Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

It has been a long journey north, but I’ve arrived in Churchill! Thankfully, I don’t have any crazy travel antics to share. My experience has been a little like Renee Zellweger’s character in the recent movie New In Town.

The long train ride from Winnipeg to Churchill was quite enjoyable. There are not many people going north this time of year, so there was plenty of room to spread out. The train had a laid back atmosphere. Everyone was very friendly.



I ate 4 delicious meals in the dining car, and the coffee was excellent!

I met 4 other “Earthwatchers” on the train. We had great conversations about the adventure ahead of us and what led each of us to embark on this trip. I also met Lody, who is originally from France, but is currently living in Montreal. He is travelling all over North America for 30 days. Tonight, he hopes to see the Northern Lights in Churchill.

Track conditions worsened the farther north we travelled. Many times along the way the train would slow to a jogging pace, especially the last 4-5 hours of the trip. Though I’ve seen lots of animal tracks in the snow, I’ve not spotted much wildlife. We saw several ptarmigan. Can you see the 5 ptarmigan in the picture below?


The train’s conductor saw a caribou walking down the track in front of us early this morning. I have witnessed the landscape change from my window. It was mostly dense forest for the entire first day. As I woke up this morning the trees were smaller and more spread out, and I could see far into the distance. I also began to see the effects of the wind on the trees and the snow.

There will be a lot to tell in the coming days. I will be adding pictures soon too. If you have time, please check out these blogs of my teammates also.


Happy Birthday, LJ!! :)

Travelling North

I can hardly believe that I leave tomorrow for this expedition. It has been quite a busy time preparing for it, but I'm packed and ready!


Back in December when I was first notified that I received this fellowship, I immediately began researching travel. Since I love to travel, I am pretty comfortable with making arrangements online. Usually it is a fairly quick process. This trip, however, proved to be more difficult. There are very limited flights into Churchill, and the train arrives every two days. Because I knew I would be spending a lot of money on gear, I tried to stay within a certain budget for travel. After several days of scouring all options, my plans were in place.

I will fly from Memphis to Winnipeg Thursday morning. Thursday evening I will leave Winnipeg on a 36-hour train ride to Churchill. I am looking forward to the ride for time to rest (I've hardly slept this week, a combination of nerves and work to do!), prepare (I have a workbook to complete before I arrive. I still have a few activities to do in it.), and enjoy the beautiful scenery (I love to see new places!).

I've been reading the blogs of the team that is currently there and watching the weather forecast. The past few days have been brutally cold for them with wind chills at more than -50 degrees C!! Thankfully, it is warming up this weekend! When I arrive it should only be -20s! This is the weather page I've been checking.

My next post will be after I arrive in Churchill. I should have great pictures to share and lots of information about our research work. Feel free to post comments to the blog or send me an email....make sure to include some WARM thoughts!!

Preparations!

I got my biggest suitcase out of the storage room.

My room has piles of winter clothing waiting to be packed. (Layers, layers, layers.)

My sub-zero sleeping bag that I will use when we build and sleep in an igloo is airing out in my living room.

My boots rated for -60 degrees will be arriving in the mail any day.

But, today I'm painting my toenails and wearing flip-flops!

It is unseasonably warm here in Mississippi with highs in the 70s for several days!! As I was sitting (with bare feet) on my front porch swing enjoying what feels like a spring day, I couldn't help but think that in a little more than 2 weeks I will be in temperatures 100 degrees colder! It seems impossible, but that's the part of this trip that is exciting to me.

Adventures Ahead

Wow...in just a few short weeks I will be headed north for an adventure of a lifetime! I am very excited to have this opportunity to join an Earthwatch Expedition and see a part of the world that I have never seen before. I will be working with a team that includes people from all over the US and other countries, several are teachers. We will be conducting research in and near Churchill, Manitoba. Each day I will report my experiences to my class through blog posts, video conferencing, and telephone conferencing. I hope you will join us on this adventure by checking this blog and the ones of my teammates.

Right now I am busy gathering all the gear I will need to stay warm while working in the extreme cold weather. It is all new to me since our average winter days here in Mississippi are about 50-70 degrees warmer than I will experience in Churchill! I am really looking forward to learning about the arctic environment and bringing back valuable lessons about its uniqueness and our impact on it.