February 23 – 25, 2013 Winnipeg to Churchill
The journey for our group began February 23 as we began collecting together at the Forks – an appropriate location as it has always been a historical meeting place. After checking into the hotel and the Winnipeg contingent (Angela, Sophie, Bailey) giving the Quebec City kids (Isabelle and Nikolas) a whirlwind tour of The Forks, we boarded Michelle’s F-150 and headed to Assiniboine Park where given a behind the scenes tour of the new Polar Bear exhibit.
The first phase is open with the Polar Bear interpretive centre and our new bear “Hudson” was introduced to the public in the last few weeks. The zoo is taking a new approach, and hired a research scientist to coordinate the “Journey to Churchill” exhibit, as well as build a laboratory at the interpretive centre that will actively carry out and report on Polar bear and other Arctic research. Dr. Stephen Petersen has been tasked with being the head of Conservation and Research, and was also our tour guide. The lab at the interpretive centre is well equipped to handle the genetic research that is being conducted there at the Zoo. He gave us a great over view of the plan for the “Journey to Churchill” exhibit. I can’t wait to see it completed in 2014!
The evening of the 23rd consisted of dinner at Muddy Waters restaurant, where we were joined by two more participants from Montreal (Victor and Andrew). After dinner we rented skates, and after a 20 minute warm-up we were joined by our last two participants (Tyler and Christina) from Iqaluit and we headed down to the Assiniboine and Red rivers from some skating on the ice trail. Everybody had a blast and was starting to get to know one another.
At 8:30 am, February 24th we met for breakfast at the Pancake house, and then dropped our luggage off at the Via Rail station. What a beautiful building! If you have never seen it, you should check it out. After one more quick tour of The Forks to grab some snacks we were able to board the train shortly after 12:00 pm and the journey felt like it was officially underway. This first part of our journey was to last 44 hours.
For most of us, it was our first time riding on a train in Canada. What a great way to travel if you have the time! We travelled coach – meaning we just had a seat to sit in. The seat is much more comfortable than a bus or plane seat, and you can walk around. The dining car served pre-packed dinners and food, but prices were reasonable and it didn’t taste all that bad! The gentle but constant swaying of the train cars was somehow soothing to the experience.
The train ride took us through several different ecosystems that can be found in Manitoba. Winnipeg is situated in the Grassland Prairie region of Manitoba – a region that is very flat and devoid of trees. This is some of our best farm land, and about all we could see as we travelled towards Portage and then curved up in a north-west direction and headed towards Saskatchewan. As we moved closer to Dauphin, the Manitoba escarpment came into view as we began to leave the prairies and enter into the Temperate Deciduous Forest. The escarpment marks the boundary of glacial Lake Agassiz, that covered much of Manitoba almost 13 000 to 8 500 years ago (according to Wikipedia). The trees looked very bare out there in the snow without their leaves on.
After passing through Saskatchewan, and now proceeding in a north-easterly direction, we entered into the Taiga. No more naked trees, but thick stands of evergreens drooped with blobs of snow. It’s amazing to see how thick the stands of trees are – it would be almost impossible to hike straight through unless you found a trail to follow. We had 5 hour stopover in Thompson (as far as the roads north go), and were able to explore the town a little. We hiked a part of their Millennium trail, checked out the local museum, and picked up yet more snacks at the mall! At 5 pm, our journey northward continued on the Hudson Bay Rail line, and as I finish writing this log entry we are sitting in Gillam, Manitoba, waiting for the train to leave the station. It’s 11:28 pm…about 9 hours to go!
Activities kids have been doing to pass the time on the train:
- watching movies, and not just for entertainment!
- playing cards (Kent, Egyptian Rat slap, Dutch Blitz, and more!)
- working out (Dips, planks, sit-ups, push-ups)
- reading the Participant Handbook
- listening to music
- sleeping in countless awkward and uncomfortable positions
- journal entries and dispatch writing
- talking, talking, and talking to Dan
- staring out the window, hoping to spot all the elusive animals
- talking lots, and lots of pictures…
- …and snacking…lots of snacking.
- King of the Hill, and tag.
Questions to Answer:
- What is a biome?
- Name all four biomes found in Manitoba (I mentioned three of them).
- The locomotive that pulls our train is known as a “diesel electric.” Why?
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