Iceberg Inn Churchill

... by ourselves. Even a fire alarm would not be a good enough reason. The fire alarm would probably be false, but the polar bears were a constant threat. We were also introduced to Silver, a dog kept on site to detect the bears.

This first day was a joining day so we had nothing to do. We headed up to the observation post and looked for bears. If we noticed a bear on site we were instructed to tell a staff member at once – the construction workers outside would ...

... people who come to see the Polar Bears in the Autumn. It would be a really hard life.

Anyway, we hired some pants to protect us from the cold, had some lunch, looked at the Eskimo Museum (which had some really amazing carvings) and did a little shopping - there are several shops selling souvenirs and Inuit art. At 4.30pm we got on a bus to be taken to the Tundra Buggy Launch. Around 5pm we got on our Tundra Buggy. Officially going from the bus to the Tundra ...

... back into town on a high and piled into Gypsy's Bakery for some local fare - I had roast caribou which was delicious - and a bottle of wine before retiring. The next day Ceila, Mike and I watched Granma make bread and baked goodies for a while before heading off to get our passports stamped at the post office. They have a stamp with a polar bear on it and it makes a lovely souvenier. Also went to the little museum at the train station and ...

Today we went out on the Tundra Buggy to see more polar bears. It is a cold, cloudy day today with a little bit of snow falling. Right away, we saw a polar bear driving to the Buggy, then we saw another bear. A few minutes later, we found a mother and two baby cubs. They were about a year and a half old. We watched them for a long time, right ...

... we saw a wrecked army plane called Miss Piggy and also the Polar Bear jail, where they keep polar bears who come into town. We also saw polar bear traps. Sometimes bears get hungry before the ice freezes and try to come into town. If they do, the town sometimes catches them and takes them out by helicopter. The town mayor and council and other people have a polar bear watch program that keeps a watch around town for polar bears, but sometimes some get in. A polar bear was ...

... to global warming, there is not much snow, just muddy trails, so we used a special cart with wheels. Charlsi and I got to be the mushers with Gerald. We got to stand behind the sled and hold he leashes to guide the dogs. To get the dogs to run, you shout, "Hike!", but some people say, "Mush!". To stop the dogs you say, "Whoa!" or "Halt!". When the dogs think they are going to pull a sled, they jump around and go crazy and howl and bark and yip. Today, they used ...

... buggy is a cross between a diesel-powered monster truck (five-foot high tires and a heavy duty chassis) an old municipal bus (a 30-foot long, big-windowed white box, all riveted together), and an amphibious landing vehicle. Each Tundra Buggy also has an open-air viewing deck on the back. It is ideally suited for driving on the rough roads and through the shallow icy lakes ...

... like to refer to them as. Then the train was late (apparently it always is) so we had an extra 3 hours before we left. We pulled out the books and cards and killed the time. Finally we got on the train for about 9:30 that night and got ready for the long night ahead. Now... to get to Churchill, you either have to take the train or fly, there ...

... of the trip crosses marshy lake areas. The subsurface permafrost which the train has relied upon to provide a stable and hard base for its tracks for close to 90 years has been slowly and unevenly melting and causing slumps in the ground. In order to avoid derailments, the train has to slow down to a crawl in spots...as little as 10-15 km/hr.

... sounds scary, but polar bears, though bold and inquisitive, don't normally see humans as a source of food because we're too lean. Unless the bear is angry or frightened, it's probably just curious and won't hurt you. The thing is, you can't tell what's going through a bear's mind and have to be prepared for the worst. It's a balance. Don't assume it will attack you and overreact, but don't assume it won't and be taken off guard. Better yet, don't meet one on the ground at all ...