An Early Morning Walk Through Cochrane Ontario And Then Onward North, By Train.
I awoke early my first morning in Cochrane, Ontario. I stayed at the Best Western Swan Hotel for the night. It was right across from the train station. I was excited to be taking Polar Bear Express train to Moosonee later that morning. . And I was talking my Jeep with me. I had to have my Jeep at the train station loading area by 6 ;30 a.m. 
I drove to the loading area and left my Jeep with the folks at the loading docks.
High clouds were obscuring the rising sun creating some creating an eerie conditions in the skies as I walked back out of the deserted train yards. 
I love trains, always have, ( my longest train ride was a 2000 mile trek across Australia from Sydney to Perth ) and looked forward to my five hour train ride to Moosonee. The train left the Cochrane station at 9 a.m. so I had a few hours to explore the town.
Leaving the train station, I saw this barn swallow
and American crow perched on the utility wires above the road. 
I walked past the train on display near the station
.
past the hotel I was staying, 
and over to the nearby scenic lake I visited the previous day. 
There were a couple of mallard ducks 
and tundra swans swimming on the lake. 
I walked around the lake,
and to a pavilion and this fountain. 
It was a cooler morning and there were no other persons walking along the lake.
I followed a road on the other side of the lake, past some local businesses, I saw a few local residents stopping in this local store, 
and then past some well maintained homes overlooking the lake. 
I walked along the lake shore again and came to a park above the lake
.
Here I saw the tundra swans again,
more mallard ducks, 
a few song sparrows, and
this common loon swimming in the lake and I was treated to hearing it’s haunting call. 
After walking around the lake I still had some time before I had to board the train so I walked back to the Polar Bear Habitat. There was another lake along the way where I saw another loon, This one dived and swam away before I could get a photo. 
I then continued my walk to the statue of Chimo , the polar bear. 
I found a small campground next to the Habitat. I would love to camp here someday. 
I walked through the woodlands near the campground,
where I heard and saw this ruby crowned kinglet singing in the trees above the trail. Here is a link to a gallery on my website with more photos of the birds I saw on my morning hike. Cochrane Canada morning hike birds June 2 2023. 
It was now almost 8 am. so I walked back to the train station to make sure my Jeep was loaded for it’s trip north to Moosonee with me. It was ready to take the five hour journey north. I returned to my hotel, quickly showered, packed and checked out of the hotel 
I walked back over to the train station where I had a good wholesome breakfast before I bordered the train to begin the next part of my adventure. I love train rides! Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos from my morning hike. Cochrane Canada morning hike June 2 2023. 
“The restlessness and the longing, like the longing that is in the whistle of a faraway train. Except that the longing isn’t really in the whistle—it is in you.”
―
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