Sunday, November 12

Departure day. Once again our bags are in the hall early and by breakfast they’ve disappeared. Today, however, we’re wearing or stuffed in our backpacks all our warmest clothes, because we have one last adventure, which may be the coldest yet.

After breakfast we all board the Polar Rover (there are our bags!) and make one last trip across the tundra. We try to memorize the landscape, with its bleak beauty. At the launch we transfer into the bus and head back into Churchill.

Some of our group is dropped off for their optional helicopter tour. Later they tell us they flew out over the sea ice and saw bears out there, as well as denning females inland. The rest of us take a whirlwind tour of the town. A gift shop for souvenirs. The local museum, where the coolest exhibits are a model of a polar bear den and a stuffed bear, which finally gives us perspective on their size.





More sightseeing:  A traditional inukshuk by the shore.  There, Dianne asks Eddy if she can walk back for a photo of the bear crossing sign. "No! It’s dangerous!" He walks back with her to keep an eye out for bears hiding behind rocks. Guess there’s a reason for that sign!
Cape Merry Battery, on the frigid bluff overlooking Churchill River and historic Prince of Wales Fort. The cemetery, where it’s tricky to bury people in the permafrost. We drive past a yard where dozens of fuel tanks are lined up, brought in by ship to provide heating and driving fuel over the winter, since the rail is not running.  


Churchill River

Residential Churchill
After lunch, we head to our final adventure: dog sledding!

 David Daley has run the Iditarod and started a race which is an Iditarod qualifier. Inside the toasty "trapper’s shed," he explains mushing commands and the different positions in the team, then we head out for the fun. The kennel helpers bring out four custom-built sleds which can accommodate two riders and the musher.
   
The dogs go nuts! About three dozen Northern huskies, chained to their doghouses, are all barking and jumping in the air. It reminds us of the scene in Shrek where Donkey says, "Me! Me! Pick me!" The helpers start getting dogs and one at a time hitching them to the sled harness. A job requiring patience, because the dogs are too excited to stay still. Each sled is chained to a post, because otherwise the harnessed dogs would take off. And even the harnessed dogs are leaping in the air with excitement. It’s clear that these dogs love what they do. 
 


 










Once all four sleds have their dog teams, eight of our group climb onto sleds. One sits in front and the other stands in the middle. The musher stands in the back. The chain is unfastened, the musher hollers "Hike!" and off they go. While others are out on the track, we enjoy the remaining dogs, the gray jays, the snowshoe hare feeding nearby. However, our feet are starting to get very cold standing on the snow! 







Boy, was that fun!
We go in the third group. Dianne sits so she can take pictures and Nancy stands. On the sled behind ours, Giselle stands behind Kelly. We take off and it’s great fun! Our musher, a woman, tells us that on long runs the dogs go about 7 or 8 mph, but we’re probably going 10. The dogs are quiet now that they’re running, occasionally "snow dipping," pushing their face into the snow to get a bite of snow. Unfortunately, our left lead dog keeps nipping playfully at its partner. The musher calls "On by! On by!" (ignore a distraction) several times, but finally has to holler "Whoa," stop the sled, go up and speak sternly to the misbehaver. That halts the sleds behind us too. We start up again, and now the lead dog is behaving. We make a loop, and head back. It’s exciting rushing across the snow, through the miniature forest of white spruce, behind the charging dogs. One more loop and we’re back at the beginning.  Ididamile! 


Our team of dogs
The dogs take the curve fast


Dianne is sitting with the camera in hand,
Nancy stands behind her,
and last is our musher
photo by Vivid Arctic Photography
Back in the warm shed, we get hot chocolate and David tells stories about races and his dogs. He also talks about the transportation issue: A pallet of dog food used to cost $800, but the price has soared to several thousand dollars, now that it has to be flown in. We could listen to his stories for hours, but we have a plane to catch.

We say good-bye to the dogs and head for the airport. One last stop as we drive toward the airport: the polar bear jail. Churchill is full of cool murals, and the jail is no exception. We can’t go inside, but we see old and new bear traps.


Soon we’re above the clouds and heading back to Winnipeg.

That night is a farewell dinner back at the Fort Garry Hotel. We trade stories and email addresses with friends who were strangers three days ago. Eddy plays a continuous loop of photos he took in the last few days. Lots of hugs and thanks and warm good-byes.

Monday, November 13

Our adventure is not quite over, because our plane doesn’t leave until 3:45. Almost everything of interest in Winnipeg is closed on Mondays, but on Bonnie’s advice, we head to Nunavut, an art gallery that features Inuit art. We spend an enjoyable hour admiring amazing serpentine sculptures of bears and listening to the proprietor’s stories of the native artists.

Finally it really is time to go. Our luggage is placed in the hall at 1:15 and we head to the airport. The trip may be drawing to a close, but we have 1500 photos and many more memories. We’ve had the adventure of a lifetime!


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