Kole Crook Fiddle Camp - Yellowknife 2012Kole Crook fiddle camp
Report from Ragged Ass Road
The land of the midnight sun; so much a part of the mythology of Canada that it is hard to separate the reality from the mythos which includes the poems of Robert Service , the gold rush and a vision of endless tundra scantly populated with polar bears, caribou ,wolves and the northern tribes of indigenous peoples. There are also the tales of a thriving insect population which includes misquitios, black flies , deer flies , horse flies and my personal favorite, no-see-ums ...
This was my first trip to the north in the summer time , and it’s always nice when an event turns out so much better than expected...this was very much the case with my recent trip to Yellowknife NWT. From the moment of arrival to “the barn” a beautiful house with incredibly gracious hosts,(thank you Shannon, Clair and Christine!) situated in the old town along the colorfully named Ragged Ass Road, ( the signs were fixed with at least 10 screws since they were a popular item for visitors !) I felt very much at home. From my window at 1 am it was light enough to see the houseboats on the Great Slave Lake and my in my ears the melodies floated , a pleasant remnant of the nightly fiddle jams; I would go to sleep knowing that awaiting me in the morning was kickass coffee and balkan yogurt.... how can you go wrong!?
The group of 9 young fiddlers I was in charge of were a complete delight as were the surroundings ..sand , sun and a perfect lake to escape the heat. Very fun to hang out with all the other instructors... Rod, Bonnie, Trish, Geoff, Clayton, Pam , Chrystal, and Westley, and special thanks to Gerta for organizing it all.
Perhaps someday I will return to this enchanted land , to live on a houseboat and enjoy once again the charm of restaurants like Bullocks where the sign on entry reads “no sniveling “ , the colorful and quirky personalities squatting in shantytown, and the peace of the many lakes , large and small surrounding Yellowknife.
Report from Ragged Ass Road
The land of the midnight sun; so much a part of the mythology of Canada that it is hard to separate the reality from the mythos which includes the poems of Robert Service , the gold rush and a vision of endless tundra scantly populated with polar bears, caribou ,wolves and the northern tribes of indigenous peoples. There are also the tales of a thriving insect population which includes misquitios, black flies , deer flies , horse flies and my personal favorite, no-see-ums ...
This was my first trip to the north in the summer time , and it’s always nice when an event turns out so much better than expected...this was very much the case with my recent trip to Yellowknife NWT. From the moment of arrival to “the barn” a beautiful house with incredibly gracious hosts,(thank you Shannon, Clair and Christine!) situated in the old town along the colorfully named Ragged Ass Road, ( the signs were fixed with at least 10 screws since they were a popular item for visitors !) I felt very much at home. From my window at 1 am it was light enough to see the houseboats on the Great Slave Lake and my in my ears the melodies floated , a pleasant remnant of the nightly fiddle jams; I would go to sleep knowing that awaiting me in the morning was kickass coffee and balkan yogurt.... how can you go wrong!?
The group of 9 young fiddlers I was in charge of were a complete delight as were the surroundings ..sand , sun and a perfect lake to escape the heat. Very fun to hang out with all the other instructors... Rod, Bonnie, Trish, Geoff, Clayton, Pam , Chrystal, and Westley, and special thanks to Gerta for organizing it all.
Perhaps someday I will return to this enchanted land , to live on a houseboat and enjoy once again the charm of restaurants like Bullocks where the sign on entry reads “no sniveling “ , the colorful and quirky personalities squatting in shantytown, and the peace of the many lakes , large and small surrounding Yellowknife.