Chillin’ in Churchill

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Our last day in Churchill was a chilly 24 degrees but we were warm with excitement as we walked to the helipad for our helicopter ride across the tundra!  We were in good hands with Captain Frank who treated us to a 90 minute tour of the tundra.  Jim and I kept tabs on things from the back seat.  The magnitude of the area, and the vastness of the barren land was even more obvious from the air.  We got a birds-eye view of the Ithica, a ship that grounded and is rusting away in the bay.  We also got an aerial view of a research center for scientists and researchers who visit from around the world to study polar bears in the winter and vegetation in the summer. The area is fenced in for bear resistance, and almost looks like a prison because of the remoteness and stark contrast to the surrounding area.  We could hardly “bear” to contain our excitement when we began seeing bears, bears and more bears!!  We saw two families—a mom and two cubs who were frightened by the helicopter noise, so we didn’t hang around to watch them very long.  We found a solo guy ambling along the beach, and two guys chilling in Churchill in the kelp along the water.  There were so many that we lost count of the number of bears that we saw. What a thrill to be able to see these magnificent creatures in the wild!  We also saw a food source for them…either a moose or a caribou providing nourishment out on the tundra.  Another interesting sight was the Prince of Wales Fort built in 1732—the oldest military fort in North America.  Can’t imagine waiting in this fort for the enemy to come across the bay. Brrrr.

We could see the entire city of Churchill from the air. In the background is the train that is grounded because of the damaged tracks.  We heard the train is being loaded on a ship at the end of the week and being transported to another location where it can be used to generate revenue.  The locals feel this is a sign that there are no plans to repair the track.  What a shame for these folks.   We explored the city, took pictures of murals, visited the gift shops, and ran into this “celebrity” from Polar Bear Town.  There is a tv series showing on the Smithsonian channel about the polar bears that was filmed in Churchill.  One episode featured a girl that was mauled by a polar bear in Churchill on Halloween night.  Jim recognized her, and asked for a photo!  Now we need to re-watch the series and see what else we recognize!  We went to the post office to get a stamp on our passport from Churchill and found this posting that updates locals on the bear count—there are only 3 bears currently in the Polar Bear jail, 2 occurrences this week, 81 reports to date, 9 bears handled and 6 released! Whew…the polar bear patrol has been busy.

What a wonderful experience we’ve had Chillin’ in Churchill, seeing the polar bears in their own environment, as well as learning about them and the people in this remote area of Canada.   We returned to Thompson on the chartered plane (we can get used to flying like this!)  Spot got a good report from his caretaker Colleen, who said she even took him to her home for awhile.  He was so excited to see us, and is thrilled with his new toy…a polar bear!