Day Off #2: Time to Write

Its November 14, and I only have four more days of Buggy Driving.  Today was my second day off since I began work, a great time to recharge my batteries (both my body batteries and camera batteries), buy some groceries, and do my laundry...yeah for clean clothes!

So what's been happening on the Tundra.  Well, snow, snow, and more snow.  And when it isn't snowing it is blowing snow.  The temperature seems to be cold for a couple of days, then warm with even some melting and drizzle.  The cold weather allowed for an ice build up on Hudson's Bay and the bears became excited as they ventured further out on the ice, becoming smaller and smaller as they retreated from our view.  Then the wind turned to the south and the weather warmed up causing the ice to move away from shore, and the bears came back to the shore.

So there have been many bears for the past few days.  Some sleep, to conserve energy, but other bears walk the shoreline, impatiently waiting for a change in the winds and some cold weather.

I have had the pleasure of driving for some wonderful guests.  I really enjoyed a photography group called "Into the Light".  I spent four days with them as we toured the area looking for bears or other critters, while trying to ensure we were in a position to get the best lighting and composition.  We saw some fantastic bears, but a highlight for me was watching an arctic fox catch and eat a vole (a little "mouse like" animal).  The fox kept poking his nose into the snow as it dashed here and there trying to pinpoint the vole's location.  In a flash of white the tiny fox leapt into the air and landed burying its head into the snow.  As he pulled his head out there was the little snack hanging from his sharp teeth.  A few crunches and the meal was gone and our fox carried on his hunt...looking for dessert perhaps!

The photographers were ecstatic, and their huge lenses poking out of the buggy windows caught some wonderful pictures.  There were great shots of the fox leaping skyward, landing with his head down between his paws, shots with his whole head in the snow, and of course superb pictures of the fox eating his well earned meal.

My four days ended with me joining the group for a wonderful steak dinner at Jodie's Bed and Breakfast.  It was a fantastic group, and not only did I enjoy them, I learned a lot about how little I know about photography.  A course in digital photography will be high on my list once I get home.

The only downside with the photographers was that they needed to keep the buggy cold.  Apparently the heat waves going from the buggy windows can distort their images.  So to say the least, I was often a tad chilly.

Often our buggy was a great photo op for the other buggies.  Who can resist taking a picture of a Tundra Buggy studded with 3 and 4 foot lenses trained on one bear (or tiny fox) as the repeating sound of camera shutters sounds over the crisp air.

My last group before my day off ws 11 people from all over the world.  They came from Denmark, Japan, England, the United States, and even Sydney BC.   One couple has been to Churchill to visit the bears every year for over 20 years.  Amazing!  We had a great day and a lot of fun together.  Once again our buggy was the target for many photographs.  You see, I had a polar bear puppet that I used as part of my talk.  The little white cub (puppet) would wave at the other buggies as they passed.  Certainly a big hit that brought lots of smiles and laughter.

So the adventure is winding down.  I can hardly wait to see what the next four days will bring.  Stay tuned.

Buggy Doug