Saturday, October 15, 2005

7:46 PM

Yesterday I started spreading the word of PBI through the Oregon airwaves, as i had two radio interviews, one with a station in Portland, the other in Eugene. It was a new and interesting experience...though I am glad that I finally feel as if I am beginning to repay my debt to Polar Beas International and the Polar Bears themselves.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

10:20 AM

Well, yesterday was my first day back in school. everyone was wondering where I had been and I was eager to tell them...though usually more than they had wanted to know. It looks as if my social life will be put on hold to make up all of the work that i missed, but it was all worth it. The Oregon Zoo's public relations officer already has planned for me one radio and one television interview...with more to come i am sure. I am looking forward to spreading the word about global climate change and its effects on the arctic.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

12:06 AM

Today I finally made it home to Portland! Kelly should be home by now but i have not heard from her. Our flight to Denver was delayed but made it there in time for both of our connections. Kelly's filght to Anchorage was delayed a few hours, meaning that it is most likely that she will officially be the last person to arrive home from the camp.

What a difference a few weeks can make! I left and it still felt like summer and now there are leaves on the ground...time flies.

I am getting psyched up for my first interview as an "Ambassador of the Arctic" on a local morning news show "AM Northwest" next thursday. I am awaiting the opportunity to do my part to encourage conservation.

Monday, October 10, 2005

10:45 PM

All week i had been saying that i would be really sad to go and that i wished that i didnt have to leave...i got my wish. Today it turned out that i, along with Kelly, was booked on the latest departure for PBI students. When we went to check in around one in the afternoon the ticket agent told us that the flight was delayed, which prepared us for the news at the gate...the plane hadnt left Denver yet and was in a three hour long line-up for de-icing...Denver was in the middle of a snow storm. If the plane had waited in the line and then flown to Winnipeg it would have been five hours late. At that point the vast majority of the people in the terminal took their leave, as the ticket agent was predicting cancellation on the flight all together. Kelly and I followed suit and retrived our previously checked baggage and went through Canadian customs again and met up with Carolyn (camp host) to try to reschedule our flights...we ended up with the same schedule just a day later and are spending the night, once again, in the Four Points Sheraton Winnipeg. It is a fine hotel, but it cant match the satisfaction of your own bed. I wished not to leave this camp and i got that wish...but it just showed me that what i really wanted to wish for is to never leave these great people. This extra day is painful, Kelly and Carolyn were tired so are asleep...so i am alone. I now know how Rob felt having no roommate, though i became accostomed to sharing my space. If were able to have a roommate still here life would be more bearable, but to sit alone in a hotel room for hours on end is painful. I miss the group...these great people defined my time here and i hope to see them all again soon.

Sunday, October 9, 2005

8:43 PM

Today our group split...Adelia stayed in Churchill as the rest of us took our flight back to Winnipeg...once we arrived there Meagan took off and so did Lauren. Bill Watkins (one of the greatest people ever) the Americans and Rob over to the Assiniboine Park Zoo, that was a great time, though when we got back Bill and Rob left us, soon there after Megan took her leave (she had been hanging out with the girls at the hotel). The zoo brought me much joy, it contained the oldest known living Polar Bear.
Well...i guess i should say something worth saying. I will always remember this week...I will always remember these people...and I will always remember the Polar Bear.

Saturday, October 8, 2005

10:08 PM

Today we finished our time on the buggies and in the buggy lodge. We cleaned up camp and headed back to town. On our way we took the great opportunity to get one last look at the tundra landscape that we have come to call home. Our trip maintained our main theme on the buggies...constant surprises. We were thrilled to make a final count of fifteen distinct bird species that we saw on the tundra (#15 being a Bald Eagle...feels like i'm getting closer to home by the minute). In addition we saw the startled reaction of an arctic fox as he came over a small rise to be confronted with a polar bear, i've never seen such an odd recation...he left the area, but not running, or walking...but more...bounding...perplexing. We got back into town and I sent the cache of postcards that I had been writing while on the buggies. We had a nice dinner at the Seaport and then moved across the street to the apartment of John, the buggy driver, to serenade Robert and Carolyn with a modified version of "Oh what a beautiful morning," we are now doing our exit interviews and wrapping up our time together. Tomorrow we will depart for Winnipeg and upon arrival our group will be split, with the loss of the Winnipegers the rest will stay the night then fly out the next day...I am sad to leave such great people, I couldnt have asked for a better group of people and friends. My only hope is that we will stay in contact after we part ways, for this is too amazing of a group to be kept apart by things so little as time-zones, borders and oceans.

Friday, October 7, 2005

9:23 PM

Today we completed our last fulll day on the tundra. We saw our usual fauna. We were given the great opportunity to drive the tundra buggy, this was a very interesting time, some of those driving were doing so for the first time. At the end of the day we had the first meeting of the Polar Bear Point Literary Society, my contribution was a haiku:

Majestic mama
Teaches her cubs on thin ice
They don't have much time

There were good times and great times and i will remember them all, I love this place and these people and always will

Thursday, October 6, 2005

11:01 PM

Last night I had a major experience with the green and orange dancing lights known as the aurora borialis. I could see the lights from my bunk's window, it was beautiful. The lights were dancing across the sky in amazing choreography.

