...Swiss Alps, 2008

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Tundra Day 2

Headed out at 7:30 when Kevin picked me up, along with 6 other people from my motel and we went on to pick up several other people. The 18 we were supposed to have turned into 30, and I was worried but everyone was kind and shared windows. We had a film crew from Korea on with us. They are doing a documentary on Churchill, and me being me asked all about it. Interesting and it will be on the PBS type station there. I became an instant star, they interviewed me for the show!!! Mitzi (Nitzi) a star in Korea! :-) That was fun... Kevin always get interviewed and I told him I was taking after him. Anyway the guys were great and we laughed a lot, even though they didn't speak much English. One was interviewing me and another was translating it into english. Pretty cool.

I had dinner with Kevin's family last night and told him I was requesting only one thing, to see a mom and her cubs. He reinforced that you never know what you will see and I know that, just said i was putting in my request. Well, we weren't 10 minutes away from the 'launch site' where you get onto the massive tundra vehicles, and there was a mother nursing 2 cubs in the willows! They eventually sat up, looked at us and then walked away over the icy pond. What a way to start a magnificent day! We saw another mother and 2 cubs, all looking quite healthy! Saw a few bears, including one trying out the ice to see if it was ready to head out. It was a bitter cold day, but the ice wasn't ready so he carefully put his weight out on the four paws and walked back in. Fascinating to see nature take its natural course. The temps were -24C with the windchill when we left, when we got back in the bus to come back the driver said it was -30C It was very windy, so that was the right temps. At -40 both celius and farenheit are equal so that gives you an idea of how cold it was. I hope that this is truly the beginning of the ice and the bears head out soon to eat. Perfect timing for this visit.

The day continued to get better and better! We saw ptarmigans, my first time and they were beautiful little birds hopping around on the ground. We saw some gulls that were special, don't know the names. Finally I saw white arctic foxes. I've seen the red but wanted to see the white ones. It appeared that it was a mom and kit, and they were fast asleep and then mom woke up, strethed and pooped and hopped off. She really did look like a kangaroo the way she moved. When she was out of sight, the smaller one woke up, sniffed the air, stretched, pooped and hopped off after her...another peek into arctic life! We saw another white fox run through the willows, swiftly he was out of sight. After lunch we were treated to a fabulous show of polar bears sparring in the distance. I think my rented 100-400 lens was worth every cent and more. Other than the blinding windy snow, I got incredible pictures and videos of the arctic... We finally left the bears still sparring, an unusually long time which says they are probably young adult males and the cold helped them. On our way back to the 'base' I wass looking out at the icy, peaceful setting as we bumped along and saw a rabbit just eating. I yelled to Kevin to stop and I was pretty much speechless, couldn't even get out what I was trying to say, how could it be that we were seeing another arctic creature, all in one day? So all I got out was it was a white rabbit and to back up. Someone asked if I meant an arctic hare. Yes, that is what I thought it was. I was sure it would be gone from the noise of the tundra buggy, but when we backed up, there he was just calming sitting and eating the grasses, white as snow! All that really showed up was the dark patches at the ear tips and his eyes and nose and you could see his face twitching, well the whiskers, as he ate. He was huge, as are all arctic hares Kevin explained. Truly an unbelievable day! And after a rather stressful trip to the motel, and then to the airport after changing from the warm wear, I was finally on my journey home. I was checked in by Steven, Kevin's nephew and he had a list by the computer of messages that Sandy, Kevin's wife, wanted me to have before I left. so funny! Small town for sure! He was a great kid and while I was in line to check in, he was telling someone he went with Mitzi to see the bears at the dump and pointed me out. Felt like a local celebrity today! Kevin made a big deal about having me with him today and I felt so special. He took such good care of me, making sure I always had a window to see the sights. I felt so cared about, like I spent the day with a great friend in a dream location! We talked about Seal River, a place where you walk with the polar bears and also about the place where the mother and cubs come out of the dens in March. Both are outrageously expensive but quite unique experiences. So many wonderful things to do in the world.

