Last Day, Churchill Canada 7-29-11

We are all headed home today with mixed emotions. Glad to be going home to family and friends, but hating that it is all ended. This is an experience of a lifetime and I am so thankful that I was chosen to participate. Thank you Northrop Grumman for caring enough to sponsor this trip for us. I also want to thank all of the people who nominated me as a teacher they thought worthy to go on this adventure. Thank you all for everything.

Day Nine and Ten Churchill Canada 7-27/28-11

Today we saw a Polar Bear up close and personal. As we were going to breakfast Craig came running down the stairs yelling there is a bear out my window. Of course we took off for his room and watched as it came down onto the grounds of the research center. We shifted to the outside observation deck as he came around the corner. He finally settled down in the trees. They said he was a young two year old bear and was pretty skinny. After we left for the site they said he went into one of the ponds and laid there cooling off and then came back to the same area.
When we were going back out after lunch we drove by the spot Dr. Kershaw was going to check his equipment and there he was. Carley radioed back and Pete was hoping they could scare him off. Carley turned the van around, came up to Dr. Kershaw, rolled down the window and said,"I hate to burst your science bubble, but there is a bear at your site and you are not going there". Not even science happens in the face of a polar bear.

Today is our last full day of work before we head back to our real worlds. It will be so hard to leave this place and all of the teachers in this group. What a great bunch of teachers. Our children are so lucky to have teachers who are this excited about learning and new adventures.

Day Eight Churchill Canada

Sunday started out cold but it became more interesting when it started to rain. It kept getting worse as time went by. We of course are on the ground, fighting the tree skirts to get to the trunk of the tree to core it. We finished up our cores and plots and then everyone helped get the rest done so we could get in out of the rain. Interestingly we had three umbrellas and they ended up with the people who were entering data. As it should be I guess.
With the rain continuing we stayed at the center and Dr. Pete gave us jobs to do. Everything from sanding cores to dusting and cleaning the new labs. Another interesting day at the Research Center.

Day Seven Churchill Canada 6-25-11

Our big day off. We left the Center and headed to town to see the sights. We shopped in the stores that were open and walked around to see what the little town of Churchill had to offer. I bought a baseball cap that says, Churchill Canada, Polar Bear Capital of the World. It is also considered to be the Beluga Whale Capital, since they get so many of them coming to give birth.
Before the boat ride we rode around the town and went to the beach. It was low tide and you could see rocks everywhere. I found some little animals in the tide pools, but not many. We climbed up on the wall by the Bay and saw whales everywhere. It was fun to watch them. We didn't know at the time that we would be right on top of them in a couple of hours.
They have an Eskimo museum in Churchill. When the people from the northern provinces used to get sick they would come to Churchill for medical attention. While they were there they would make carvings of their way of life and sell them to the museum. To say they are fabulous would be an understatement. The museum is full of artifacts about the Eskimo way of life. Very interesting.
Then off to the whale watch boat ride.Whale watching here is different from CA. Here we go on Zodiac's. These are inflatable rubber boats that you sit up on. Imagine a huge inner tube and see yourself sitting on it going up the river. That's what we did. Mary Lou had never been in a boat, much less a Zodiac, and she was scared. Of course as soon as she saw the first whale her fear went away, to return as soon as we started back and there were no more whales to watch.
They had microphones in the water and we could hear the whales. They were clicking and chirping to each other. Beluga's are called the canaries of the sea, because they are always singing to each other.
Again after dinner we went for a ride with Dr. Kershaw and this time we saw a mother bear and 2 cubs. They were headed away from us and were about 3/4 of a mile away. It was great fun to look at them.

Day Six Churchill Canada 6-24-11

Today is our last day to work before we get a day off to go to town and go whale watching, The weather was nice and we worked hard as usual. I have to tell you that the food here is outstanding. Every meal is good. And we are eating a ton of food at every meal. After all that work, we are hungry. I just hope I don't gain 10 lbs.
We went out for a ride after dinner again and on the way to town we saw whales in the Bay. I'm excited about going tomorrow.
We again tried to see if there were any Northern Lights, but no luck. The sun was up way too much to see the lights. At 1:30 am you could still see the sunset or the sunrise which ever it was. The sun set at 10:30 or so, but it would be showing color for hours afterward and it came up at 4:00. It never gets dark enough so you can't see the rocket tower.

Day Five Churchill Canada 6-23-11

Hard day of work. Cold and wet. We stayed longer and finished the site we were working on because none of us wanted to come back. Thank God for REI rain gear. I laid in water all day and still stayed dry.
After dinner and a lecture Dr. Kershaw took us for a ride. Jen dug a hole down to the ice and it was only about 8 inches down. Dr, Kershaw told us it would melt a bit more before summer was done, but after that it was the Permafrost.
Then we went over to Twin Lakes and saw our first Polar Bear. It was about 1.5 miles away and moving fast. Even with the binoculars it was too far to see. But the bottom line is "we saw a bear". Yoo Hoo
After that we went to the place I wanted to see. The Boreal forest. It was beautiful with lichens all over the ground that looked like snow. These lichens had been growing for 100 years and we tramped them down. I felt really bad until Dr Kershaw explained that one moose would do more damage than all of us put together.

Day Four Churchill Canada 6-22-11

Today it was cold in the morning when we were working. I had my jacket and my rain gear on. It wasn't raining but I was laying in the puddles coring and counting and measuring. I still got cold and put my heavy winter jacket on. After we came back after lunch it was better. I still was in the water, but I wasn't cold. We did our first plot today. Actually it was a practice one. We threw a stake over our shoulder and from that point we made a rectangle that measured 1 meter by 2 meters and we counted and measured the seedlings and saplings in the plot. This can sometimes be a real job if there is a lot of them or you can get none in your random plot. Then you move on to another. My body is sore from all the up and down and coring. Thank God for good meds.
PS I'm the one in the blue raincoat laying on the ground