The temperature dropped considerably today, but I survived day number two on the tundra. Polar bears really are amazing animals and it's been an amazing experience to share these past few days with them.
Polar bears have been the subject of major media attention this year, mainly due to the long-term threat to their survival posed by climate change. During this time of year (for approximately six weeks), polar bears gather at Hudson Bay just out side of Churchill to wait for the sea ice to form so they can venture out to hunt for food. As climate change melts more and more of the ice and extends the melt season, polar bears are being forced to wait longer, increasing their chance of starvation.
Here are few of my best shots from today. If these pictures don't convince you to do a little more to preserve the planet, I am not sure what will.
I promised that I would share some of the pictures from our first day on the Tundra. So here they are below. Yes, that is me looking like a serious photographer. Special thanks to SONY for supplying me with the SONY Alpha A900. I shot with it all day. The entire group enjoyed trying out the new A900. Most of the pics were shot with 300mm f/2.8 G lens. And yes, all of the pics below were taken by me!
I'll Blog more about the trip and the Tundra tomorrow. Special thanks to Andy Biggs for processing my photos. He made me look like a much better shot than I really am.
As many of you know, Zapwater has a booming hospitality practice and works with several hotels. The Hotel Sax is known for its trendy Crimson Lounge and Microsoft technology. The recently opened boutique hotel The Iron Horse is known for its cutting edge design and its motorcycle amenities. The Abbey Resort is an iconic hotel full of history.
Because our hotel roster of clients continues to grow, I love checking out other hotels, especially historic ones. Last night I stayed at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg.
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway built the Fort Garry Hotel in 1913 as luxury accommodation for its train passengers. The name came from Upper Fort Garry, which was next door to the hotel. Like the Canadian Pacific Hotels built across Canada, the Fort Garry Hotel was built in the chateau style of architecture with steep roofs, turrets and lavish ornamentation.
Famous guests over the years included Liberace, Sir Lawrence Olivier, Harry Belafonte, Louis Armstrong, Arthur Fiedler, Lester Pearson and Gordie Howe. In 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth stayed at the Fort Garry Hotel during their tour of Canada.
But there was one famous guest that kept me awake most of the night. Many guests have seen figures of ghosts at the foot of the bed. Sometimes it’s a man and other times, it’s a woman dressed in a ball gown representative of the hotel’s early years.
Staying in room 203, I was a little freaked out!
Room 202 is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a woman who hung herself in the closet after she found out her husband was killed in a car accident. Guests have seen a woman dressed in a cloak or robe hovering at the end of the bed. Hotel maids have claimed to see blood seeping through the walls of the room.
The ghost of the same women has been seen crying in the corner of the hotel lounge after asking an employee for a glass of water.
The Fort Garry was an added twist to what certainly will be an adventure. I'm in Churchill and will begin posting pics tomorrow. Though I did see my first Polar Bear. It was running down the main street in Churchill being chased by the authorities. Local authorities maintain a so-called "polar bear jail" where bears (mostly adolescents) who persistently loiter in or too close to town, are held after being tranquillized, pending release back into the wild when the bay freezes over.
Where United failed, Air Canada delivered. I made it to Winnipeg via Toronto. After my flight from Chicago was finally canceled, Air Canada came through. I thought all was lost when my bag was MIA, but the Air Canada agent held the flight for my bag and I am now sitting in the Fort Garry Hotel.
I met the rest of the group briefly because I was so late. Unfortunately, I also missed the briefing/orientation on what not to do. I wonder if that included feeding the Polar Bears?
Tomorrow we fly to Churchill on the plane below. But I certainly, won't blame Canada. They got me here. Oh yeah, it's already cold.
My United Airlines flight to Winnipeg was delayed two hours. But while I was waiting, several people have already came up to me and asked me about the bag that I am carrying my gear in. As you may know, I am carrying my SONY gear in the new Gura GearKiboko bag designed by Andy Biggs. If you travel a lot, you might want to check out this review that I read on Flying with Fish.
I leave tomorrow for my Polar Bear adventure. As I started to pack, I wanted to share a picture of the amazing gear that SONY lent us for the trip. How cool is SONY?
I’ve backpacked through South and Central America. I’ve worked at an orphanage in Russia. I’ve even climbed in remote places like Machu Picchu and Angkor Wat. But in preparing for my Polar Bear Expedition with Andy Biggs, I came to a realization. I am a city slicker.
As I began packing my “cold weather” gear, I read a sentence that called cotton the “fabric of death,” as it stays wet, zapping valuable energy and dropping your core temperature. My wife immediately concluded that if the Polar Bears didn’t get me, frostbite would.
I immediately headed to my new favorite store Moosejaw. Layering is the way to go. Today’s high tech materials offer a plethora of light-weight highly compressible water/wind proof, and temperature regulating fabric options to fit the outdoor enthusiast needs such as polar fleece, primaloft, polarguard. I bought some capilene wicking under-garments, warm socks, hats, gloves, hand and feet warmers, etc.
I am expecting it to be cold, as it can get to minus 10 or even minus 20 degrees F. The upside is it could be 35F as a high and only a low of 20F at night. We will be staying at the Northern Lights Lodge. It certainly isn’t The Hotel Sax, but I am sure it will be fun. I’m excited that it has WiFi, so I can keep updating everyone about this adventure.
