Fascinating topography appeared outside my window on our 700-mile plane flight from Winnipeg to Churchill, Manitoba. Surrounding Winnipeg, Canada’s seventh-largest city, were huge quadrants of farmland in every direction, cut by two major rivers, the Red and Assiniboine, that join in downtown Winnipeg in an impressive central park called The Forks. In and among these farms, rock outcrops were visible from above with obvious striations – all carved in a NW to SE direction – clearly the work of glaciers. The carvings looked fresh.
It turns out that they were fresh, relatively speaking. Barley Kives, author of A Daytripper’s Guide to Manitoba, eloquently described the landscape of this large west-central Canadian province:
“Compared to almost any other chunk of earthbound real estate, Manitoba is one of the newest places on the planet. As recently as 13,000 years ago, a massive sheet of ice covered every square centimeter of the province. Plants, animals, and people only moved in after the glaciers melted, which means every single organism in Manitoba – every minnow, mosquito, mouse, and corporate lawyer – is a recent arrival in the grand geological scheme of things.”
Continuing in a northerly direction on our Calm Air flight from Winnipeg, we saw the 11th largest freshwater lake on earth below – Lake Winnipeg – for the next half-hour. Small towns, roads and homes are visible along the lake. Once you fly north of this giant lake, the landscape turns completely wild.
It was reassuring to see massive stretches of landscape that have not been altered by humankind. As Wallace Stegner famously wrote, wildlands like these comprise the “Geography of hope.” The Boreal Forest contains meandering streams, multiple small lakes and occasional rock outcrops surrounded by small- to medium-height, patchy evergreen trees. 
Closer to Churchill a surprisingly long and wide river appeared from the western horizon and flowed into a huge estuary that emptied into Hudson Bay. Originating in a lake by the same name, The Churchill River flows 1,000 miles east. The river water was cloudy as it entered the sky-blue waters of Hudson Bay. As we drew closer to our destination, we noticed that the bay was dotted with icebergs, including many that had been pushed by the winds and tides into the near shore by Churchill. Hudson Bay’s massive 30-foot tides alone can move icebergs and make navigation challenging.
It was bracingly cold and windy when we landed in the small, 800-person frontier town of Churchill. All of us were underdressed for the 50-degree windy weather after Winnipeg’s 80-degree temperatures. We checked into the quaint, homey log complex known as the Lazy Bear Lodge, dropped our bags and headed out on our first excursion: a historical and cultural tour of the area. Sites included historic Fort Prince of Wales, the ‘Polar Bear jail’ and ‘Miss Piggy,’ a food transport plane that crash landed years ago.
That night, we discovered to our delight that the food at Lazy Bear Lodge is fresh, homemade, and delicious. We were pleasantly surprised to find fresh greens grown in a greenhouse near town and arranged creatively in Lazy Bear’s “Boreal” and “Arctic” salads.
We had the next morning free prior to an afternoon Hudson Bay boat cruise. Our guide, John Carlson, led us on a walk to the Granary Ponds next the massive, iconic grain elevator that formerly facilitated the shipping of grain to European markets. John is a PhD Wildlife Biologist based in Montana who works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department on prairie restoration in several western and great plains states. He is a superb birder and photographer who loves being out in the polar regions of the world. In fact, he jokingly refers to himself as a “Bi-Polar Guide,” having led trips in both the Artic and Antarctic.
Our walk to the Granary Ponds provided a nice view of the ponds as well as the riparian vegetation surrounding them. Birdsong was abundant from Yellow Warbler, Lincoln’s, Fox and White-crowned Sparrow and Common Redpoll. Among the 26 species we tallied were Common Eider, Stilt Sandpiper and Red-necked Phalarope.
In the mid-afternoon we donned aquatic survival suits, then boarded the a 50-foot boat with an open front and a drop-down gate. It resembled World War II military landing craft. We commenced on a tour of the Churchill River Delta, weaving through ice bergs in Hudson Bay at a fast pace, a lone Glaucous Gull struck and artistic pose on an iceberg as we passed by.
After several hours of sea travel in Hudson Bay through ice bergs and open water with no other ships in sight, we arrived at our destination: Seal River Estuary. Lori and I knew this place from nature documentaries we had seen prior to the trip. It was where Beluga Whales gather along with their predators, Polar Bears. 
At first glimpse, the flat, glistening estuary with a thin line of Boreal Forest behind it revealed no visible mammals other than the hundreds of Beluga Whales that were in the vicinity. But then Captain Wally, who also owns Lazy Bear Lodge, spotted white specks on the shore a half-mile distant. We were skeptical at first, but with the help of binoculars and long camera lenses, could make out the shapes of Polar Bears.
