Day 6

Yeah! Our day off. We got to sleep in and are to meet Carley's friend for the Nature tour at 9:00. Sheldon our tour guide shows up promptly at 9:00 in a school bus. How appropriate for a group of teachers. We get on the bus and first thing we see is a gun rack and gun above the drivers seat. I think if you live in Churchill you don't leave home without your gun.
Off we go bumping on the gravel roads. Where is Sheldon going to take us? First stop is the Hudson bay. The rocky shore displays formations of ice in the bluest water I have ever seen. Large formations of ice are scattered in the sea of blue. Excitedly we race on to the beach and begin our photo shoot of iceberg like formations which make great pictures. Each of us see how far out in the water we can go to stand on the ice statues. Our guide Sheldon stands watch with gun in hand searching for bears while we frolic on ice and rock mounds doing photo shoots. We see a pipit bird nest strategically built amongst the rocks along the beach. The eggs of the pipit look like milk duds.
The views from the rocks are magnificent in every direction. We all decided a group photo was needed at the top of an ice formation that had beached itself as the tide receded. Many glamour shots were taken and we all slid off the ice. Two steps away we heard a crash and realized our iceberg was no longer standing. Luckily for us we were not on ice when it decided to crumble.
Sheldon took us all over Churchill to fulfill our desire to see the great white polar bear. No luck with Sheldon. However, we had one more chance.
We also were signed up for the zodiac tour to see seals and beluga whales. Maybe A polar bear could be floating on the ice pack. That is what some locals had seen the day before. With life jackets adorning our body we hopped in the zodiac and set off to the Churchill River and the Hudson Bay. In our amazement Mike, our guide and owner of the boat, took us out in the bay and proceeded to ram the top of the ice plateau and dock us safely on top of the floating ice pack. We were reluctant to climb aboard this floating snow drift. Seals played in the water with interest wondering why we were on their floating home. It is getting late more info tomorrow.