I’m back in Churchill. We had an uneventful buggy ride back from the lodge. We saw one bear in the distance, but it was so rainy and low visibility that there wasn’t much to see.
Our first stop upon returning to town was at the Parks Canada interpretive center. It’s in a refurbished train depot building. You can still get on and off the train there and buy tickets, but now there are some great displays as well. Since there are no roads to Churchill, the train offers an alternative to flying in.
The two camps went shopping next. Did I mention that the reason I am here is to help out with a teen leadership camp and another camp for communicators from zoos? It’s true. After lunch at the Tundra Inn, we peaked into the complex.
I posted a photo of the outside of the complex the other day, but I want to show you how cool the inside is. There aren’t photos of the school, hospital, pool, or gym, but I saw some of the other parts. And it is all under one roof so you don’t get cold or eaten by a polar bear.
It’s amazing to me that this town of 800 people, that you can’t even drive to, has so many amenities. We can’t get an indoor pool or recreation center in Livingston (population 7,000), but Churchill is styled out. Different governments and different priorities, I suppose.
If we weren’t being touristy enough, we stopped into the post office and got polar bear stamps on our passports. I couldn’t say no to that.
One of the coolest spots in Churchill, among many great places, is the Eskimo Museum. It is a tiny building with an amazing collection of Inuit and other Eskimo art. Mostly things carved from walrus tusks, whale vertebra and soapstone. There is no way to really soak it all in in one visit.
It’s warm and wet here right now. I sure wouldn’t want to be a polar bear.
Tomorrow I fly to Winnipeg and then home the next day. This trip has gone so fast. I can’t wait to see my little buddies–and the big one, too–but it would be fun to spend more time here. I’m just getting the lay of the land, but I love this little town so far.
