strikes, and with virtually no food nor medical supplies allowed to enter, did not have this basic right? NO...
FIRST DAY IN YELLOWKNIFE
A Morning Snowmobile Trip
Alan and I have a great relationship. We may argue, but we rarely disagree on
anything significant - ethics, politics or even travel destinations... After all, who in their right mind would ever agree
to travel with someone to Pakistan on four occasions**, as well as numerous trips to "No Go" militarily sensitive Siberian Russia, Chechnya, Dagestan, Central
Asia, far western Uighur China or Iran?
** On one of our more dangerous trips, we arrived in Pakistan the day after Osama bin Laden was assassinated and stayed in the Kalasha Valley on the Afghanistan border of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, where we were under armed police guard travel for eight days. Yes, that was a memorable experience...
In saying that, the agreement bit comes to a dead halt regarding celebrations... I love
Christmas. Alan hates it. I love going out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. And that
just doesn’t happen unless I organise it. How we ever agreed to get married is beyond me. The fact that we cannot even remember the date probably says a lot.
It was my birthday, and I was determined to treat
myself to… umm - well, something. My Special Age Birthday the year before was a
disaster. We were in Oslo, both desperately sick from six weeks of ongoing flu and gastric issues.
I decided, however, that I could walk the five km to the local liquor store to buy us a
bottle of champagne, but on pulling up one of my socks, I also pulled a muscle in my lower back and was bedridden for the day. No champagne. No dinner. We were both too ill, anyway.
When we checked in to our Chateau Nova hotel the previous afternoon, I took a Destination NWT Ltd flyer advertising snowmobile tours from the front reception desk. It sounded idyllic. The
rides went over frozen lakes and through taiga trails. What really appealed, though, was
the company's emphasis on safety. Oh, and the heated handlebars and helmets and orientation in indoor heated conditions - whatever that meant... Furthermore, it was only CAD 130 per person for a two-and-a-half-hour tour - great value compared with a ridiculous CAD $500 for half-day tours quoted by some Nunavut companies.
Some of my readers may already know of the
accident-prone Alan and his disastrous snowmobiling in Magadan, Siberia,
where he managed to roll his snowmobile, breaking three of his
ribs. It was not a good sight to see the snowmobile upended and seemingly, no Alan... It was very like my dogsledding history of accidents. But that’s another story.
The end result was that we both said we would
never do either again… But realistically, adhering to my decisions is not my forte...
Quite frankly, I didn't expect Alan to come with me, but to my surprise, he decided he would. Perhaps he did want to celebrate my birthday? No, that was a bridge too far... After several "Are you sure you want to do this?" conversations, and much against my better judgment, I booked the two of us for a morning snowmobile trip. After all, surely he couldn't come to grief twice... I smiled as I recalled our former Prime Minister Paul Keating's witty comment about an opposition politician who had decided to run for re-election: "Can a souffle rise twice?" Well, with the introduction of the Twice-Baked Souffle, in fact it can!
We had hired snowmobiles in Svalbard, where the clothing provided was so poor that the biting cold ruined an otherwise pleasant morning. Although this hire company advertised free cold-weather clothing, we decided to use our good-quality gear and would be suitably dressed this time. And we needed to be well-dressed. We were told it was cold outside, around minus 25 °C.
Right from the beginning, the hire company was impressive. As part of our tour, we were picked up and taken the the company base on the edge of Kam Lake (behind Yellowknife Bay, north of Great Slave Lake), where we would pick up our snowmobiles for the tour.
Two lovely young Japanese women, Mariko and Mamame, joined us for the tour. Both worked for Yamaha; Mariko lived in Panama City, and Mamame in Toronto. Neither had ridden snowmobiles before.
Leon, owner of the hire company and tour leader, was, indeed, very particular about safety. Our 20-minute briefing included an overview of our gear and machines, how to ride them correctly, and lastly, how to roll one. "My god, that's all Alan needs!" I thought. But again, it was a safety issue, so we would know how NOT to roll a snowmobile and how to roll them more so that rolling them was almost impossible. "So was the sinking of the frigg'n Titanic", I recall thinking...
After thoroughly inspecting our clothing to ensure it was appropriate, Leon led us on our snowmobiles down to the frozen Kam Lake, where we practised our riding skills. He insisted that he would not let us ride through the taiga trails until he was satisfied we could handle our snowmobiles. We were instructed to travel in small circles, practise tight turns and keep sufficient distance between each other.
Our snowmobiles were top-quality, huge, heavy machines, each weighing around 250 kg. They were not easy to steer or turn, so it was good practice for us to ride these monsters on the flat.
We were told the machines were locked at 60 km per hour, but even that speed felt mega fast on an icy windy morning. It was great fun, though, and we must have passed the test. Interestingly, the two young Japanese women took to it with seeming ease.
