10/08/2026 – We have arrived!
The second night on the train went as well as could be expected. We arrived in Churchill only about 45 minutes later than scheduled, which was fine with us since we didn’t have anything scheduled for the first day in the town of 900 people.
We were met at the train station by the owner of the B&B we will be staying at for the 2 nights in town. He pointed to his vehicle and told us to go there while he tried to find others he was supposed to pick up. Now, on the train, there are only three berths and they are right next to each other. When we got in the driver’s vehicle, there was one of the couples from one of the other berths already inside. By the time we got to the B&B, all three of us berth couples were staying at the same B&B! The B&B owner gave us the lowdown on the B&B rules and warned us about walking around town after 10 pm or so and avoiding certain areas altogether, to lessen our chances of encountering a bear that hasn’t eaten since the ice melted back in May. Kathy and Dave wandered around town, checking out potential eateries, the two grocery stores, and the town beach on the Hudson Bay. Dave, throwing polar bear caution into the wind, wandered down to the beach and let the waters of the Hudson Bay surround his boots – an act Dave calls “swimming”. We also went into a museum at the train station which was pretty interesting. One display had pelts from a black bear on top of a pelt from a grizzly bear, which was on top of a pelt from a polar bear. Boy! Are grizzly bears tiny! (Well compared to polar bears, anyway.) We were surprised to learn that black bears and even grizzly bears are sometimes seen in this area, along with polar bears. As the climate changes, more grizzlies are expected to arrive. In fact, grizzlies and polar bears have actually cross-bred. (Dave wondered if they would end up looking like zebras with alternating white and brown stripes?)
Somehow, Kathy and Dave ended up walking 7 miles after spending the morning on a train. Dinner was sounding like a good idea. We went to one place. Nope – closed for the season. We went to another place. Nope – they had a large group with reservations and we would have to wait over an hour. We went to a third place. Nope – they decided to not be open today. We finally went back to place #2 where we could order a meal to go, then lug it back to the B&B. Finally sated, we made it to our “bed(s)” for some sleep. Our room has two bunk beds in it. The lower bunk is a double, with the upper bunk a single. However, there is only one blanket, so doubling up it is. Dave got the side of the bed against the wall. Kathy thought she was being smart by taking the easy in/out side, at least until Dave had to roll over her every time he wanted to get into bed, and again every time he wanted to get out of bed. Kathy was never so happy to hear Dave start snoring, which gratefully signaled a cessation of roller derby!
