Bear necessities

After years of saying we wanted to do it, we finally managed to get up to Churchill to see the bears.

Why Churchill?

Geography - Churchill sits on the southern end of the western coastline of Hudson Bay, so counter clockwise sea currents bring freezing cold water down from the North, where it meets fresh water coming out of the Churchill river and flowing north off the permafrost, so the ice forms there quicker and earlier than the rest of the bay. Hudson Bay is also less saline than the Atlantic due to being a bit disconnected and having all the fresh water flowing in, which makes it freeze more readily than the ocean, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as the ice then reduces evaporation so the salinity never rises.

Why Bears?

Because the bay freezes over so well, the ice lasts until July and the currents take the last of the ice to the south side of the bay, so the bears come off the ice onto land to the south east of Churchill and spend the summer on the tundra. According to the guides the bears spent 2 1/2 years as cubs with their mothers, so would have learnt where to go when, and also they can "smell the ice starting to form". My schoolboy chemistry and physics can't quite get my head around how ice can smell any different from the water it is formed from, and how they tell its sea ice rather than the fresh water lakes on top of the permafrost that also freeze over, but they know and start to head north west toward Churchill

What do they do?

Technically their main diet is ring seals, so most of them haven't eaten for 4 months since they last came off the ice, so they are hungry. We did see one sub-adult (maybe 4 years old) that was picking on the carcass of a cub that had been killed the day before, probably by another large male. Apparently its not uncommon for adult males to kill cubs both for food and to make the mothers mate again, but its the first time our guides had actually seen it happen. Not the nicest of thoughts but that's nature - cubs have about a 50% survival rate

We also found one big boy unenthusiastically picking on some washed up kelp. Speculation is that it may be for minerals, or to aid digestion, or from boredom, but whatever it is they don't seem that keen on the salad bar - sounds sensible to me.

And one very large bear eating snow and licking the rocks - again to aid digestion.

Apart from that they are basically trying to conserve energy by laying around and not doing much, especially as it was a warm day. Their fur is so dense and  so well insulated that water doesn't cool them down, so stretching out on some snow is the best they can get, and it takes 1/13th of the energy of walking around. They also don't like the wind on their noses (who does?) so tend to face away from the wind.

Exception to that is cubs are smaller so like the warmth of their mothers, so tend to bundle up with them.

And one for Johnmill....

Not going to argue the quality but definitely the biggest four by four by far. Firetruck axles, all custom built in Churchill, and I've not seen a landie with a balcony, khazi and propane stove built in, although I dare say someone has converted a 101 somewhere....

And yes, these are all Maria's photos. Well, they are a small selection of the 250+ she took, and video, but we saw all these ourselves - nothing is stock from the web.

Welcome to Canmore

3059 miles after leaving Vermont, we have arrived in Canmore, our winter home for the next 6 months. 10 days driving in some fairly interesting winds is the hardest I've worked in years but at least the weather stayed dry and above zero - I really didn't want to drive badger on snowy frozen roads. We managed to take the northern route across North Dakota and I now know why they call Montana "Big Sky" country - there is nothing else to look at. Actually some of the badlands areas were quite interesting with good layers and colours, but not really enough to compensate for the prairies which are just dull dull dull

I was worried about the border crossing as we had a lot invested in this one - apartment rent, lift pass, Churchill trip and flights home - and the options for a plan B to get out of the US quickly from northern Montana were quite limited, plus bringing the vehicles over for more than 6 months was on my mind, but the Canadians were their usual friendly, welcoming selves and we didn't even have to turn the motor off before they had enough info and stamped us in. If only the US were as sensible and pragmatic.

Badger is now stored away for the winter and we'll see if the tarpaulins actually stay put this year - at least if they do blow off we can get back to him and redo them, although if they do get free we would probably never see them again as they sail off over the prairies,

The apartment is the largest and most modern we've had to date, but with wooden floors and shiny leather furniture. I think the best description is slippery - I keep sliding off the sofa whilst trying to watch TV. We brought  a second carload of stuff back up yesterday so once that is unpacked we should be able to start to get into some routine, get used to sleeping at 1400m altitude and I need to get out on my bike a bit to remind the legs of what they are for in the couple of weeks before the mountains open....

Favourite place in the US?

We often get asked what is our favourite part of the US, and technically we should be answering "Caesar Creek, near Dayton, Ohio". Not an obvious answer, and whilst it's a nice enough state park and campground, it's nothing special. But it is close to the us air force museum so this is our third visit in 3 years, this time as a rest day from Badger's drivers seat as we head back west.

