Ground Hog Day Churchill, MB
Ground Hog Day – Churchill, MB
So, I’m sitting in the World Famous Gypsy’s Bakery. I can see the Via trainset from here. It’s a little after 4pm and the sun is quickly disappearing from an already frigid sky. I’d estimate the temperature to be -20C today. The wind-chill probably bringing it down close to -40C/-40F.
The train itself was late getting away from Winnipeg by about 45 minutes. I’m not sure why because it starts from there. It’s not like it should have been late getting into the station. But it was. By the time we reached Churchill it was about 2.5 hours late. Not sure why that was either because we weren’t held up by freight or anything. It must have been the slowdowns for snow or something.
So, I arrived in Churchill around 11am Thursday morning. My first thing was to find a free shower! Even though I had been sponge bathing on the train, it had been a few days since a true shower. The problem, I didn’t want to pay for a hotel room for my now-less-than-12-hour layover. On the train I had talked to a guy on his way home with his kids. He works as a nurse at the local hospital. He put me onto the ‘complex’. The complex has everything under one roof he tells me. The hospital, the school, the library, a canteen, swimming pool, skating rink, curling rink, gym, etc.
Wow, sounds modern! It was designed for a community of 10,000. I believe Churchill’s winter population is close to 1000. Anyways, I walked two blocks to the complex. Walking into the wind, I was tempted to stop at the local branch of the Canadian Legion, but pressed onward. I entered the building in hopes of finding the swimming pool, knowing they’d have showers.
Well, the thing about this building is that nothing is labeled. The library I recognized from looking through the windows and seeing books. Everything else was plain doors. No windows. No signs pointing you to the pool, or gym, or curling rink. Nothing. I wondered around and finally found the men’s pool changing room. No one stopped me. So, I waited 10 mins for the water to warm up and took a private shower in the communal shower room. What a weird feeling. Knowing the school was located in the same complex I was kind of weary that a class of giggling schoolboys would come through for their morning swim. But nada!
I recognized the canteen from the wonderful smell of something cooking on the grill. But still no sign. The library didn’t open for internet access until 1pm, so I opted for a chicken burger and a sit-down. The library wanted a donation for the 30 min access. I had no problem with that part….it was the Win98 computer that gave me chills.
I checked my email and a few other things and got out of there. I was really wanting some chat programs so I could check in with people but settled reading some comments about the blog. Thanks everyone for leaving comments. They keep me going when I’m really at the end of my rope.
Batteries going dead. Will write more later. Having dinner with a Kiwi friend from the train. She’s staying the extra two days while I’m turning around with the same crew from the trip up. Snow and trees….snow and trees.
Watching ‘Firefly’ that Mark lent me. Awesome preclude to the movie Serenity. It’s like a book I can’t put down! I must have watched 10 hours back to back yesterday! Will watch the final 4 episodes on the trip back, and then re-watch the movie!
5:25pm
Sitting in the SeaCoast Hotel/Restaurant recharging batteries and having a pot of tea. This is where I’m supposed to meet my friend from the train, Mary. She’s kind of doing a walkabout, but does need to be back in Vancouver by the end of January.
I had a hotspot momentarily here but it’s disappeared now. It was a very low signal also. If it had connected it probably would have been enough to get out a post before hitting Winnipeg.
The Sun has gone down now for the most part. I’ve seen a couple of snowmobiles go whizzing past the window. It’s just as easy to hop on your snowmobile as into your car to get around this small town. Not sure what the rules are, but it’s probably easier for those who have a DUI under there belts too. It’s an accepted method of travel here.
I didn’t see any Polar Bears while here…and probably won’t for the remaining three hours I’m here. That is unless one wanders through town. But the chances of that happening are slim to good. I talked to the clerk at the canteen and she said she saw prints Saturday night indicating one was near. There is a Polar Bear Alert team that is called when a bear is spotted. They try to scare the bear out of town using various noise makers and other irritating distractions to the bears. I have a block to walk to the train station. Crossing fingers I don’t spot one as they tend to come in after dark looking for food/garbage. The local advice is to back away slowly, and drop something to distract the bear. (I’d have to sacrifice my laptop and camera bag). The warning further states, if you MUST shot the bear aim for the body….the first shot won’t kill it, but it should slow it down enough. All bears shot in self-defense must be cleaned up.
I’m not sure how I feel about not having a gun. On one hand, I’d still be alive, but then I’d have to stand out there in the cold trying to move a 1000lb bear. Hmmmm…choices, choices.
