Highway 1, Northwest Territories
When we crossed the 60th Parallel at the NWT border, we left the Alberta road system and entered a new highway system for the Northwest Territories. Thus begins Highway 1. The section of Highway 1 between the Alberta border and Enterprise has been designated the NWT Highway of Heroes, in honor of the sacrifices made by armed forces, police, and emergency responders who have died while in the line of duty. We are going to stay at Twin Falls Gorge Campsite, and will visit these falls and Alexandra Falls, which are nearby. The southern NWT is in its second year of drought, and due to the extremely low water, these falls are not as impressive as they usually are. But, falls are always impressive anyway, and they are on the Hay River.
But first, we need a well-deserved dinner of Moose Sirloin Steak, Prawns, and potato salad, and of course our homemade wine.
We thought moose would be appropriate.
INSERT IMAGE OF TWIN FALLS
Alexandra Falls from the viewpoint.
The local aboriginal people, the Dene, call this land Denendeh. The name signifies the land, and it comes from a word meaning a life source that comes from the Creator. Denendeh traditionally extends from what is now central Alberta along the Dehcho (Mackenzie) Basin to nearly the Arctic Ocean and from there to the Yukon-Alaska border to east of the treeline.
The South Slavey are the Dene tribe of the region. This region includes the northern portion of the western provinces all the way north to Fort Wrigley and parts of the Yukon. Traditionally, the South Slavey lived in separate clans. In winter, each family used its own smaller area for trapping furs. In spring, families lived together as a clan. In the summer and fall, the abundance of food allowed the clans to live as a tribe.
The Dene ask the spirits to cleanse hunters and make them invisible to the animals they hunt. Because animals are pure and much closer to the Creator than humans, they can sense evil in humans and will avoid evil hunters, but they will offer themselves to those who are pure and good.
In this region, moose is traditionally the most important animal for food and clothing, and for sheltering people with their skins. On the morning of a moose hunt, the hunter makes an offering to the Creator for protection and guidance, to cleanse the hunters and to help them become balanced in mind, body, and spirit.
Our next stop is Enterprise. A forest fire ate this little community of approximately one hundred residents in 2023. They’re moving back in, but they’ve lost some important landmarks and saw many changes. The last photo is of a mileage sign that was melted by the fire, but still stands today, even though you can’t read it. Northern humor.
INSERT PIC OF ENTERPRISE
Enterprise got its start back in 1948 to serve travelers on the first highway constructed in the Northwest Territories. Then, as now, this was the place where two exciting paths diverged. Highway 2 leads northeast to Great Slave Lake and the communities of Hay River, Fort Resolution, and Fort Smith and Wood Buffalo National Park, while the Mackenzie Highway sets off northwest toward Yellowknife, Fort Simpson, and beyond.
Next stop: Highway 2 and Hay River!