It also could have been titled ... "Close encounters of the bear kind"
or even "yep bears do indeed sh!t in the woods" ...
Good morning ! At least as I write these few lines it's 6:40AM and we
are docked alongside Ketchikan, Alaska. The weather LOOKS very good and
we have seen float planes taking off and landing so we are optimistic
about our tour ... supposed to meet up with the guide at 7:45am.
Relating to Steven's query ... I was up at 5AM (local that's 8AM
central) and did 30 minutes on the "dwarf track" ... it was pretty darn
cool but at the same time refreshing. I was not alone, there were 3
people jogging when I arrived and the little old guy that was one of the
three may still be jogging, he was still going when I quit at 5:45am ...
Formal night last night was nice but the cornish game hen Carolyn and I
both had was better suited for "in the dirt eat with your hands/fingers
don't worry about dripping on your clothes" eating rather than trying to
manage in a tux & evening gown.
.... 3:30pm under way from Ketchikan and full of bear stories! I will
post a FEW pictures to the gallery ... and probably one at the top of
this post ... but the net is slow onboard and I've already burned 100 of
the 280 minutes I bought... it ain't gonna be enough.
We disembarked at about 7:15am ... wondered around the tourist trap
stores for a few minutes and then boarded the van for Island Wings ...
there were 5 passengers, a guide and Michelle the owner/pilot. This was
the first small plane I had ever been in ... very comfortable and
headsets for all to enable easy conversation during the flight.
We trekked literally through the forest about 1/2 mile along a forest
service maintained trail to the bear viewing facility ...at the time I
thought it was really for show when we got about 30 yards from the
facility and then had to stop until our guide got a wave from the ranger
on post that it was safe to enter the facility ... as you will see in
some of the photos ... this was not for show ... there are bear
EVERYWHERE and we are walking down THEIR ROAD!
We spent about 2 hours at the facility ... groups came and went but
they only allow 60 visitors per day. As soon as we arrived and through
the entire 2 hour stay there were bears, generally several bears to
watch as they fed from the Anan creek below us.
All but one bear we saw were back bears and get no larger than 200-250#
... but as you will be able to see in the gallery one big brown bear
gave us quite a show.
The viewing facility (pic in gallery) is basically a platform with a
small covered area and then a "blind" that 5 people at a time for 30
minute shifts can watch from at "bear level".
It's a fascinating thing to watch these creatures get into the water and
catch salmon by paw and mouth ... they are excellent fishermen! One sow
was there with her two cubs (pics) and she was basically teaching them
(they were watching mom catch dinner). When mom and cub#1 left the
scene cub#2 got left behind and couldn't climb the rockslide to follow
..after a short bit of him trying without success to climb out he
started bawling and it wasn't long before mom and cub#1 returned,
climbed down to cub#2 and then hightailed it out again ... cub#2 wasted
no time this go round following moma out.
As you will see in some of the pics ... the bear came right up to the
railing several times and even once up a tree and started over the
railing ... the ranger on post was a girl of MAYBE 20 years old but she
handled her job, stood up to the bear, hollered at him and encouraged
his retreat with a broom ... the tourists were very glad she was there
and afterwards you could tell she was a bit shaken ... we is in the
wilds now baby!!
After our 2 hour stint we trekked back to the beach and shortly the
plane arrived to wing us back to Ketchikan ... a couple of the pics I
will post are during the return flight.
It was a blast ... it was well worth the money ... these are majestic
animals in their native habitat for the most part unhindered by mankind
... words don't do the experience justice but I'm really glad we did it!
Tomorrow is Glacier Bay touring from the ship .....
Bade
5 comments:
WOW! That really sounds amazing! I am SOOOOOOO glad that you guys did this trip - the plane looks really cool! I love that you had headsets :) Just like in the moving pictures!
You were certainly closer to a bear than I really ever need to be but what an awesome experience!
You have a Bald Eagle in one of your fotos - VERY cool!
VERY beautiful! I am so excited to see all of the pictures :)
OH! Thanks for the link to your gallery on the side of the blog!
Please tell Mom that I called Gawpa on our trip down yesterday. I reminded him that she would not be calling this weekend - I will call him again next Saturday in between reunion events.
"hollered at him and encouraged
his retreat with a broom" --> Wow! Somehow I suspect that a broom just wouldn't do the trick if there was a real problem. I didn't realize you'd be getting THAT close!
The bald eagle in that one picture is really cool - all they needed at that spot to make it complete would be a US flag and a banner that simply reads "Freedom."
The bear cubs are cute! What a great excursion!!
I'll try a second time to post a comment. The first one disappeared into the bit bucket.
a) If you stay in that hotel in Vancouver as you are coming home and Bade insists on slipping away to hang out in the bar, Carolyn should double-lock her door.
b) Grizzly scat is characterized by appearing in large mounds permeated with bits of crushed silver bells and the smell of pepper.
Third try. Test.
The guide being 20 years or so shooing them away with a broom and hollering at the bears. Okay... I think I am a whimp.
But then at the same time it reminds me of the time we were at the Dude ranch and I was reading the brochure titled "What to do if you encounter a bear.
1) DO NOT RUN
2) sing out loud to the bear.
were some of the instructions I remeber. But shooing it away with a broom. That takes guts. You go mom and dad, you have more gutz than I do to just stand there and watch that happen just feets away.
Okay, now that the panic attack has gone. Cool pics. I love the one of the lighthouse. The two bear cubs are cute looking.
Post a Comment