The second day in Churchill was kind of exciting. We were greeted by a blizzard so all outdoor activities had to be suspended. Court was on the ball and we went to hear a lecture on the history of the fur trade. It sounds boring, but it was quite fascinating to hear about the lives of these men who came here to trade for furs to ship back to England – they lived in a stone fort that took 20 years to complete and it was so cold their hair would freeze and stick to the stone as they slept.

The fur traders were mostly after the beaver pelts, which were used for coats and also to make beaver felt hats that were the rage back then. Beaver fur has guard hairs, which are basically the longer hairs that stick out to make the fur more water resistant. The local Inuit people used to wear the fur pelts skin-side out because the wearing the fur against the body kept them warmer. As a result, the friction of the fur rubbing against their bodies wore away the guard hairs. The fur traders preferred the pelts without the guard hair and often bought the pelts off the locals’ backs. I laughed with one of our guides Stephanie and said the next time I see a British fur trader, I am going to walk up and say, “I have a well-worn beaver sans the guard hairs. How much will you pay for it?” We laughed and laughed and that became a regular joke between the two of us…a little blizzard humor I guess.

We did manage to go out and take photos. It was quite exciting to brave the wind and the snow drifts. I’ve never been in such a treacherous winter wonderland. It felt like we were constantly eating though. The worst was for some reason I wasn’t pooping so it felt like I was just packed with old and new food. I think the cold froze my internal plumbing. Unfortunately…no Lights again. Booohoooo.