Wally motored us cautiously into the shallow waters. The bears became animated. First, we saw
two, then three, and eventually five, including a cub. They were feeding on a Beluga Whale carcass, and looked like they had consumed most of it. They were massive, bordering on obese. One female rolled around on the grass on her back, presumable to scratch an itch. The spectacle only improved as we moved closer to the shore, now 200 yards away.
What could be better? How about having a Gray Wolf join the feeding party? That is exactly what happened and the bears were surprisingly tolerant. Apparently, they knew there was enough food for everyone. We watched the bears and lone wolf feast for an hour as our boat rocked in the shallows of Hudson Bay. Ecstatic to have seen these iconic Arctic animals, we departed. Threatened by climate change, these resilient bears must swim farther each year to and from the sea ice near the Arctic Circle. Known as the “Polar Bear Capitol of the World,” Churchill is a strategic location in the annual summer return to land of Polar Bears after the sea ice melts, and in the Fall, their return to the sea ice which first forms in the mouth of the Churchill River. Wolves have been on and off Endangered Species lists for years. 
Seeing five Polar Bears was a hard act to follow, but the very next morning we saw another one. It appeared while touring historic Prince of Wales Fort, located close to town. While searching for birds, I glimpsed through one of the cannon slots toward the near shore. A large white animal framed my view: the 6th Polar bear of the trip. Everyone came over for a look. Our Lazy Bear guide urged us to take a few pictures and then quickly return to the Zodiac rafts on the other side of the peninsula. We did so, casting nervous glances along the shore by the rafts to see if the Polar Bear had walked around the point to meet us.
Once safely in our rafts, we motored around the point to where the Polar Bear remained. This one also had a Beluga Whale carcass, but unlike its Seal River cohorts, had no other bear or wolf competition.
That afternoon, we shifted our focus to Beluga Whales. Roughly one third of the Beluga Whale population comes to Hudson Bay each summer, which adds up to some 24,000 whales. Our group kayaked into the Churchill River to see them up close and personal. The whales did not disappoint. Tens of them surfaced all around and in between our boats. We heard that singing attracted them, so several of us sang songs ranging from John Denver tunes to Raffi’s “Baby Beluga.” The singing seemed to work. Lori had three whales around her. Our friend Amber, who also sang to them, lured them to her boat. Then one surfaced in front of my kayak, rubbed up against the bow, and dove abruptly, thoroughly splashing me with well-aimed flick of its tail.
What to do for an encore after such incredible Polar Bear and Whale encounters? John found us an answer the next day: a birding trip into the Boreal Forest. He hired local guide, photographer and inn operator Angela Mak and her husband Bill to drive us to Bird Cove and the Twin Lakes Area. There we experienced top-notch birding along the Hudson Bay coast as well as by Twin Lakes. Our sightings ranged from Hudsonian Godwits to nesting Arctic Terns with chicks to a singing Tennessee Warbler, and a female Willow Ptarmigan.
In the evening, Angela took some of us out for a sunset walk along the Churchill River on Lori and my 37th wedding anniversary. We had an unforgettable experience watching the sun go down at 10 PM to the tune of Beluga Whales breathing and vocalizing in the otherwise quiet evening. Referred to as “Canaries of the Sea,” the Belugas chattered in their squeaky voices, sometimes making clicking sounds. 
On our final morning at Lazy Bear we climbed a ladder 12-feet up to board a Tundra Crawler for a motorized tour. I feared that this monster tourist truck on five-foot tall, deeply-treaded tires would churn up the fragile tundra and we would be accomplices to an ecological crime. Fortunately, this was not the case. The “Crawler” provided a commanding view of the tundra while it stayed on the deeply rutted, water-filled potholed dirt roads left behind from a former cold war military base. It had large, clean windows and an elevated open deck in the back.
From our high perch, we saw rocks turned bright orange by Orange Star
Lichen, Tundra Swan, Sandhill Crane, White-winged Scoter, Common Goldeneye and Bald Eagle. Although we did not see Caribou, we followed their fresh tracks on the road. Our local guide botanized from the Crawler, pointing out blooming Bog Wort, Seaside Chamomile, Arctic Daisy, and Labrador Tea among others.
The next vehicle we rode was a bus to Churchill airport, followed by a Calm Air prop plane back to Winnipeg. There we bid a fond farewell to our Naturalist Journeys tour group. Several of us remained in Winnipeg for an extra day to visit the outstanding art museum and the iconic, deeply-moving Museum of Human Rights. The Forks Park downtown park is also well-worth visiting.
It only took a day to return to Seattle, where we often reflect upon this extraordinary trip. Like the glacial landscapes of Manitoba, it will remain etched in our memories forever.
