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!!