Tropical Heat And Polar Bears? Yep, In Cochrane, Ontario Canada.

After my 4 1/2 hour drive  from Mattawa, through beautiful forests and some farmlands, I arrived in the town of Cochrane Canada in mid afternoon.  It was unseasonably hot with temperatures near 90 degrees.  My room, at the Best Western Swan Castle Inn, wasn’t ready yet so I walked over to the nearby  train station in the afternoon heat. It is was right  across the street and I wanted to confirm my travel plans for the next morning.

Cochrane is a small town with  a population of only 5000. It  was founded as a junction of  the two major railroads in 1910.  It  is still a transportation hub for northern Ontario.  The Ontario Northland Railway maintains the  charming train station which has a hotel and restaurant. It also operates the Polar Bear Express which travels to the remote town of Moosonee near the James Bay, I was taking the train  the next morning.  

After I confirmed my train reservations ,I returned to my hotel. My room was ready  and I quickly settled in and , unpacked.   I  was anxious to explore Cochrane and was soon out the door again. . I love walking the streets of towns and cities I visit,  And I was even more excited having learned  the Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat with three  polar bear was  a short distance from the hotel. I was soon walking through the back streets of Cochrane in the  oppressive afternoon heat hoping to see a polar bear. 

I walked through  a quiet neighborhood  and  past a small lake and saw my first  polar bear. It was  Chimo, the large polar bear statue and mascot of the city that was erected in the 1970’s and is now located at the entrance to the Polar Bear Habitat. 

The  Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat is one of the largest facilities in the world dedicated to  rehabilitation, conservation and research on  polar bears. It is located about 200 miles south of James Bay the southernmost natural habitat of the  polar bear. 

I entered the facility and l was greeted by the friendly staff. I learned there were currently three polar bears living at the habitat.  Each had it’s own enclosure with a pool which provided them with plenty of space to roam and frolic.

However, I was also told none of them were active now because of the extreme heat.  I learned about the Heritage Village next to the Polar Bear Habitat that depicted life at the founding of Cochrane in the early 1900’s. 

So I left the information center and walked  trough the Polar Bear Habitat, hoping one of the polar bears would decide to take  an afternoon dip. They didn’t and I would see no live polar bears in Cochrane on this trip. 

I walked through the polar bear habitat  and entered the Heritage Village.

There were  not a lot of building in the village but the ones there were  packed with artifacts of the items used   by the folks in their daily lives and by many businesses  and professionals of that time period. 

There was a fire house,

with uniforms and equipment used by the firefighters .

There was a hardware store, 

with so many items sold during the 1900 time period. 

I didn’t know at the time, but  Frosted Flakes would again appear in this adventure. 

There was a doctors office, a shore repair shop,

and so many more exhibits. I could have spent hours exploring the village. 

I especially loved the classroom and the books and teaching aides exhibited there. 

However, the was a severe weather warning, and some ominous clouds appeared in the sky. I was about a mile from my hotel,

so I decided  it might be wise to start heading back. First, I took a quick look at the barn and corral,

where again many artifacts from the time period.  I took so many photos and  here is a link to a gallery on my website with some more photos of the Polar Bear Preserve and the Heritage Village. . Cochrane Ontario  afternoon June 1 2023. 

I walked back through the polar bear habitat, hoping maybe one would be out but they weren’t so I returned to the museum and information center where I quickly looked at the exhibits, 

and walked through a snow mobile museum. If you are into snowmobiling you should visit this museum.  I have never been on a snow mobile but it was still  there was still so much interesting information even  to attract my interest. I have many more photos in the gallery  link I will share. 

It was not late afternoon, and the threatening clouds still were in the sky so I walked quickly back to the hotel The rain held off, so I walked around the  train station again.

and the train in front,

and to  small lake a short distance from the hotel.

I walked along the shore of the lake, 

but the skies darkened again so I decided to head back to the hotel, I was getting hungry anyway. We did get a quick shower while I showered and changed  but the skies cleared again, just in time for me to find a place to eat. And like the past three evenings I didn’t have much choices. 

I was advised at the desk of the hotel  what he thought was the best place to eat,   The storms had passed and it got hot again even though it was early evening, I walked to the restaurant and found it was closed. There were a few fast food restaurants in town but the only other home style restaurant  specialized in barbeque, not my favorite food. I had no choice so I walked to the Jr Bar B -Q House.. I was surprised and was served a nice   Caesar salad and a seafood combo platter . It was wholesome but not too filling, 

so I had to have a slice of lava pie for dessert. I was not full and had a nice walk back to my hotel. It was another long day but I enjoyed every minute of it. I love to travel and explore new places. I retired early looking forward to my next adventure a train ride to Moosonee near the James Bay. Here is a link to another gallery of photos on my blog website. Cochrane Ontario afternoon part two, June 1 2023, 

 “STUFF YOUR EYES WITH WONDER,’ HE SAID, ‘LIVE AS IF YOU’D DROP DEAD IN TEN SECONDS. SEE THE WORLD. IT’S MORE FANTASTIC THAN ANY DREAM MADE OR PAID FOR IN FACTORIES.” – RAY BRADBURY

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