We spent some more time on the buggies today and saw a few new sights. We spotted a bear with a tracking collar on, with fewer than five percent collared it was a rare sight. At dinner we got the privilege of viewing two bears spar in front of our windows and then have one of them stand all the way up, leaning on the side of the buggy. In the morning we were able to spot a gyrfalcon and a raven was at home on lne of our porches.

Wednesday, October 5, 2005

8:58 PM

Last night was beautiful, we got a taste of the northern lights, simply beautiful. Today I woke up on the tundra buggy...it was amazing. Surrounded by the beautiful tundra in its fall colors and four polar bears...inexplicable. We began our field discussions today and I opened a window intothe status of the tundra that had previously been closed for me. Our mission here is now quite obvious, We must keep up hope, frustration and hope. For if we lose our hope then there is no hope for our cause, but through frustration we strive for the compleion of our quest...to educate.

When I woke up our camp was endowed with a beautiful mother and two cubs, as well as a rascally male. All are beautiful animals; i am in awe of these creatures, I am not worthy of their company.

I was plesantly surprised today with the sight of multiple arctic foxes. One we followed for quite a while as it was hunting for lemmings. It was in blue phase, scurrying about down the road, sometimes stopping to dig.

I can't imagine what will await me tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 4, 2005

9:22 PM

Today was simply amazing. We bagan in Churchill and ate at a local bakery, Gypsy's. A good meal to start a good day. After that we walked across the street to the terminal building of Hudson Bay Helicopters and flew in four seperate choppers over to an abandoned maternity den. Dug into the peat moss bank of a tundra lake, this den was smaller than I would have imagined. I barely had enough room to crawl into the den and turn around. It may have been two feet tall and it had caved in in one place. I got a little messy, but I had a great time and wouldn't trade it for the world. After we got back to town we wandered around town, went to the post office and got ready to take a bus to the Tundra Buggy launch site. We got out and started our way to the lodge. On our way we spotted Snow Geese, Arctic Hare, Ptarmigan, and, after we arrived at the lodge a sub-adult male Polar Bear was there to greet us. This amazing animal was calmly laying within only a few dozen yards of the lodge. We unpacked all of our gear into the lodge and settled in. As we were waiting for dinner we spotted Arctic Fox. A mother bear and her two yearling cubs kicked out the male as dinner was being served and were nosing around the lodge, climbing on the tires of the cars, and communicating with each other. Today was sensory overload as far as animal sightings goes, and i can't imagine thi day being topped. I am beginning to see more why we are out here, as during our flights we saw many permafrost melt-out lakes, each drifting towards another, enlargeining with every new year. In the next few days the picture will begin to come together more.

Monday, October 3, 2005

5:37 PM

Now onto the matters of today. We became more aquainted with the area today, taking a driving tour of the town and the surrounding terrain. While on our bus we made a great spotting! Our first bear!!!! At the town dump (yeah, i know not the first place you would think of to find a polar bear) we found a sub-adult wandering along a pond. The looks on everyone's faces was priceless, sheer wonder painted across the bus. This cute guy was about three hundred pounds and only a few hundred yards away! Over the course of the next few hours we spotted a few others, but the experience of the first bear was the most special, the most memorable.

Monday, October 3, 2005

5:26 PM

I apologize for the lateness of this post, we didn't have access to the computer yesterday. Anyhoo, yesterday we flew into Churchill and i witnessed one of the most beautiful sights of my life. We were descending into the airport in town in our little turbo-prop plane and our vision was impaired by a layer of clouds. As we kept coming down the clouds parted and the tundra exposed itself to us. A seemingly endless sea of reds, oranges and yellows, dotted with the most pristine lakes that i have ever seen. Over the hum of the motors i could hear nothing. All were awestruck on the plane, even those who reside in the town year-round could not help but sit in reverent silence to observe the landscape.

Saturday, October 1, 2005

4:17 PM

Yesterday I arrived in Winnipeg and had the extreme honor of meeting all of the people that I will be working with during the camp. I can't wait to get to know all of them! Today we woke up in our Winnipeg hotel and had breakfast. What happened next, though, is the important part of the story. After we finished our breakfast we received a presentation from Robert Taylor, a renowned nature photographer that has been visiting Churchill annually for decades. The photos and stories that ha shared with us opened my eyes on to the realm of Churchill. His love of the north is obvious, as he spent as much time talking to us about lichen and lemmings as he did polar bears. The diversity of life in Churchill really did not sink in for me until this presentation. After this spectacular morning of presentations we headed out into the city of Winnipeg. Our first stop was the city's "Bears on Broadway" exhibition of polar bear statues, each designed by a local artist. While we were downtown we were accompanied by Clarence Tillenius, a spectacular Canadian natural artist. During the length of Tillenius's over ninety years of life in Canada many changes have taken place, and I found it to be a unique experience to hear someone with such passion talk about the subject. Today brought me insight to the history of Manitoba, and the north in general, through the lens of experience. These two great men have accomplished so much during their lives, and still, everyday, they fight to get more done. I am in awe of their dedication to, and passion for, the ecology of Canada.