Saying goodbye to Kevin was so hard when the day was over. I've had dinner at their home the last two nights and we had a wonderful time. His whole family just took me in and made me feel so comfortable! His children are darling and the baby, a year and a half old, really wanted to tell Mitzi everything. I read to her and her little eyes just lit up, she walks around with books in her hand saying "Read please". The cutest!! Their 8 year old son was interviewed by a German group and evidently did quite well. A great family and dear new friends...

Now to sleep and tomorrow on with my homeward journey!!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

POLAR BEARS IN THE TUNDRA OF HUDSON BAY

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Tundra Day

So much to say there is no way to say it, what a day! The highlight could have been the bears we saw sparring since I've never seen that before, or the bear that stood up and looked in at us which I didn't get a picture of, but it was the bear who seemed to be fascinated with my boots from under the steel grate on the back deck. I stood there and his nose was about 2 inches away, under us, and when I moved my boot, his nose moved with it. yes, what a special day with the bears roaming wild and free in their natural habitat! Sweet polar bear dreams!
Polar Bears - Day 2

 
 
 
 
 
 
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Monday, November 14, 2011

Polar Paradise - Trip 3 - Day 1

Greetings from Churchill, the Polar Bear Capital of the World! Yes, it is my 3rd trip here, but I am quite sure I will never tire of watching these magnificent creatures in the wild! Such beauty and if you know me, you know it is quite challenging not to just get out of the vehicle and give them a huge hug!! So warm and cuddly! But I will have to settle for my dear Bram as huggable, these creatures are to be admired from a distance.

Distance, however, is relative. Yesterday was my first experience to see the bears up close and personal. Sitting in an SUV less than 6 feet from them at times, was thrilling. Yes, I am truly like a kid at Disneyland here. No words for the thrill of being an observer as my favorite animals conduct life in the wild. Well, okay there were other vehicles around too, so it wasn't a solitary experience, although I believe that each person there was having their own solitary experience with the bears. Each of us is touched in a different way as we watch wildlife in nature. However at this site it was evident that humans have impacted life here, even if just a bit. There was Digger, the young bear who has been working on that hole he is digging for at least 3 days! There must be some pretty good grain or leftovers down there! And then there was Druggy, (my name for him) who follows the cars around sniffing the fumes and eventually stands up at the cars' sides to get up close and personal. Easy to believe he is getting his own kind of 'high' from the gas. A frightening sight actually. Then there was the bear who was totally occupied with a green tarp that had evidently flown off the back of a truck, he was like a dog with a new toy. The other bears wandered and rested. It was a beautiful day, new snow and sunny blue skies.

The manager of my motel took me out and she knows how to be safe. For instance you can't have the window open if you aren't looking directly out because a bear could come out of nowhere and have his paw in the window. They move quite quickly when they want to. This
was an amazing new experience for me. I've always been in the large tundra roving vehicles and to be in a regular vehicle, at times only 6 feet from a bear, was thrilling! When the bear stood up on the van in front of us, the girl I was with explained how dangerous that was, with
strength that can dig through feet of ice, they could harm a person with no effort and then they would be put down as agressive and
dangerous. So when people are irresponsibly interacting with the bears, they could be setting that bear's fate, endangering the bears' lives. This trip I am more like a local and loving it!

After my hour at the 'dump' we came back to town and I wandered. It was a quiet day in Churchill and as everyone here said, truly beautiful!
Sun and snow. I decided to take a walk down the main street and have lunch at Gypsy's. It is a bit far from my motel but I decided it was a
good day to walk. The upcoming days might not be so beautiful for a walk and I'll be eating closer to the motel.

