Memories- Missing the North

Our first selfie!

Brian and I are back at home now, taking care of all the details of daily life that we had put on hold. This idea of putting daily life "on hold" is most likely one of the marvelous perks of traveling.

David Marx, this one is for you!

I've been going through photos, reliving many of the memorable moments from this year's excursion to Churchill. I've come across some photos that probably should have been part of the blog, but perhaps didn't fit into one of the blog topics. Brian spent 2-3 weeks in Churchill before I arrived. I am including some of his photos  here that I think you would all enjoy seeing.

Aurora viewing out on the deck

The auroras were spectacular, and of course I have a few additional aurora photos of Brian's that just must be shared. Some of these had escaped my notice because there were so many photos to choose from. Honestly, I could spend hours just happily editing aurora photos in trying to recreate the magic of the night. It is not the same as being there, for sure, but the camera gives us the gift of better eyes. I still hope you all get to actually stand under the auroral oval to see the beauty that is above us- often invisible. Still, it is there.

Sword fighting under the aurora

Yes, you can see an aurora during the time of the full moon.

As I look at aurora photos, editing and trying to decide what to keep, I was surprised by how often the Big Dipper is sitting right in the middle of the aurora. In Churchill, where you are under the auroral oval, it is not unusual to have auroras in any part of the sky. In one of Brian's fish-eye photos which includes a lot more sky, you can actually see the Big Dipper on one side and Orion on the other!

Look for the Big Dipper and Orion on opposite sides.

Just included this because I love it. I think this was taken by Brian before I arrived.

Aurora in the backyard of CNSC with my favorite spruce trees

You can see the tilt of the trees from the prevailing winds, and the scarcity of branches on that side.

Brian captured this magnificent red fox on both photo and video. I hope to upload the video at a later time, or capture a better view of the fox.

You can see how gorgeous he is, and that he was not at all intimidated by the snowmobile.  In 2014, Brian got a glimpse of a red fox at sunset, and we did find his tracks the next day. Last year was the first time we saw Arctic fox, and we saw them on several occasions. Churchill is the southern reach of the Arctic fox's range, and Churchill is on the northern reach of the red fox's range. Last year was much colder, and therefore we saw more Arctic fox. Here is a photo of the Arctic fox outside the dining area at CNSC from our 2014 trip.

The Arctic fox is much better adapted to the harsh climate of the north, but the red fox dominates in size.  With a warming climate, the Arctic fox will be finding it much more difficult to compete for range with the red fox.

On March 26th, we headed back on the train from Churchill to Winnipeg. In Winnipeg, the weather was quite a contrast from last year- about 80 degrees warmer. Our LLBean Baxter State parkas were way too much coat, but we hadn't brought any in-between coats.

In Winnipeg, we had a chance to meet up with some of our Churchill friends and a few of the guests from the last Arctic Skies group.  It was a nice way to end the journey.

Brian and I finally got to visit the new Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg. I think we will have to make a return trip, as we did not allow enough time to really explore all of the floors. Here are some photos from the outside and also one or two from the top.

A Statue of Mahatma Gandhi- He would be proud of this museum's efforts.

From this view, it looks like he is going to take the train home with us.

From the top, I could finally get a good view of this walking bridge across the Red River

 When I was here three weeks ago in mid March, the Red River was frozen, and there was a skating trail that went for a good long way. I actually walked across the river to explore the very edge of St Boniface, a subsection of Winnipeg.

From this view,  I could see the train station in the foreground, and the Hotel Fort Garry behind it.

Our good friends Roger Starman Woloshyn and his wife Dawn also took us on a day trip north of Winnipeg to Gimli, the Icelandic community located on the shore of Lake Winnipeg. Winnipeg's multi-cultural diversity is to be admired. We learn a little more with each visit. Anyway, on our outing through the countryside of Manitoba north of Winnipeg, some memorable sights were Lake Winnipeg where we saw someone ice kiting, we followed the winding Red River where the ice was in the process of breaking up, and we drove through Bird Provincial Park. The destination of the trip was a quest for walleye at Kris's Fish and Chips. Sometimes, walleye is referred to as pickerel, but evidently it is not the same fish we call a pickerel down here. So, a big thank you to Roger and Dawn for the Manitoba sightseeing adventure.

Ice kiting on Lake Winnipeg in Gimli.

Home safe and sound once again.  A tiny bit of snow still sits on our lawn, but it won't be long.