POLAR BEARS 2019 -1

In the early October I was invited To join the LightChase Photo Tour to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada to photograph Polar Bears, and other creatures of the North. My last trip there had been in 2012. I was curious to see how the change in weather over the past seven years had effected the area and the bear population.

On 1 November I was joined by my friend and photo compatriot, Lin, for the long day of flying. We departed San Diego at 0615 with a flight to Denver, followed by flights to Winnipeg, Canada, and onto Churchill. The transfer in Winnipeg made us truly aware of the weather as there was a cold wind blowing as we walked out onto the tarmac to board our flight to Churchill.

We arrived on time and were greeted by our B&B hostess, Ashley. By the time we got to the house it was well past dinner time, so we snacked on what was available in the kitchen. By now it was 2100 Central Time/1900 Pacific Time. Spent time unpacking and organizing gear for the stay in Churchill, before calling it a day and going to bed.

We had the pleasure of being able to sleep in on the 2nd of November as the remaining group was arriving this morning. Today was spent being tourists in Churchill. The first order of business was getting Canadian money. Then it was lunch time where we ate at the Tundra Inn. Lin and I split the lunch and  had plenty to eat. We visited the six gift/souvenir stores as this was the only day we would Not be out on a tundra buggy with early morning departures and post sunset returns. I was about done with the shopping ordeal after four!

 Sunday, November 3:

Today we spent exploring the surrounding areas of Churchill using our two rental vehicles. While driving, we saw one polar bear quite a distance away, and walking away from us.

 A couple of years ago there were some artists who came to the area, and added some art to the outside of a number of buildings. It certainly added color to the area.

During our roving about ....

TUNDRA BUGGY BASE

TAIGA FOREST

The taiga is a forest of the cold, subarctic area of the Northern Hemisphere that lies just South of the Arctic Circle. It lies between the tundra to the North and the temperate forests to the South. The taiga, generally referred to in North America, is a boreal forest or snow forest. The forest is very sparse.

We visited "Miss Piggy", the wreck of a Curtiss C-46 cargo plane. It crashed shortly after takeoff in November 1979. She was named Miss Piggy because she could be heavily loaded with supplies for the North.

Car rentals in Churchill are not of the newest models. The cars have a hard life up here, and are a bit the worse for wear. While stopped at Miss Piggy,  one vehicle decided it had had enough of the cold and would not start when we were ready to move on. As a result the occupants were shuttled back to town by the other car, and it was all reported to the rental company. we were given another vehicle which functioned fine for the remainder of our stay. (The temperature range for November here is in the low digits to -10˚F.)

LIN

After lunch we headed off to Blue Sky Expeditions for an afternoon of dogsledding. All in the group took rides of 2 miles in length. Then we were able to visit with the dogs while they had a free play time.  We then returned to town for a little break, and to make our sandwiches for tomorrow when we go out on the Tundra Buggy for a day.

ROBBIE AND TERRI

Dinner tonight was back at Blue Sky Expeditions where Gerald and Jenephor hosted a chicken dinner for us. We were also serenaded by one of the dog handlers with a violin concert. 

Finally it was time to call it a night and get back to our respective B&Bs, shower, organize our gear for tomorrow and get some sleep.