So, I’m sitting in the World Famous Gypsy’s Bakery. I can see the Via trainset from here. It’s a little after 4pm and the sun is quickly disappearing from an already frigid sky. I’d estimate the temperature to be -20C today. The wind-chill probably bringing it down close to -40C/-40F.
The train itself was late getting away from Winnipeg by about 45 minutes. I’m not sure why because it starts from there. It’s not like it should have been late getting into the station. But it was. By the time we reached Churchill it was about 2.5 hours late. Not sure why that was either because we weren’t held up by freight or anything. It must have been the slowdowns for snow or something.
So, I arrived in Churchill around 11am Thursday morning. My first thing was to find a free shower! Even though I had been sponge bathing on the train, it had been a few days since a true shower. The problem, I didn’t want to pay for a hotel room for my now-less-than-12-hour layover. On the train I had talked to a guy on his way home with his kids. He works as a nurse at the local hospital. He put me onto the ‘complex’. The complex has everything under one roof he tells me. The hospital, the school, the library, a canteen, swimming pool, skating rink, curling rink, gym, etc.
Wow, sounds modern! It was designed for a community of 10,000. I believe Churchill’s winter population is close to 1000. Anyways, I walked two blocks to the complex. Walking into the wind, I was tempted to stop at the local branch of the Canadian Legion, but pressed onward. I entered the building in hopes of finding the swimming pool, knowing they’d have showers.
Well, the thing about this building is that nothing is labeled. The library I recognized from looking through the windows and seeing books. Everything else was plain doors. No windows. No signs pointing you to the pool, or gym, or curling rink. Nothing. I wondered around and finally found the men’s pool changing room. No one stopped me. So, I waited 10 mins for the water to warm up and took a private shower in the communal shower room. What a weird feeling. Knowing the school was located in the same complex I was kind of weary that a class of giggling schoolboys would come through for their morning swim. But nada!
I recognized the canteen from the wonderful smell of something cooking on the grill. But still no sign. The library didn’t open for internet access until 1pm, so I opted for a chicken burger and a sit-down. The library wanted a donation for the 30 min access. I had no problem with that part….it was the Win98 computer that gave me chills.
I checked my email and a few other things and got out of there. I was really wanting some chat programs so I could check in with people but settled reading some comments about the blog. Thanks everyone for leaving comments. They keep me going when I’m really at the end of my rope.
Batteries going dead. Will write more later. Having dinner with a Kiwi friend from the train. She’s staying the extra two days while I’m turning around with the same crew from the trip up. Snow and trees….snow and trees.
Watching ‘Firefly’ that Mark lent me. Awesome preclude to the movie Serenity. It’s like a book I can’t put down! I must have watched 10 hours back to back yesterday! Will watch the final 4 episodes on the trip back, and then re-watch the movie!
5:25pm
Sitting in the SeaCoast Hotel/Restaurant recharging batteries and having a pot of tea. This is where I’m supposed to meet my friend from the train, Mary. She’s kind of doing a walkabout, but does need to be back in Vancouver by the end of January.
I had a hotspot momentarily here but it’s disappeared now. It was a very low signal also. If it had connected it probably would have been enough to get out a post before hitting Winnipeg.
The Sun has gone down now for the most part. I’ve seen a couple of snowmobiles go whizzing past the window. It’s just as easy to hop on your snowmobile as into your car to get around this small town. Not sure what the rules are, but it’s probably easier for those who have a DUI under there belts too. It’s an accepted method of travel here.
I didn’t see any Polar Bears while here…and probably won’t for the remaining three hours I’m here. That is unless one wanders through town. But the chances of that happening are slim to good. I talked to the clerk at the canteen and she said she saw prints Saturday night indicating one was near. There is a Polar Bear Alert team that is called when a bear is spotted. They try to scare the bear out of town using various noise makers and other irritating distractions to the bears. I have a block to walk to the train station. Crossing fingers I don’t spot one as they tend to come in after dark looking for food/garbage. The local advice is to back away slowly, and drop something to distract the bear. (I’d have to sacrifice my laptop and camera bag). The warning further states, if you MUST shot the bear aim for the body….the first shot won’t kill it, but it should slow it down enough. All bears shot in self-defense must be cleaned up.
I’m not sure how I feel about not having a gun. On one hand, I’d still be alive, but then I’d have to stand out there in the cold trying to move a 1000lb bear. Hmmmm…choices, choices.
posted by HotShot at 9:03 AM
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