Finally a Return to Reality

The weather had to improved sometime, and today was the day.  We got word in the morning that the sun was actually shining in Churchill, and the visibility was clearing at Seal River.  While I’m so sad that our bonus days are coming to an end, I am very happy to get home to my own little wildlife.  Though I think Guinness will be showing her displeasure for a few days.

Since I would be getting home a few days late, I had to call into work to explain why I wouldn’t be showing up on Saturday.  Might be the best call I’ve ever made.  “Sorry I won’t be able to make it to work, I’m stuck in the Arctic.”  I’m not entirely sure the supervisor believed me.  Luckily I have the photos to prove it.  

There was a bit of wait and see in the morning to be sure the plane was going to take off.  While we waited in the lounge we did get to see some bears moving along the ice.  Then we got word the plane was on the way.  As its the end of the season, only one plane was flying.  They put 9 of the guests on the first flight, and I was one of the three chosen to go to the second flight with some of the staff that were getting to escape today.  

After the first group took off, we were treated to a mother and two COYs walking across the ice towards ice.  Myself and the two remaining guests watched from the tower platform as they got closer.  Frustratingly as they got close we were summoned down to head to the runway.  The film crew is staying behind and it looks like they got some amazing footage as the bears got close to the lodge.

On the plane we were updated that there was a massive herd of caribou just passed the lake north of the site.  The pilot told us to have our phones ready.  I was filming take off and actually got to see another mama and two cubs racing across the lake below us before we came upon hundreds of caribou running along the tundra.  It was just an epically wonderful way to end the stay at Seal River.

Landing in Churchill, we had most of the day to wait for our evening flight out.  We first went to the Blueberry Inn, which is owned by Churchill Wild, to have a light lunch.  Then most of us went out for a tour of Churchill, we stopped at the Inukshuk built by the beach.  There is a church that has a stained glass window that was donated to the area by Lady Franklin in memory of her husband.  A small museum of beautiful Inuit carvings and artifacts going back thousands of years.  Then we also stopped at a few little shops to buy some local art and fun trinkets.

Dinner was at a lovely local restaurant named the Ptarmigan.  There motto is Good Ptimes.  Then we were shipped off to the airport.  The weather had started to close in again, but after some de-icing our flight made it out of Churchill.  We got to Winnipeg just two days late!   Now of course I am ready to head home, and my Toronto bound flight is delayed by a couple hours, mechanical issues this time.  So while my vacation is over for now, I have a few thousand pictures I should be sorting through as I relax in the lounge.

Thanks for following along!  I had a great time and could not recommend this place enough if you every want to walk with the Polar Bears!

Another Day in Wintery Heaven

This morning dawned foggy and icy again.  So we are in a holding pattern waiting to see if the planes can make it to us.  It is a small 9 seater hopper plane from Churchill landing on a runway at the lodge that is only approached by line of site.  The ice in Churchill is also bad that they can’t even get out there.  

So, the morning will be spent watching for more polar bears.  The gorgeous little girl from last night seems to have come back.  She’s curled up just out side the dining area.  It’s hard not to give human emotions to a bear.  But based on her small size she seems so young, and maybe lonely after Mama booted her from the nest.  

As the day doesn’t seem promising for airplanes, but perfect for walking we went for another hike.  After going about 50m down the road way, we found Frack wandering back to the lodge.  So we turned back to follow him.  He got very curious about the shed and exploring the windows, and all of a sudden popped out around a corner towards us.  Frack just really seems to want some friends, so we had to drive him off.  The best part is that the group in the lodge got a video of us with him so close!

We stayed by the lodge to see what he would do next, and if the little Princess would spook, but he wandered north across the lagoon and she kept sleeping by the BBQ patio.   A few others decided to keep hiking, I was a little worn out from the heavy work my ankle is doing so I stayed back.  I was also just fascinated with Princess and watching her curled up so close to the lodge was amazing.

After lunch, as we were getting reading there were shouts of “Wolf on the runway! Wolf on the runway!” Everyone was falling over themselves to get outside to see.  Well, it wasn’t a wolf.  But it was a gorgeous red fox so no one was truly upset.  We got some great pictures before a small group headed out again to go to Two Bear Point.  The wind was a lot calmer but of course we had the icy fog to deal with, which isn’t great for photographs but makes for one hell of an atmosphere!  We didn’t see any bears or foxes out there today, but we saw lots of tracks.  There have also been so many wolf prints, but no wolves have wanted to make an appearance this trip. 

We climbed up to Two Bear Point, and then walked back along it to the lake at the north end of the runway.  As we were walking back along the runway we got updates of Frack in the area again.  We angled out across another pond to try to cut him off.  When we got close, there was another update that Princess had gotten up and was also moving towards us.  Curious to see how they would react to each other, we stopped near the road.  Princess noticed Frack first and made a hard turn and passed us by to get away from him.  When Frack noticed her, Princess was already on the move.  He tried to catch up to her, poor guy really just wants some friends.   

So we waited till he passed us by, and then headed back into the lodge for what would likely be our actual last dinner in Seal River.  It was delicious of course, then they showed us a movie called Field of Bones that was a self shot documentary of a Russian scientist who studied Polar Bears in Siberia.  It was interesting to see his experiences.  

A few more foxes, including a Cross Fox, came by the lodge to say good bye.  And then to bed, curled up with my polar bear hot water bottle dreaming of snuggly bears. 

Time to Go?

It’s our final day here in Seal River…or so the itinerary says.  We were up at 6:30 for breakfast and the first flight out was at 8:00.  Well, as they say, when man plans the gods laugh.  Though there are certainly worse places to be stuck!  While the weather here at Seal River seems to be improving, the light is soft and perfect for photographing the bears that wander by.  

Our plane however hasn’t made it out of Churchill.  The temperature is hovering around freezing, so I guess that area can get a lot of fog.   So we wait. And wait.  Luckily while we wait, some polar bears have wandered by.  We watched one big guy travel along the ice towards the lodge, and then went outside to take pictures as he got closer.  he was walking around the lagoon to the north for a bit when another bear popped out.  One wanted to play, the other didn’t.  So we watched till they got bored of each other.  

As we continued to wait, the weather here seemed to be getting better.  The icy fog in Churchill was the problem.  Though it turns out that flights from Churchill to Winnipeg didn’t get out either, so we definitely weren’t going anywhere.  

So we did another hike.  A small group this time again, as we hiked back to the kill site to see what was around.  We saw one bear napping on an island in the lagoon, but he bolted before we even got close.  His tracks were so neat to see, they were perfect and clear he was running fast.

We saw another bear napping by the kill site, it was the one eared bear we saw yesterday.  He is now known as Van Gogh.  He didn’t move much and with the blasting wind and icy snow it was hard to get a good picture.  We took a new route back along Two Bear Point to the north end of the runway.  It was gorgeous just looking at the lake from there and all the ice covered trees.

After an easy walk back, we relaxed at the lodge waiting for dinner.  Which was interrupted by a very young looking polar bear that wandered up to the compound and then curled up under the window to nap.  She was just so adorable.  Definitely wanted to snuggle.

So off to bed, wondering if we will escape tomorrow.  But the forecast is looking like more of the same.