So, it was off toward the taiga trails, a series of winding, steep, narrow trails lined with gorgeous snow-clad birch and spruce. You sure didn't want to make a mistake when turning. There was very little room for error. Leon led the way, and we set off at a great pace.
Our first incident happened - thankfully just before we hit the trails. This time, it was me. My balaclava (yes, my top-quality one) had slipped down over my eyes, completely obscuring my vision. As I could not remove my helmet, I was stuck. Grounded and blinded, I had to stop and wait until Leon, realising he had lost a member of his team, came back to rescue me. My trip was more stressful because I could not help but think "What if this happens again?"
From previous experience with bike helmets, there was no way I could remove it on my own. Alan was the same.
Turning on the trails was difficult, though, and although I am not religious, there was a lot of praying at each trail junction that the machine would actually turn. Leaning into bends and turns as we were instructed did not always seem to work for me. Furthermore, if I hit a mogul a bit fast, one of the front skis would fly alarmingly into the air, causing the snowmobile to land at what seemed like a death-defying angle. It sure was not all that easy... Or safe, for that matter.
But as I began to relax, the ride was delightful. After a few hours, we returned to the base via a steep, narrow lake embankment. Leon went first, followed by Mariko and then me. Alan and Mamame were close behind. I can so clearly remember thinking, "Thank goodness Alan survived that trip without incident - and with any luck, he may have even enjoyed it..."
Back at the base, I was about to dismount from my machine when we heard screams from Mamame. Like the Titanic, Alan had done the impossible once again, managing somehow to roll his snowmobile on the steep slope. It was horrible to see him lying helpless under the enormous machine. And it took Leon and some other workers a long time to lift the snowmobile off him. By a miracle, Alan was not injured. His leg was locked - as intended - into a groove in the machine body - which protected it from injury. But understandably, he was badly shaken. And I think Leon was as well. Here is a very short video of the winching process. Note I still had my helmet on, as I couldn't get it off! https://youtube.com/shorts/_97_Nw_KP34?feature=share
In the end Leon had to winch Alan's snowmobile off the track using another snowmobile as it had jammed so tightly in the narrow space. Of course, we were curious to what had happened. Alan said he was riding very slowly when one of the skis prodded into the side of the track, slipping it onto its side. Leon admitted that he had no idea. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Perhaps Alan was going too slowly for the steepness of the slope? Who knows? One thing we knew was that Leon was in no way responsible. He had done everything possible to ensure our safety.
Back at the base, Leon plied us with hot chocolate and snacks. By then, Alan had turned from ashen grey to a better rosy colour, and we could even laugh.
A Very Pleasant Finale to an Overly Exciting Day
We were more than ready for a drink when Ann opened her bar at 5:00 pm. And a few gins and tonic slipped down remarkably well as we talked about Alan's snowmobile adventures. "Say, you really rolled your snowmobile?" asked Ann incredulously. Well, yes. And not the first time, either...
The bar patrons were friendly and curious, and a few joined our animated conversations. One was Daryl, an Alaskan pilot who worked for Lynden Transport, flying cargo into the more remote mining communities in Canada's North.
Another was Hunter, a young transport engineer who, at the tender age of just 21 years, was responsible for the transportation logistics of the air cargo. Both were delightfully friendly and super interesting people.
Both Daryl and Hunter held highly responsible aviation jobs. Their working hours were huge, often involving three long flights per day. But they seemed to take it all in their stride. After all, Daryl laughed that he had been flying planes since he was thirteen. And it was not until he turned 17 that his uncle (also a pilot) told him it was about time he got his aviation licence! From what we gathered on our Arctic travels, things are pretty relaxed in the High North...
There was no doubt about the bar, it was a great place to relax and meet people. And understandably, it was just what Alan needed. I'm not sure, however, that his accident was exactly what I wanted for my Perfect Birthday, but at least I enjoyed my snowmobile morning. Ruefully, I thought, "Alan sure knows how to stuff up a good birthday...".
DAY 2 IN YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknife: A City Built on Gold & Sustained by Diamonds
Situated on the northern shore of the massive Great Slave Lake, Yellowknife is the capital of and the only city in the Northwest Territories. It is about 400 km south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay and close to the outlet of Yellowknife River.
A former frontier settlement, it is an extraordinary outpost in some of the remotest regions of northern Canada. It surprised me just how young some of the Arctic townships were. But I guess they were so isolated and the climate so severe that these places could not develop until aviation became more common.
I often wondered why Yellowknife was named as such, and many people have asked me the same question. In fact, Yellowknife was named after a local Dene tribe, also known as the "Copper Indians" or "Yellowknife Indians." These people traded in tools made from copper deposits that were yellow in colour. Today, Yellowknives people are found in Yellowknife City and the local Indigenous communities of Dettah and Ndilǫ.
