Churchill, MB I (8/1/2023)

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Another early morning, with breakfast at the hotel, then the Frontier North Adventures group met in the lobby at 7:30 to be transferred to the Winnipeg airport. Checked in at Calm Air, and we were allowed to check a bag for free (thank you!). The 10:30 flight was delayed an hour.

Massive Bear Claws at Rocky Mountain Chocolates

Calm Air ATR 72 Turboprop C-FMKJ airplane,
with a ramp to board instead of stairs

Arrived in Churchill, MB after a two-and-a-half hour flight

Pete and Dylan with a polar bear skin (KSS)

Twenty of us fit in the Frontiers North Adventures bus;
however, our luggage went separately in a truck

The air control tower in Churchill, MB;
the air was smoky due to wildfires

First thing, [my] lunch at the Seaport Restaurant:
 the sandwich of the day was "Montréal smoked meat,"
a variation of corned beef, along with chicken noodle soup

Seaport Restaurant

We stopped at Polar Bears International/PBI for a talk about
the life of polar bears and how climate change has
endangered the ability of females to have cubs (females
must have a minimum amount of fat on their bodies
to gestate), which could lead to their extinction

PRI provided beer and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!

Tamiko next to Tundra Buggy 1, donated by Frontiers
North Adventures for use by PBI to study polar bears,
with bunks and cooking appliances for long outings (KSS)

What?! It's time for dinner already;
an Alexander Keiths IPA from Nova Scotia

This time I had elk meatloaf with
mashed potatoes and grilled zucchini

Kent had fish and chips

Dinner was at the Tundra Pub & Dining Room

Our hotel was the Tundra Inn

Although it was almost 20:00, Kent and I went on a beverage run to Tamarack Foods, unsuccessfully.

Two of the wolf statues that were part of 
promoting the city of Thompson as
'Wolf Capital of the World;' Spirit Within
 (2015, by Charles Johnston)

The Spiirit Guides (2015, by Charles
Johnston) was sponsoired by Frontiers North

Parnassia palustris/Northern Grass of Parnassus or Bog Star

Kelsey Boulvard towards the port grain elevators (KSS)

Castilleja raupii/Purple Paintbrush

Churchill Weather Station

Polar bear statues in Churchill, the "Polar Bear
Capital of the World" (Kelsey Boulevard)

Encounters at the End of the World (2017, by Kelsey Eliasson)

Footprint (2017, by Mandy van Leeuwen)

Rest Easy (by S Cook)

Chamaenerion angustifolium/Fireweed;
its name is due to the fact that it is one of
the first plants to appear on burned ground

Linaria vulgaris/Common Toadflax

A nesting box on every light pole

Mother and Child Polar Bear Sculpture
near the War Memorial

Churchill War Memorial by the Churchill
Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion to
commemorate veterans of the First World War,
Second World War, and Korean War

The Final Destination (2017, by Stormy Angeconeb)

Part of the Churchill Complex (1976) that houses a
health centre and hospital, K-12 school, library,
swimming pool, indoor playground, ice hockey arena,
gymnasium, theatre, day care, and cafeteria

The indoor playground

Drowning Victims Monument commomorates
three children who drowned near here

We Swim in the Same Waters (2017, by Charles Johnston)

Car with electric plug at a parking spot outlet,
to keep the engine from freezing in winter

St Paul's Anglican Church (1890-1892, from
pre-fabricated components)

Polar Bear Crossing sign and an Inukshuk on the
shore of Hudson Bay

Power of Nature (2017, by Arlin Graff)

Inukshuk means "in the likeness of a human" and
are Inuit stone markers that serve several functions,
including guiding travelers, warning of danger,
assisting hunters and marking places of reverence.

The Last Winter (2017, by Dulk)

Last Dance (by Kelsey Eliasson)

Polar Bear with Cub mural (by Kelsey Eliasson)

Hudson's Bay Company blanket

Next: Beluga Whale Zodiac Tour.