SEEMS EASY ENOUGH...

I'm not a rocket scientist, but this seems relatively straightforward...

BABY IT'S WARM OUTSIDE

Getting towards the chilly season in Churchill, Canada. 

Each year polar bears gather outside of Churchill to await the freezing of the Hudson Bay -- when ice hunting for seals becomes the bears' chief pastime. As a visitor, you can see all of this for yourself. 

(Our friends at Frontiers North can tell you all about it. Tell 'em where you saw it.)

Unfortunately with global warming the bears are having a shorter and shorter hunting season.

Just one of the many impacts on our world.

A few years ago I produced this video to add to the global outcry.

CHURCHILL, CANADA - ALERT ON THE TUNDRA

An arctic fox cavorts around the tires of the Tundra Buggy, keeping a watchful eye on the horizon for any of the larger predators which lurk on the tundra.

CHURCHILL, MANITOBA - THE OTHER DOOR

Some people need things explained very plainly before they understand instructions.

The door to North Star Tours in Churchill. I didn't ask, but you have to assume the second blue sign, on the left, was necessary at some point.

THE DAILY ESCAPE: THE TUNDRA INN

The very inviting Tundra Inn, on Franklin Street. Hotel, pub and game room.

Churchill, Manitoba.

A Chill in the Air

It's early December and the air has taken on a decided chill. It puts me in mind 

of Polar Bears and the Canadian tundra.

Pc of the Day: Sunrise, Hudson Bay

In early October the air begins to chill dramatically on the Canadian tundra. As temperatures drop, ice begins to form on the massive inland sea known as the Hudson Bay. One of the more interesting occurrences is the gathering of polar bears near the town of Churchill, Manitoba. They're there for one thing: to wait for the ice to form and allow them to go out onto thee bay in search of their favorite prey, seal. 

It's an amazing experience amid a stark, almost barren landscape which nonetheless has an astounding beauty to it.

Pic of the Day: Polar Bear video

I felt like doing something a bit different today.

Polar bear video from Churchill, Manitoba.

The song was written by a friend of ours and that's my wife on vocals. I recorded the video.

Pic of the Day: Bearly There

A swing back through the Canadian tundra for a visit with my favorite polar bear, Berry Butt. As you see by the spot on her nose, her backside wasn't the only stain giving away her favorite snack.

Picture of the Day: Mush!!

They call it dogsledding when there's snow. If it's just a cart, I assume it's "dogcarting".

Either way, it's a heckuva lot of fun.

Blue Sky Dogsled, Churchill, Canada.

Pic of the Day: Churchill, Manitoba

A side street in the northern Manitoba town of Churchill. We were there for a few hours waiting for our transfer out to the Tundra Buggy Lodge.

We wandered the streets for a while, reveling at the rugged beauty of the town before find lunch in a nearby diner -- where I promptly lost a crown while eating a cheese sandwich. Good way to start our adventure on the tundra!

ROOM WITH A VIEW

"...There are shadows because there are hills."

                                        - E.M. Forster, A Room With A View

Oftentimes hotel room windows look out on some pretty mundane things. Parking lots. Other buildings. Streets. Large swaths of vacant acreage. Noisy tourist hangouts. Or a combination of all the above.

But every once in a while you're blessed with a view that is not only beautiful, but it rises to "spectacular". Below are properties with views representative of those times in my life when the view from my hotel window was stunning and unforgettable in and of itself, not just when I go chasing it on my own.

A few rules. 

 - It would be entirely too easy to post nothing but a handful of shots from various places in the Hawaiian Islands. We've had some singularly stunning visual environments right outside our window on many occasions, ranging from a full view of Waikiki Beach, to the ocean off Maui or Hawaii or Kauai, or even views of a verdant rainforest on the Big Island. So a self-imposed limit of one image from the 50th state. *Sorry, Hawaii*

 - Secondly, the view had to be visible from the hotel room without a great deal of effort. No "lean out and twist right" scenarios. Nor can it be a view from somewhere on a property's grounds. The view must be from the room or from the room's private balcony.

 - Third, the photograph has to be representative somehow of a repeatable experience. It has to reflect something other than a one-time event. (The comet trail across the sunset sky might be amazing, but chances are the next person gazing out of the window wouldn't see the same thing.)

Often we expect the hotel room to be little more than a cozy little warren away from the world, where we can relax and prepare for the next day's adventures. It's so much extra when the room itself offers an adventure of its own.

I'm dead certain there are other, equally thrilling hotel-adjacent vistas on this planet, I just haven't stayed at them.

That noted, these are my absolute favorite hotel views, in no particular order:


The Jerome Grand Hotel, Jerome, AZ

The Grand Hotel looks northeast across the Verde Valley from high up the side of Cleopatra Hill, towards the enchanting Red Rocks of Sedona. In the early morning most days, you can watch as a small flotilla of balloons ascend with passengers for a sky-high view of the surroundings. From the Grand Hotel balcony, you can see that and so much more. Top floor. Balcony.


http://www.jeromegrandhotel.net




Palms Place, Las Vegas

A separate property from the Palms Hotel and Casino, the east-facing rooms of the Palms Place have a staggering view of the entire Las Vegas Strip. During the day it's a beautiful and fascinating vista, but at night, when The Strip lights up with thousands of flashing lights, it's stunning. Upper floors, east-facing.

