Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, is located on the Hudson Bay. The town is inaccessible except by train form Winnipeg which takes two days, by a really expensive air trip from Winnipeg (Calm Air) or for three months or less by a really seasick trip which no one takes.
There are around 800 residents. The main industry is tourism thanks to birds and flowers in the spring which is June-ish; beluga whales in the summer; polar bears in the fall/winter (early) when the bay freezes and they can hunt seals. I say June-ish because sometimes the bay is still really frozen and it is still winter.
Not much is open in the winter. Beluga (July, August) and polar bear seasons (October, November) the town is the busiest.
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| People walking the streets even when it is -18f and feels like -45f because town is small and gas is $10 a gallon. |
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| Arctic Trading Company has lots of handmade items by local native people. |
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| Wapusk is not really a general store but has lots of nice, higher-end stuff. |
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| Parks Canada has a museum in this historic train station. Exhibit pics follow. |
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| Polar Bear mama and cub in den |
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| Arctic Foxes |
Inuit subarctic lodging
This is a small but very well done museum that is gives a good overview of the area and the natural history.
One really amazing thing about this place is the Community Centre or Town Centre which is a huge complex includes the hospital, pharmacy, school, library, playground, movie theatre, bowling alley, huge heated pool, ice hocky rink, curling rink with lounge, and the town offices. It is all connected, all indoors, all climate controlled, well maintained, and fabulous! I had a tour and have used the clinic facilities, the pharmacy, gone to the movies to see the new Jack Ryan movie, and learned how to curl!
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| Handmade, wooden polar bear slide by a Canadian craftsman. |
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| They bowl a game called 5 pins with a small ball about the size of a softball. |
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| My curling instructor, Lindsey. |
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| Me curling! Canada won the Gold for this sport. |