And as it's been 28c today and sunny, and it's still daylight as it's a lot further west than Vermont were having what may be this summer"s  last steak on the charcoal BBQ and evening sat out drinking wine and eating cheese.....

Time for plan D.....or is it 1(a)?

We've pretty much come to the end of our summer touring so its time to pack up and prepare for winter in Canada. Given that we were advised by US border and customs in April that we need to go home or somewhere else before we are allowed back into the US, we have decided to come home for 3 1/2 months after Canmore, and will then come back to the US for the solar eclipse. We've booked flights arriving in the UK on April 27th, and returning to Calgary on August 10th in time to get down to Oregon for the eclipse on the 21st. Consequently we've been looking at what to do with Badger for 10 months and came up with 4 options:

• A......sell him privately - he's been advertised on-line for the past 6 weeks and whilst we've had a couple of semi-serious viewers we've not sealed a deal, so....
• B..... leave him with a dealer on consignment to sell over here on the east coast. Spoke with a couple of dealers over the summer who would have been willing to take him at this time of year, but we would have lost a lot in the process. Plus they were based down the I-95 which is currently under water from hurricane Matthew, so timing is against us, even if there are probably a lot of people down there right now who could do with a self contained home that can jack itself up.....
• C..... Put him in storage on the east coast south of the snow belt and pick him up again after the eclipse and just take the car to Canmore - possible but would have meant a week each way in motels, and would have also been affected by Matthew, or
• D.....take him west now and put him in storage over there so we can pick him up before the eclipse

so we have decided on the latter. Actually, we had initially planned to spend 4 periods in the US including next summer in the west around the eclipse, so this is not that far removed from our original plan. We also pushed the pace a bit this summer so we got to see everything we wanted to over this side, including the Canadian Atlantic provinces. We would have revisited Washington DC for a few more days if we had headed back south, but we chose to stay in Vermont to see the colours change and glad we did, so we can do DC again as a fly through another time.

We've found somewhere to store Badger near Calgary airport so we can access him if needs be over the winter so even though its going to be cold it should be OK as long as we winterise the plumbing and tarp him up to keep the snow off. We start heading west on Saturday and should be in Montana by the 24th so can have a couple of days there before crossing the border and moving into the Canmore apartment.

So, next summer we can fly back into Calgary to pick him up, visit Drumheller for a couple of days set up as we skipped it on our first Canada visit (rather than doing a long day trip from Canmore), head down through Glacier National Park  which we skipped this spring, and then on to see Pris and Bill in Oregon for the eclipse. Then we can put him up for sale again on the west coast as we head down slowly through northern California revisiting a few favourites at a different time of year (Crater Lake, Yosemite) and spend the late autumn and early winter doing the snowbird thing in the south west. If we manage to sell up in time we can head to Hawaii before our 6 months runs out, if not once we get to February we will leave him on consignment in snowbird territory while we head on to Mexico and central America, and do Hawaii on another fly-through.

Not sure where we will be living for our time back in the UK - our Mycenae Road property will still be let out, and our Blackpool tenants have shown no sign of wanting to leave, so we will probably have to rent somewhere ourselves - we've one possibility in play but won't know for sure until much closer to the time. but hopefully this trip we'll have time to make it to see friends in Europe who we didn't get a chance to see last trip, and more time to revisit everyone else....

Leaf peepers

That's what we've been doing over the last 3 weeks and the foliage has been magnificent. We have done many of the scenic by-ways (and a number that aren't on the list) as this year has been one of the best on record for fall colours. Most of the photos were taken through the car window or sunroof and I have had great difficulty in choosing which photos to publish so here are a few:

Six states in three weeks

We've covered some distance over the last few weeks and packed in quite a lot of sightseeing.

First stop - Boston, Massachusetts. The city is very compact and easy to get around on foot.

We took a guided walking tour of the Freedom Trail, a 2.5mile/4km walk covering 16 locations that are significant to the country's history. We started our journey at Boston Common, up to the Massachusetts State House, past the Park Street Church to Granary Burying Ground (where revolutionaries Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Paul Revere are buried) to name just a few. At the site of the Boston Massacre, we learned how 5 (yes, five - the guide said they like to exaggerate here) people were killed by British troops in 1770, and the propaganda that fueled the animosity towards the British authorities.

