Home Sweet Home, away from home

CNSC- the landscaped view

CNSC withe Dancing Lights

This is the fourth season that Brian and I have been volunteers at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre in Churchill, Manitoba.  Members of the staff have become our dear friends and CNSC has become our home away from home. As I write this, I am reminded of my favorite question in Maine- "Are you from away?"  You could be a transplant to Maine for the past 30 years, but you are still from away. That does not state anything about the present reality; we identify with the Maine mentality just as we now identify with life in the north- northness as our friend Heidi would say. We indeed are "from away", and that is what makes this such an extraordinary experience that we will treasure. 

This post has some new photos and some from past years. Below you see the view from the front of CNSC with a rocket launcher from 50 years back, and the tundra/forested areas out the back windows. There are also shallow tundra ponds that are covered with snow right now. I'll include one from last year when the surface was exposed by the winds.

The Front Yard

The Back Yard

Tundra pond with exposed ice- great reflective surface for auroras! 2015

Some of you know more than others about our stays at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre. As you see in the photo at the top of this post, it is now housed in a brand new facility which opened its doors in 2011. Churchill is on the western shore of Hudson Bay at a latitude of 58 degrees north. The town is known as Polar Bear Capital of the World, but it could just as well lay claim to being a perfect place for viewing northern lights, observing beluga whales in summertime, spotting migrating birds from your life list, identifying (and eating) the flowers and berries of wild plants, and becoming familiar with the cultures of the many people living here.

The facility at CNSC is most comfortable in this new, green building! Yes, it is very cold outside while we are here, but we dress for it and try to go outside most days for a short and invigorating walk. Occasionally there are longer activities in which we are included, and they are so much fun. While inside we are toasty warm, and when working in the kitchen we are wearing our T-shirts.

The Dome Room

Dome and Back Yard

There are so many things I love about being here, but since my original motivation was to see the aurora borealis, I have to say that it is beyond fantastic to get up in the middle of the night to use the facilities and run up this stairway to the heavens. Many nights it is just a 360 degree view of a starlit heaven. Sometimes it is cloudy, and in a blizzard it might look like you are on a jet plane flying through the clouds. Occasionally there is the thrill of the aurora dancing around the sky. You have the heavens to yourself until you wake everyone else up (if they wish to be awoken).

On the front of the building, I look at the mission each day- "To understand and sustain the north". CNSC does this through research and education. Brian and I are here to support the Winter Skies aurora vacations. We've been able to attend many lectures here on topics ranging from astronomy and climate change  to photography and local culture. It's a very stimulating environment.

Birdfish Logo- Symbol of CNSC

I love the landscape here, and never tire of looking out over the tundra in one direction and the boreal forest in the other. If it is too cold outside, there is always the view from the dome. This building is filled with windows (all part of the green plan), but I do get outside with every opportunity. The wind blows a lot, so there are often sculpted snowdrifts to see. Just the other day we were treated to a gorgeous sunset, but many times it is just the beauty of soft pink light in the sky.

Blowing Snow

Sculpted snow photo from last year

View from the side deck in late afternoon light

There is something new every day here. It might be an outing to the forest, a lecture, a mind blowing aurora, or simply a story from a guest or fellow volunteer as we do dishes together. For our friends and family, I hope this post helps paint a picture of our time up here that helps explain why we've made this journey more than once!

Sunset earlier this week

Sleepless Nights- Northern Lights

My journey continued from Winnipeg to Thompson, and finally to Churchill when the train pulled in to the station around 9 in the morning. I always marvel at what an incredible piece of machinery the train is. I asked a fellow traveler to take my photo in front of it to add some perspective to the size.

Brian has been here for the past 3 weeks, and he has photographed some great auroras during that time. I thought you would enjoy seeing some of my favorites of Brian's many photos.

Lat night, Brian took this photo below of the full moon rising. He has a new lens that evidently transformed the moon into a "star of wonder".

Tonight we had a gorgeous almost full moonrise. I took the camera out for the first time this year after having had a serious review lesson with Brian. All in all, I was pleased with my first photos of the visit. David Marx, if you are reading this, I included the birdhouse just for you!

Brian tells me there is already a hint of aurora in the sky. Can't wait to see what the night will bring!

The Great Ice Show in Winnipeg

With only one day to devote to sightseeing in Winnipeg, this year it was obvious to me that I should take in The Great Ice Show at The Forks National Historic Site.  For anyone traveling to Winnipeg, it will be here until February 28th.

The impressive structure in the background is the Human Rights Museum

I went in late afternoon, hoping to stay through part of the evening when it is all lit up. As it turned out, mine was a daytime experience. It was a ton of fun with over 100 beautiful ice and snow sculptures. Here are two of my favorite.

There were bumper cars (or bumper tubes) that one could try out. There was an ice bridge, an ice igloo, and a replica of Manitoba's Legislative Building which contained the most amazing and thrilling ice slide. I took a lightning fast sled ride down the ice slide from the top. It was reminiscent of a bobsled ride I did years ago in Lake Placid, but it was much shorter of course and I was on a piece of blue plastic!

At the top of these stairs awaits an exciting ice slide ride to the bottom! Note-descending ice steps is almost as scary as going down the slide.

Speaking of slides, there were many. Young and old would grab sleds placed at the bottom of each slide and everyone was having a great time. Some children brought their own sleds. One of the other impressive slides was found on Dinosaur hill where at the top there was a sculpture of life size dinosaurs carved into a mountain of snow.

The top of Dinosaur Hill

There was another slide where you shot out the mouth of some scary toothed critter- a bear or wildcat I think. I liked the view from the top where it appeared you were in the mouth of the beast. Folks could stand on the ice bridge and watch the fun as kids of every age flew out of the beast's mouth.

While enjoying the festivities at The Forks, I was reminded again of just how much these folks embrace their winter months by adding fun. Another awesome visit to Winnipeg.

Northern Bound

Our souvenir shot from last year- Brian's light painting skill

In less than a week, I'll be heading north to Churchill, Manitoba for more viewing of the aurora and whatever else the north has to offer. Here are two pics from last year- mostly practice so I remember how to create blog posts! I'll arrive in Winnipeg next Friday, spend a day investigating the city, and then I'll board the train to Churchill on Sunday morning. On Tuesday Feb 23rd, I should wake up in Churchill or someplace close.

Churchill Northern Studies Centre- home away from home

Brian has been there for over two weeks, and he has already captured some wonderful aurora shots. Perhaps one will be included here in the near future, along with a link to his blog which he promises to keep up this year.

For me, it is great fun to stay in touch with my family and friends while so far away. Please feel free to share with anyone else who might have an interest in our northern experience. This is my third aurora season being covered in this blog, so if you are new to the blog, check out some of the posts for the past two years to see photos of aurora and the Churchill landscape.