After breakfast at the Ptarmigan restaurant, Tim shuttled us over to the Wapusk dog yard where we met David Daley and his dogs. David calls himself the head dog!
A Canada Jay was flitting about and soon landed on Bill’s head to everyone’s amusement.
David introduced us to each dog as he hooked them up to his cart. Soon we were off, whizzing through the bush. Our David’s hat blew off, but the lady helper at the back of the cart picked it up on the second run. Samuel and David had their photos taken with the lead dogs.
David invited the group into his cabin, where he told us many stories about dog sledding and his Metis heritage, of which he is justly proud.
Mindful of the time, Mark came in and hustled us onto the bus for transfer to the Sea North Tours dock for a Beluga zodiac tour. This time, the winds were light and we had an easy time of it in the zodiacs.
We had many close encounters with the Beluga Whales, but once again, a Polar Bear stole the show. This was our third bear, and he performed for us. He swam along near the beach, then ambled out onto the rocks, posing for us over and over. How lucky was that! Then we did some more whale watching before heading back to the dock.
Tim picked us up and delivered us to the post office to have our passports stamped. But the boys preferred to have a baseball game at the nearby field. Then it was off to the airport to check in for our flight to Winnipeg. We said goodbye to Tim and found our luggage inside which had been delivered by a Frontiers North Truck. Mark produced a large carton with boxed lunches for us, which we enjoyed after checking in at the desk.
Fortunately, this time the flight was on time.
We landed briefly at Gillam on a gravel runway, which was a surprise. But we were soon aloft again and winging our way to Winnipeg. We reached the airport where had spent so much time just a few days prior. We picked up our luggage and hiked over to the Lakeview Signature by Wyndham Hotel.
We checked in and got cleaned up to prepare for our farewell dinner. The delicious dinner was served by the same friendly staff. Then it was over. We hugged everyone and thanked Mark for his amazing ability to arrange everything we wanted to experience despite the one-day delay.