A bit of history: I spent christmas 2007 on the ship, Marco Polo, cruising from Buenos Aires to Antarctica and then to Ushuaia. I met my British friends, Peter and Terry, there for the adventure. That is where I met my other British friends, Diana and Alec. On that trip there were two other special people who I met and got to know. One was Nestor Gude, a well known gaucho performer whose show we had seen one night in Buenos Aires and he appeared on our ship to be the entertainer. The other special person was Kevin, called the polar bear man from Churchill. Well by then I'd seen many documentaries of the town and bears, and knew that the people involved with snow and Klondike at the Denver zoo had been there. I talked to Kevin and he assured me that a trip to Churchill was safe. People here knew how to live with the bears and the weather. Not long before the polar bear season I decided to look into the polar bear trips and ended up being very brave and headed to Hudson bay to see my favorite animals. It was a terrifying trip, one that took me to my limit, and I survived. I did see Kevin here, by chance somewhat, and a man I had met in Antarctica was saying hello in the subarctic tundra! Life can be so interesting! On my 2nd visit I saw him as we were boarding our tundra vehicle. And this trip I called him ahead of time and had a lovely chat with his wife and will be having dinner with them. I'm so looking forward to an evening of polar bear stories from the expert! Kevin happens to be the driver for many of the celebrities who visit. Right now there is a member of 'black eyed peas' in town with his girlfriend and Ryan Secrest is also here. I wouldnt know them if i saw them. And then there is Mitzi...

The flight here was perfect, plenty of room on the plane and the flight attendant has time to visit. He was telling me about the mining exploration going on in Canada now. I had no idea that they are finding gold and diamonds north of here. So much to learn about the world!

Well, back to lunch at Gypsy's...I was enjoying the hot roast beef sandwich, watching the people come in and out. I went up to order on of the beautiful desserts and there was a lady in front of me with a little girl and the owner, Helen, called her sandy. When the lady had walked away I asked if thar was by any chance sandy, kevins wife and she said it was. So the lady I'd talked to on the phone from Colorado ended up having lunch at a table right next to me! Yes, Churchill is a small town, but it is still amazing that we would happen to be at the same place at the exact same time at tables next to each other! So I went and introduced myself and we became fast friends! What fun to have a friend in Churchill! We visited for a long time and then walked together towards her house and my hotel. She later made plans to pick me up for a morning trip to see the bears.

After a short nap, I chatted with some people in the commons room of my motel. We were sharing polar bear pictures and I found out that when I'd thought I'd gotten videos of a bear rolling on the ground, I'd not pushed the right button and there were no videos at all. The three people helped me figure out how to do that so now I am ready. One person was a young man doing some surveying for the new dump. He was working with a gunman that was to protect them from the bears. There was another couple who came by train, pretty much on their own, from Winnipeg. The bears are truly something to see for so many people.

I invited the young girls who manage this motel to join me for dinner and they had a friend fly in from Winnipeg, so we went for a great dinner at the lazy bear lodge, where I used to stay. What an enjoyable evening with local people, I learned a lot about Canadian culture.

A very special first day in churchill, Manitoba!

A bit of my history...In December 2007 I was in A
Day 1 Polar Paradise Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Saturday, November 12, 2011

Winnipeg Again

Well, I'm settling in here in Winnipeg for the evening. Early tomorrow morning I will be on a Calm Air flight to Churchill. In the meantime I will have to repack for the trip. I can only take a very small carry on suitcase on the plane so I packed it in my large suitcase and now will do some creative packing for my onward journey. My camera equipment will have to go with me, as well as some warm weather clothing. The allowed size and weight concern me, but I am sure I will make it work. And hopefully all my luggage will make it there with me I'm a little concerned because Alec and Diana's had to be on a later fight when they visited a year ago.

I was quite surprised when we arrived in Winnipeg. I was so comfortable with the old airport and had no idea the new one had opened. So the familiar part of the trip was not so familiar after all. The flight was not good, it was smooth, the flight attendant was adorable and we had a lot to talk about, a lot in common. However the men behind me and the one across from me were all headed here to hunt and for 2 hours I had to listen to animal killing stories. It was terrible! So many that it took everything I had to not interrupt with my opinion. I know many people do it and love it but I have to say that I still can't understand the whole idea of killing things and then sharing the gory details of the animals' deaths. Broke my heart when I am headed here to get a glimpse of the beautiful polar bears whille I can. Yosef said that the majority of people headed here now are coming for hunting and I said I didn't like the idea of all those guns on the plane with me. He started telling me about the secure box in cargo where they are put, but it still makes me very uncomfortable. I usually come earlier in the season and guess I've been lucky not to share the plane with hunters before. Usually the plane is filled with people going and returning from Vegas, a popular destination for people in frozen Winnipeg.