The city's most common Dene Yellowknives name is Somba K'e, meaning "Where the money is". A fitting name for a town with a rich gold mining history.
Gold was first found in the Yellowknife Bay area in 1898. The discovery, however, was regarded as unimportant because of the concurrent massive Klondike Goldrush. It was also disregarded because Great Slave Lake was considered too far from significant settlements.
In the late 1920s, aircraft were first used to explore minerals in Canada's Arctic. In the early 1930s, samples of uranium and silver were uncovered at Great Bear Lake. In 1933, gold was discovered in the Yellowknife River, followed by deposits in Yellowknife Bay. The Con Mine was the best gold deposit, and its discovery led to great excitement and the subsequent development of Yellowknife in 1936-37.
Yellowknife boomed in the summer of 1938. Many new businesses started, including Hudson's Bay Company, the Canadian Bank of Commerce, and a hotel and drugstore. By 1940, the population had increased to one thousand; by 1942, five gold mines were in production in the Yellowknife region.
During 1944, mining virtually stopped when men were conscripted for the war effort. That year, large gold deposits were discovered at Giant Mine on the northern end of town, resulting in a massive post-war staking rush to Yellowknife. It also resulted in discoveries at the Con Mine site. Yellowknife expanded from the Old Town waterfront, and a new township was established during 1945-46.
In 1967, Yellowknife became the capital of the NWT.
In 1991, diamonds 300 km north of Yellowknife were discovered, beginning a new mining rush and a fourth building boom. The last of the gold mines closed in 2004.
On 1 April 1999, the NWT was split, forming a new territory of Nunavut to the north-east and east. From here on in, Yellowknife would be the capital of a much reduced-in-size NWT, with Iqaluit becoming the new capital of Nunavut.
Today, Yellowknife is primarily a government town and service centre for diamond mines. It is also a hub for industry, transportation, communications, education, health, commerce and tourism. The economy, once underpinned by gold mining, is now booming due to diamond mining.
Tourism is the largest renewable industry in the NWT, with Yellowknife being the main entry point for visitors. The Aurora Borealis, the extreme northern climate, and the traditional lifestyle are the main attractions for tourists.
Yellowknife has a subarctic climate. Interestingly, the winters are predominantly polar, with lows down to the minus 50s. Conversely, heat waves can occur during mid-summer. Located in the rain shadow belt of mountain ranges to the west, the city averages less than 300 mm of rain annually. Yellowknife is known for having the "sunniest summer" in the country.
Geographically, Yellowknife lies on the Canadian Shield***, which scoured the earth's surface to rock during the last ice age. The surrounding landscape is rocky and undulating. In addition to the massive "inland sea" of Great Slave Lake, the region is littered with numerous smaller lakes.
***The Canadian Shield is a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton, the ancient geologic core of the North American continent. Glaciation has left the area with only a thin layer of soil, through which exposures of igneous bedrock resulting from its long volcanic history are frequently visible (Wikipedia)
Natural vegetation is mainly comprised of spruce and birch, sedges, and lichens on rocky ground in the north. As the Canadian Shield covers much of Canada and the climate is so cold, it is not favourable for traditional agriculture. Much of the vegetable growing is undertaken in glasshouses, which includes mainly tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, capsicums, green beans, eggplants, and various herbs and microgreens.
DAY 3 - TAXI TOUR OF YELLOWKNIFE
An Amusing Breakfast
We awoke to yet another glorious day. And at just minus 2 °C, it felt almost balmy. And it was lovely to look out of our hotel window onto a forest of illuminated, sunlit spruce and birch.
Over breakfast, we discussed our plans for the day. Initially, we were thinking of exploring the Dettah Ice Road, but as Alan said, we had driven along many ice roads, and why would this one be much different? We were, however, keen to visit the Inuit village. Once again, hiring a taxi for a few hours to take us around Yellowknife, hopefully including Dettah, sounded like a practical plan.
Breakfast was an amusing affair. Unlike the very good evening meals, breakfast was only just average. We watched a hotel guest sitting at a neighbouring table trying to spread jam on his toast. The jam was so dry that it formed amazing tough ball bearings which refused to spread. Very soon, his table and ours were sprayed with jam bullets going in all directions. A new plate of jams was offered. But it didn't help. We just had more bullets... A small issue, but it was funny to watch. I don't think that Alan would have agreed..
A Taxi Tour - Meeting Our Eritrean Taxi Driver
So far, we found all the staff in all the hotels we stayed in to be highly professional, friendly and helpful. The Chateau Nova was no exception.
The young woman at the reception remembered us from the day before and asked how our snowmobile tour went. We told her the truth but went to great lengths to ensure we were fair about what happened. As we said, we had been on many snowmobile trips and had never been given such a thorough briefing—or, come to think of it, any briefing—let alone Leon's impressive attention to safety details. It was just one of those inexplicable situations.
