If you've ever seen the show Ice Road Truckers, you'll know that Yellowknife is the last stop before the truckers head north to the diamond mines, across the road made entirely of ice. It's open from late January to the end of March for the trucks to take supplies up to the mines. The rest of the year, the mines are accessible only by plane. Yellowknife is called the Diamond Capital of North America. Canada is ranked third in the world for diamond production by value, estimated to be between $1.5 - $2 billion a year because of the diamonds that come from this region, including the popular "Polar Bear Diamond".
Security at the diamond mines is tight. All employees and visitors go through extensive criminal background checks and onsite access to the mines is fairly restricted. They operate a "hands free" approach where the workers do not actually need to touch the diamonds. Each mine runs like a small city, with employees living onsite. Many of them work a couple of weeks on, then fly home to Yellowknife to see their families. The mine has everything they need - a cafeteria, full-size gym, squash/racquetball courts, exercise equipment and weight room, game room, television lounges, his/her separate saunas, golf-putting green, running track and a simulated golf driving range.
Popular food for the area includes buffalo and caribou, as well as fish caught right from the local Great Slave Lake. Dayven had dinner at the graffti-strewn Bullocks' Bistro (above), one of Yellowknife's most reputable restaurants. It's said to have the best fish and chips in Canada. They have bras hanging on caribou antlers, you get your own beer and you're actually encouraged to write your name on the wall.
Japanese tourists dominate the area in hopes of catching a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights. It's estimated that around 10,000 tourists come each year and the town really caters to them. There's a Japanese welcome sign greeting them at the airport, many of the restaurants have menus in English and Japanese and there are tours offered in Japanese. They're fascinated with the lights because they love beauty and nature. Yellowknife is the ideal spot for viewing them because it's flat and very, very cold most of the year. It's the biggest tourist destination in Canada for Japanese people. Air Canada even had to add more flights from Vancouver to keep up with the demand. There's really nothing glamorous about the tours. The tourists are crammed into school buses in heavy parkas, snow pants and ski masks. Following a short trek across a frozen lake, the group is shepherded into a heated tent for a short presentation in Japanese about the lights. The lights themselves are a gorgeous natural phenomenon and seeing them makes the trip worth it. Popular folklore says that conceiving a child under the lights brings good luck and wisdom to the child. I'm not sure how they manage to squeeze this task in during the tour.
Dayven didn't actually see the Northern Lights while he was there, nor did he make it to the diamond mines. All his meetings were in town at the dealership, but he did get a chance to drive on the ice road with one of the dealers.
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