I was very glad to get off that flight! I made it through customs without being interrogated but I am sure it was the man who did it before. He seemed to be trying to get me to say something that didn't fit, but my visit is simple, I'm simply here to see the bears. No killing from this lady! No stories, Churchill for a few days and then home.

After getting my luggage I had to walk through 2 parking lots to get to the old hotel that was across the street fromm the old airport. When I arrived I found out they have a shuttle now so I'll be taking that in the morning, no more venturing through parking lots with a cart of luggage! The wheel on my large suitcase broke off and that was the start to the day. I guess it is okay, it just rolls a little bit slower onlly having one wheel. Travel, have I mentioned it is more trying these days!

The sunset in Winnipeg was gorgeous! It's cold here but no snow. Yosef told me that it snows later and later here. He isn't looking forward to it, I'm hoping for it in Churchill at least! It's hard to believe that I am so close to the bears at this point. After a fun visit with my Winnipeg buddy, Mr. Perlman, I'm going to repack, eat dinner here at the hotel and try to get to sleep early for my early, long day tomorrow.

Au revior from Winnipeg...next entry will be from Churchill!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Adventure in Words - Theirs and Mine

THEIRS:
One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure – William Feather

As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death – Leonardo da Vinci

Somebody ought to tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit every minute of every day. Do it, I say, whatever you want to do, do it now. – Michael Landon

Death is more universal than life, everyone dies but not everyone lives – Alan Sachs

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go – T.S Eliot

Follow your bliss, and doors will open for you that you never knew existed. Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls - Joseph Campbell

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe hoarbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intentions of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, WOW – What a Ride! Anonymous

I do not want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well – Diane Ackerman

The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it. W. M. Lewis

It is never too late to be who might have been – George Eliot

And the day came when the wish to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom – Anais Nin

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. – Ambrose Redmoon

We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand – and melting like a snowflake. Marie B. Ray

A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for - John A. Shedd

The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for the newer and richer experience – Eleanor Roosevelt

Don’t die without embracing the daring adventure your life is meant to be – Steve Pavlina

If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun – Katherine Hepburn

Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma-which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Steve Jobs

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore – Andre Gide

Adventure is worthwhile – Aristotle

Adventure: the pursuit of life – Daniel Roy Wiarda

I decided that adventure was the best way to learn – Lloyd Alexander

We live in a world full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. Jawaharlal Nehru

In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors – William Blake

Adventure is worthwhile – Aesop

It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves, in finding themselves - Andre Gide

Life is either a great adventure or nothing – Helen Keller

The adventure is over. Everything gets over, and nothing is ever enough. Except the part you carry with you – E.L. Konigsburg

A life lived in fear is a life half lived – Anonymous Adventurer

You may never get rid of the butterflies but you can teach them how to fly in formation – Anonymous Adventurer

If we do not find anything very pleasant, at least we shall find something new – Voltaire on adventure

We in middle age require adventure – Carolyn Heilbrun (okay, I'm a senior, but a late bloomer)

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice – Cherokee Expression

Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, “Grow, grow.” – The Talmud

If you cannot be a poet, be the poem – David Carradine

I just love the spirit that makes people do things that they probably shouldn’t – Johnny Knoxville

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind – Dr. Seuss

You have to be unique, and different, and shine in your own way – Lady Gaga

Nothing is really ‘safe’ – Bam Margera

Security is mostly a superstition – Helen Keller

Life is full of beauty, notice it – Author unknown

We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for – George Mallory, on climbing Mt. Everest

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life – Muhhamed Ali

I tried being reasonable, I didn’t like it – Clint Eastwood

Don’t tell me how educated you are. Tell me how much you’ve traveled – Mohammed

The world is an interesting place to the imaginative mind – Author unknown

Just do it – Nike slogan

MINE
Watch out my dear polar bears, here I come!!