After coming back from our first night of aurora viewing, we pretty much slept through the morning and didn’t leave the hotel till noon. Luckily the temperature was warmer, so we didn’t freeze as much as we did the first day.

We began our day touring the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. It was a little tricky trying to navigate our way to the museum, partly cause our reference point (the lake) was completely frozen over. LOL. It was actually very interesting cause there were people playing hockey in a makeshift rink right on top of the lake. We just ended up following a trail of flags towards the museum entrance. =P

Once we arrived at the museum, we began touring all the exhibits. The great thing about the museum was that it was free of charge. The museum was also quite extensive, with exhibits showcasing the local flora and fauna and the Aboriginals who live in the Northwest Territories. It was fun being able to tour the museum at a leisurely pace, especially since there was hardly anyone inside.

After we finished, we headed back downtown to grab a late lunch at Sushi North. During my time in Yellowknife, I learned that eating out in the city is very expensive. The quality is obviously nowhere near the restaurants in Toronto, but the prices are jacked up by a good 20-30%. However, the reason we wanted to get sushi in Yellowknife was to try arctic char sashimi, which is a local speciality. (Honestly it tasted like salmon to me!)

Once we finished eating, we backtracked past the museum and headed towards the Legislative Assembly Building. The staff inside were very pleasant and got us set up with an audio tour of the building. There was nothing overly special about the assembly, but it’s worth a visit if you’re interested in learning about local history. Plus it might be the only place where you can find a polar bear rug right in the middle of a council chamber! =P

After we were done our touring, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up, then Jackie picked us up to go for dinner. After our disastrous walk to Old Town the day before, it was nice having a friend who had access to a car. (^_^) Jackie first drove us to visit the Ice Castle they built on top of the highway as part of a local festival. It was also really neat seeing all the boats frozen in place. Since Lake Ontario never completely freezes over in the winter, it was a new experience being able to drive directly on top of the lake.

For dinner we headed back to Bullock’s Bistro, which was surprisingly open that day. From the moment I stepped in I could already see why it’s sort of a local landmark – it was totally crazy inside. All the walls were completely plastered with photos, stickers and messages written in all different colours of ink. The staff were one-of-a-kind. They have a rule where they refused to get water for their customers. So in order to get a drink, it was all self served tap water from the sink. LOL

However, the atmosphere inside was very unique and the food was excellent. We all ordered the grilled arctic char, which came with a salad and fries. It was super yummy and filling. It was also great to be able to catch up with Jackie. I felt bad that she insisted on paying for our dinner, but it was a nice surprise running into a friend on vacation.

For our second night of the aurora viewing, I was totally more prepared than the previous day, except we saw zero aurora. Haha. One more full day in Yellowknife to go!