http://www.palms.com/palms-place



The View Hotel, Monument Valley, UT

The most appropriately named inn on the list, The View looks out on the "Mittens" and nearby Merrick Butte. It's an unobstructed scene with a serene and timeless appeal. In one of the most awe-inspiring spots on Earth, you get a front seat.



http://monumentvalleyview.com




The Hanalei Bay Resort, Princeville, Kauai

The Hanalei Bay Resport is a hotel and residence facility boasting a beautiful pool area and a perfectly-placed viewing lawn for watching sunsets.
Our room faced the mountains, giving us a partial sunrise view, but more importantly a lush jungle right at our feet, and the incredible Kauai mountains -- featuring Mount Waialeale, the wettest spot on Earth. 
Waterfalls cascade down the mountains and you find yourself standing in front of a James Coleman painting as the sun goes down in paradise.


http://www.hanaleibayresort.com



Park Central Hotel, New York City

A city view can obviously be found in all major metropolises, but there's just something special about gazing down into the historic complexity that is New York. From old-style china-hat water towers, to modern gleaming skyscrapers, the city that never sleeps is alive and vibrant in a way distinctive from virtually any other major city.
The Park Central is one of my go-tos when I'm in New York, not only for its amenities, but for its location and views. 
Should you be motivated to stay here, make sure your room looks to the south towards Times Square. Upper floors.



http://www.parkcentralny.com/hotel





Domaine de la Corniche, Rolleboise, France

Using a double shot to demonstrate the stunning view of the River Seine from a bluff high atop a nearby hill. The hotel itself is beautiful, with a world class restaurant on premise. But it's the sweeping view of the Seine -- even through the fog -- as it curves down around below your feet that demands this hotel be included.


http://www.domainedelacorniche.com

And lastly, a special mention: 

The Tundra Buggy Lodge, located in the Churchill Wildlife Management area, outside Churchill, Manitoba.


Imagine being in a giant "RV" designed to carry you out into the wilderness, for an experience like none other on Earth. Then imagine a lodge made up of equally gargantuan trailers with sleeping and dining facilities.

Welcome to Churchill.

Outside your window you will see the vast, empty expanse of the Canadian Tundra, and perhaps a few of the area denizens, like Polar Bears.

Yeah. A view like that.

http://www.frontiersnorth.com/adventures/tundra-buggy-lodge-adventurer

Pic of the Day: Bear!

The tiny town of Churchill in Manitoba, Canada is known for the confluence of exotic wildlife which takes place at the town's virtual doorstep. During the summer you get beluga whales, summer polar bears and mosquitos -- while in the winter you get polar bears, arctic owls and arctic foxes. And lemmings, which essentially serve as food for the rest of them.

Some five years ago last October we ventured into the wilderness for a couple of days at the Tundra Buggy Lodge, a series of huge trailers pulled onto the tundra to serve as an arctic Inn and research center, thirty plus miles from Churchill adjacent to the Hudson Bay. On our first full day, for perhaps eight hours, we wandered around the terrain inside an immense mobile Tundra Buggy (think Humvee on massive amounts of steroids) watching some thirty bears as they plied their day -- with a momentary glimpse of an arctic owl, and a playful arctic fox that coveted around the Tundra Buggy's immense tires for a brief few moments.

As a special additional item to the Picture of the Day, here's a link to a short video of our first day out in the wilderness:

Polar Bear Adventure

If you would like more information, you may contact Frontiers North Adventures, I'm certain they'd be happy to give you the details.

Picture of the Day - Tundra Buggy Lodge

   So...I've been considering how I can make this a more regular site for everyone. Rather than waiting the at-times couple of weeks between posts, how do I change the format enough to let you know there's a reason to drop by more often? 

The name of the blog is "The Thumbnail Traveler". The conceit behind it is using photographs to augment the writings, though to be perfectly honest I consider myself a photographer, not a writer.

So logic would dictate that the photographs herein would be the more important aspect, yes?

Beginning today I will be posting a shot a day, along with the background -- just a paragraph or so -- behind the picture. These are not portfolio level shots, they're merely photographs I have taken along the way. I have - no exaggeration -- tens of thousands of them. From places around the world. And the vast majority will never see the light of day under normal circumstances -- not for a lack of interest, but because they're simply not the sort of thing that shows up on an art site, or in an illustration. These are the "slices of life", moments in-between.

So, please come back on a regular basis. If plans hold, I will be posting daily, or nearly. Oftentimes I may choose an image I make while on the road, giving it more of an urgency than something I shot years ago. But, to me and hopefully to you, they're of some interest and truly live up to the moniker of The Thumbnail Traveler.

The luxurious accommodations....

First up: This is the hallway through the secondary "dorm" module of the Tundra Buggy Lodge, well outside Churchill, Canada. The lodge, a train of several massive vehicles chained together to form a small inn of sorts, is pulled out onto the tundra some thirty miles east of Churchill (later relocating even further out as the Hudson Bay freezes over). 

During the day, visitors are driven around the flat and frozen tundra in search of polar bears, arctic foxes and snowy owls, all of which we caught sight of during our adventure.

With some twelve bunks, it's a "sleeping train" compartment from which visitors can unwind and share a communal experience. Modesty not required.

It's an "edge of the world" adventure, not found much of anywhere else.

For additional information see the Frontiers North Adventures website:

http://www.frontiersnorth.com