Within minutes a taxi driver was organised, and we were picked up for our morning tour.
Our driver for our morning taxi tour was a delightful young Eritrean man. Samiel (name withheld) and his brother had immigrated to Canada just two years before and hoped to arrange for more of their family to join them. From what we witnessed on our travels, Canada was refreshingly welcoming and generous to their immigrant population. And the far-flung destinations of Inuvik and Yellowknife appeared to be good starting places for newcomers. They certainly were multicultural destinations. Our Eritrean friend laughed. "We like Yellowknife very much, but it is a bit cold ...!" Yes, it would be just slightly different from Eritrea's primarily arid and extremely hot climate!
Samiel spoke excellent English. Friendly and considerate, he gave us a very good tour of Yellowknife. It may not have been a standard tour guide's historical or geographical description of Yellowknife, but it suited us perfectly. Monuments, museums, churches, and souvenir shops that tourist agents tend to focus on were not what we are interested in. Once again, it was pleasant to be taken around Yellowknife and observe how people went about their day-to-day lives. In any case, we were more than interested in Samiel's past experiences and how he came to live in Canada.
Our first destination was indeed the Dettah Ice Road. On our way down to the road, we were intrigued to see several small portable dwellings on the frozen Yellowknife Harbour. The day before, Leon had talked about his ice fishing tours, which provided fishers with a warmed tiny hut where they could comfortably fish through a hole cored into the ice. Having experienced bitterly cold and uncomfortable ice fishing several times in Siberian Russia, it seemed a very good idea. But there was no chance of enticing Alan into ice-fishing adventures - even with a heated hut! I had to agree.
After such a relatively warm night, ice had melted and refrozen on the roads, making for dangerous, slippery conditions. However, the road was very beautiful; its surface was laced with crazed clear lapis blue ice, the brilliant colours extraordinary.
The Dettah Ice Road is 6.4 km long and traverses Yellowknife Bay on Great Slave Lake. The winter road season is fleeting. Historically, it opened in December, but the warmer last years have seen the road's opening delayed to January. The ice road provides a much-shortened trip for those travelling to and from Yellowknife, while the winding summer road is some 27 km long.
Dettah village supports just 220 people. A thriving First Nations community, it has been a summer gathering site for Yellowknives Dene for generations. The village, shrouded in thick snow was attractive and well-maintained. Small, neat cottages lined the roads. A delightful blue and white church of St Kateri Tekakwithwa sat perched on the higher ground. Interestingly, we did not see a single person, or for that matter, any vehicles on the streets. It was typical of what we had seen in the smaller, more remote villages during our travels in the Yukon and the NWT. In winter, sensible local people bunkered down indoors...
Our next stop was at the Snowking Winter Ice Festival, a park full of exquisitely carved ice statues. The month-long festival is an annual event held on the frozen Yellowknife Bay, featuring dance, magic, theatre, music and other entertainment.
The footage looked lethal and Alan sensibly decided not to risk the slippery conditions, maintaining he had had enough adventures for a while. Samiel also stayed in the taxi. But I felt obliged to look through the park.
The sculptures were beautifully carved, and the attention to detail was breathtaking. What a shame I thought they would be melted into muddy pools in a short time. Within a few steps, I fell flat on my back on the glassy surface. Looking at the sculptures from a distance would be more than sufficient.
Our last morning visit was to Latham Island, an outcrop north of Yellowknife city accessible to the mainland by bridge. A wooden lookout platform provided splendid views of the old town and Yellowknife Bay. However, the numerous steps to the lookout were long and very steep, not at all appealing for 86-year-old legs, so I went on my own.
I met a delightful young Australian couple who asked if I would take their photo here. They had been living in Canada for some years and were visiting Yellowknife on vacation. We chatted for a long time, had my mandatory snapshot taken, and then departed on our way. There was no doubt about Canada. The friendliness and politeness must have been infectious. Even the visitors were charming.
Our journey back to our hotel took us via a liquor store. Many of our coming destinations in Nunavut were dry, so we needed to stock up, at least for the next few nights. Alcohol-friendly Rankin Inlet was our next destination, followed by a one-night stay in the Nunavut capital, Iqaluit. But then again, it was the Easter break, and we had no idea whether stores would be open. How we would fare in the alcohol-free settlements was a different story. We would just have to cope... And we did.
To our surprise, we very much enjoyed our stay in Yellowknife. For some indecipherable reason, some places just take you away with them. And Yellowknife was one of those destinations.
That evening, I felt a real pang of sadness that we would probably never visit the town or meet its warm and friendly people again. But sometimes, some curious and unexpected events can override even the best-laid plans...
2025-02-13