We also learnt more about the Boston Tea Party, which happened largely as a result of "Taxation without representation" and the colonists believed they were being taxed unfairly by Britain to pay for the war with France and India.  340 chests of British East India Company tea, weighing of 92,000 pounds and aboard 3 ships, were smashed open and dumped into Boston Harbour on the evening of December 16, 1773. It was worth in excess of £9,600, which is approx. $2m today. No-one was hurt and nothing was stolen or looted from the ships. The protest was a very costly blow to the British. As a result, a number of Acts were passed and the American colonists responded with protests and resistance which ultimately led to the American Revolution which began on April 19th 1775.

On the way back from Boston, we stopped at Plymouth where the Pilgrims first stepped ashore in December, 1620. The Mayflower II is a replica of the original and Plymouth Rock was three times larger than the one we now see below.

We also had a wonderful sunset on the way back

Next stop - Nantucket, a small island off Cape Cod. The buildings are clad in clapboard or unpainted cedar-shingles, with many surrounded by manicured hedges. The town of Nantucket has many cobblestoned streets and is very quaint. We took a bus tour narrated by a local and it was very interesting. Famous visitors and residents include Joe Biden (Vice President), Bill and Hilary Clinton, Tommy Hilfiger's ex wife (she got the house), Sharon Stone, Bill Gates and many other 'names'

We saw another glorious sunset from the ferry on our return to the mainland

Another day trip, this time to Martha's Vineyard. This island is larger than Nantucket and is just south of Cape Cod. It's also known as 'Hollywood East' although celebrities come here to enjoy the atmosphere and not to be seen. Many of the country's most affluent families enjoy a century-old tradition of spending their summers here. We bought a bus pass and had a lovely day touring the island on our own. We also had the best Haddock and chips that we've eaten in a long time, from the Vinehaven fish market.

Gay Head Cliffs and lighthouse at the western end of the island

Another day, another trip, this time to Salem, Gloucester and Rockport,

Salem was first settled in 1626 and is considered one of the most significant seaports in Puritan American history. It is also seen as the birthplace of the US National Guard. In 1637, the first muster was held on Salem Common and was the the first time militia had drilled for the common defense of a community.

It is most famous for its witch trials held in 1692, where nearly 200 people in the area were accused of witchcraft and 20 were tried and executed.  

From Salem, we followed the scenic by-way to Manchester-by-the-sea, Gloucester and Rockport, lovely seaside towns. 

From Massachusetts we headed west though Rhode Island to Connecticut. We based ourselves just outside New Haven so we could visit Long Island in the car.

On the way, we called in at Flushing Meadows, Queens. This was the site of the 1939/1940 New York's World's Fair and also hosted the 1964/1965 NY World's Fair. A number of movies have been filmed here, including Men In Black II .

We also got a great view of New York from one of the bridges.

On to Coney Island, well known as a site of amusement parks and a beach resort, all of which were quite empty as we visited during the week and all the kids were back at school.

From here, we continued to Fire Island, a thin barrier island of the southern shore of Long Island. It has protected beaches and the 19th century Fire Island Lighthouse on the western tip.

We decided to take the ferry back to the mainland and passed many vineyards en-route. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to visit any of them. 

The ferry back, MV Cape Henlopen, was previously known as USS LST-510, a tank landing ship that delivered here cargo and disembarked her troops on Omaha Beach, Normandy on D-Day, 5th June 1944.  

Then we started our journey north and spent a few days in Henniker, New Hampshire. From here we visited White Mountain National Forest and Mount Washington. We drove the 8 mile trail up the mountain to the summit, where the highest wind ever observed by man was recorded at 231 miles per hour.  The summit stage office is still chained to the ground. The last half mile was in the clouds and by the time we got to the top (elevation 6,288ft), the ground was frozen, and so was I

The views on the way down were magnificent

Now we're up in Burlington, Vermont (on Lake Champlain)

We've slowed the pace now while we wait and watch the colours change. A visit to Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory, a few creameries for the local cheeses (still more to visit), the local farmers market and a brewery - I could get used to this :-)

did I miss the memo?

When did it become normal not to bother peeling the spuds before making chips? I mean, they're chips - don't think a bit of extra roughage is going to do much to offset being boiled in lard and smothered in ketchup. Not to mention the double bacon cheeseburger they come with....

And while I'm at it, when did Americans lose the ability to use a manual bathroom? Sensor flush, sensor taps, sensor soap - well, foaming cleanser - sensor towel dispenser. Ok, they still have one or two manual steps, but it seems it's only a matter of time....

Also, I thought restaurants were for humans and the occasional guide dog under the table. It seems that nowadays anyone can wrap whatever furry rat of their choice in an ebay "service dog" harness, stick it in a stroller and take it everywhere. All that means is it can sit there licking its own arse at the same level as my table.....Or maybe some people just have really ugly babies.