Yes, we finally saw polar bears. They were pretty far away, but definitely there! We also saw lots and lots of beluga whales and supposedly will see many more tomorrow. I will let you know.
It has been pretty warm by Churchill standards, as it reached 70 degrees yesterday. I guess I should have brought lighter clothing.
The birds here are pretty incredible! Artic terns, white swans, Sandhill cranes, snowy owls, and much more. We saw a snowy owl being dive bombed by the terns this morning. We were a little far away to get a good photo, but we caught the Sandhill cranes flying, so here is one crane cropped from the group.
Mike and I started our tours here in Churchill by visiting a sled dog camp and even got a cart ride with the dogs.
Right after this photo the dogs saw a red fox crossing the road and tried to chase it. But our musher, Gerald, the owner of the camp, got them back on track. Gerald is a Métis, a people originally "composed of the mixed-race descendants of First Nation people and colonial-era French or British settlers." The Métis people are now recognized by the Canadian government as one of the official Aboriginal peoples. Usually you will find Gerald dressed casually for work, but we managed to catch him one day in his formal wear - as he had just come from a photo shoot for a brochure advertising Churchill.
Tomorrow we head out into the Hudson Bay proper where we will hopefully see many more whales - and possibly more bears.
Hey, the white beluga whales look like gigantic oysters...
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