The Polar Bears of Churchill

eenusaeenusa Registered Users Posts: 186 Major grins
edited February 13, 2009 in Journeys
In November 2008, we went to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada to see polar bears in the wild. It was a terrific experience -- you can find the full story in my blog, starting with this entry:

We started off with two days in Winnipeg -- it was cold, but that did not stop us from seeing the sights.

Here's what's left of the 1908 St Boniface Cathedral after the 1968 fire. The current smaller church, the fifth to be built on this site since 1818, fits inside the limestone ruins and can be glimpsed through the openings in the façade.

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The Leo Mol Sculpture Garden at Assiniboine Park - lots of wonderful sculptures, but these whimsical bears were my favorite.

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After we joined our group, we headed north to Churchill. The town greeted us with near-blizzard conditions. Nonetheless, we went exploring. This is an inukshuk that was built to honor the Inuit culture. The white structure in the background is the grain terminal at the Port of Churchill, which is open for short periods of time during the summer months.

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We opted to stay at the Tundra Buggy Lodge ... rustic accommodations to say the least, but it was so worth it. Here's a glimpse of the TBL on our only really sunny day - note the visitor in the lower left corner.

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And here's a shot of the interior of our bunkhouse - we each had a small cubby with thick, velcroed curtains for privacy.

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We had fantastic bear viewing - not only at the TBL, but when we went on the tundra in search of the bears. Being curious by nature, the bears came right up to us -- the whole experience was better than I ever imagined it would be.

Here's one of the bears checking out the second bunkhouse at the TBL.

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And here are a couple of bears from our days on the tundra.

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After our time with the bears, we had another day in Churchill before our charter flight returned us to Winnipeg ... this time the weather was much more agreeable.

This is the VIA Rail Station in town - there is a Parks Canada Interpretive Center inside with some very interesting exhibits ... also a good place to seek shelter from the cold temps - it was as low as -31F while we were there.

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If you'd like to see more photos from our trip, check out the Eismeisters of Churchill gallery. Forgive my journalistic style ... which means, lots of photos.

Comments

  • Awais YaqubAwais Yaqub Registered Users Posts: 10,572 Major grins
    edited February 2, 2009
    Fantastic series ! must be great fun ! and amazing place
    Thine is the beauty of light; mine is the song of fire. Thy beauty exalts the heart; my song inspires the soul. Allama Iqbal

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  • SnowgirlSnowgirl Registered Users Posts: 2,155 Major grins
    edited February 2, 2009
    Excellent shots. I'm so glad you had a worthwhile visit to our frozen north! your polar bear shots are amazing. But don't be fooled by those benign faces; any one of them could and would rip you in half if provoked.
    Creating visual and verbal images that resonate with you.
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  • jthomasjthomas Registered Users Posts: 454 Major grins
    edited February 2, 2009
    I enjoyed your gallery very much. In addition to the wonderful bear shots, the ones of the ptarmagin were spectacular. What lens were you using for these?
  • Ed911Ed911 Registered Users Posts: 1,306 Major grins
    edited February 3, 2009
    jthomas wrote:
    I enjoyed your gallery very much. In addition to the wonderful bear shots, the ones of the ptarmigan were spectacular. What lens were you using for these?

    Very nice...good coverage. And nice post processing.
    Remember, no one may want you to take pictures, but they all want to see them.
    Educate yourself like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.

    Ed
  • eenusaeenusa Registered Users Posts: 186 Major grins
    edited February 3, 2009
    jthomas wrote:
    I enjoyed your gallery very much. In addition to the wonderful bear shots, the ones of the ptarmagin were spectacular. What lens were you using for these?

    Most of the wildlife photos were taken with a Canon 100-400L ... many at the low end of the zoom because the bears were often right up at the buggy.
  • eenusaeenusa Registered Users Posts: 186 Major grins
    edited February 3, 2009
    Thank you all for looking; glad you enjoyed the shots ... it really was a fantastic trip.
  • summerzsummerz Registered Users Posts: 494 Major grins
    edited February 3, 2009
    iloveyou.gif Amazing journey and gallery, gave me a bit of snow blindness lol almost like I was really there, thanks.thumb.gif
  • TWOLOSTTWOLOST Registered Users Posts: 22 Big grins
    edited February 4, 2009
    Awesome series of images in your gallery!!

    Thanks so much for sharing.
    Cheers,
    ---Bruce---


    My Content Home Base:... McCallum Racing Enterprises
  • koushkoush Registered Users Posts: 66 Big grins
    edited February 13, 2009
    ah geez now you have gone and made me homesick:cry

    I grew up in Winnipeg and spent the first 30 years of my life there, then migrated to the west coastof canada, and now Australia:D

    Great series of photos of the North's prime predator.

    btw ...Inukshuks can be found all over the North of Canada, often in the middle of nowhere.

    ( I have one made of bricks in my Australian back yard)
    don't get your knickers ina twist, it doesn't feel good and makes you walk funny
  • eenusaeenusa Registered Users Posts: 186 Major grins
    edited February 13, 2009
    Thank you all for looking and commenting.
    koush wrote:
    ah geez now you have gone and made me homesick:cry

    I grew up in Winnipeg and spent the first 30 years of my life there, then migrated to the west coastof canada, and now Australia:D

    Great series of photos of the North's prime predator.

    btw ...Inukshuks can be found all over the North of Canada, often in the middle of nowhere.

    ( I have one made of bricks in my Australian back yard)

    In addition to the homesickness, hopefully I brought back some nice memories of your years in Winnipeg. We'd like to someday go back in spring or summer to see more of what the area has to offer. The Eskimo Museum in Churchill had an interesting article about the inukshuks where I did read that they can be found all over northern Canada. We did get down to the edge of Hudson Bay in Churchill to see an original inukshuk -- the pile of rocks is in the middle of the "polar bear alert" area, and with so many boulders around to give the bears cover, we didn't deem it prudent to explore it for long :D.
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