Walking with Grizzlies

[Duke]

So glad to have caught up here and taked this walk with you Dewi

[Sharifa]

Wow what an amazing trip
Just caught up with 13 pages This is definitely on the bucket list
Those landscapes are breathtaking.
Lovely to see Alaska in summer. Always think of it as a land of ice
Love the whales and beautiful flowers pics

[Mel]

You really experienced fascinating stuff up there.
And it's amazing how many stereotypes have settle in one's head when
hearing 'Alaska'. Thanks for broadening my horizon

[Richprins]

Wow! Never caught a big fish like that!

Interesting marine life, Dewi!

Somehow fish and biltong don't seem to mix, though... -O

[Heksie]

Dewi wow to see all the different fish in that area is amazing, and to see the salmon jumping out of the water
Smoked fish

[Dewi]

Thank you Nan, Lisbeth, Jillinflorida, Duke, Sharifa, Mel, Richprins & Heksie.

Nan - the fish were very nice to eat.

Lis - Don't think that pic will fetch the same price as a Monet somehow. -O

Jill - I had pre-conceptions about the place as well. Sure had an eye-opener when I got there.

Duke - Glad you found it and are enjoying the walk. It gets interesting in a bit.

Sharifa - The scenery was one of the highlights of this trip for me. I would not mind coming back in Winter - the birding in Kodiak is supposed to be far better then.

Mel - As I mentioned to Jill above, I was amazed by what I saw and learnt there.

RP - You need to taste that salmon. Never had anything like it before. Deeeeelicious.

Heksie - We caught a large skate one day, but it got tangled in the anchor chain. Once we had untangled it, we let it go and it did a graceful turn as it descended back down into the depths. Wish I had pics of that one to show you as it was beautiful to watch it swim.

[Dewi]

Our final visit to the beach in Kukak Bay turned out to be the most exciting one.

As we approached the shore, we could see "Eyebrows" on the edge of the meadow. The skiff dropped us off on the beach and returned to the ship.



He was feeding on the sedge grass with spectacular scenery behind him.



We sat and watched as he went about his daily routine.



After a while, he lay down for a nap.



Megs also did the same. -O



He just lay there snoozing away.



Eventuallt, the skiff returned and pulled up on the beach behind us. As the engine went into neutral, the water pump was still running and water was dripping into the sea. To a bear, this sounded like another bear urinating on his patch. A direct challenge! Eyebrows looked up immediately to locate his adversary.



On not seeing another bear, he looked around to locate the source of the noise. The skiff was directly behind us.



He stood up and started to "Cowboy Walk" - bowed, stiffened legs with a swaggering gait.



He began to urinate profusely in reply to the challenge.







Then contunued his Cowboy Walk display.





As he approached towards us, the rest of the group backed off, but I was so engrossed in this, I remained to take photos, not realising that I was the only one left. -O





"Yup, claws look sharp enough."



At this point, I realised that I was a little too close and started to back off as Brad came to stand by me and we backed off low and slow and got into the skiff.

To be perfectly honest here, I never felt threatened by this bear at all. He was looking for the source of the percieved threat and we were simply between him and the "threat." It could have turned nasty if he had charged the skiff, as we were in the way, but he was searching for another bear and could not see one anywhere. I think he was simply displaying in the hope that the other "bear" could see him and would wander away without challenging him further.

It was exciting to witness nevertheless.

[Mel]

Okay, reading the previous instalments, I had thought that you had had
some really close bear encounters already, but I know that you also always
stressed that the laundry incident was yet to come... Well, now I know what
you were talking about... I'm not sure which smiley to put here as I'm in awe
and scared faceless at the very same time -O Definitely an exhilarating
encounter with the big beast Still, I would have been with
the crowd and would've 'fled' as long as there was still enough distance between
that furry meatball and me. -O -O -O (Meatball not in bashing terms,
rather a respectful and passionate term )

Also love the way how he and Meg laid down -O -O -O

[Heksie]

Mel what an absolutely exhilirating episode
I would've been one of the first on the skiff if I thought that the bear would come to investigate near me
Love all the kiekies especially with the mountains in the background
This is definitley on my wishlist for when I grow up

[Lisbeth]

Dewi is afraid of a teddy bear, Dewi is afraid of a teddy bear, Dewi is afraid of a teddy bear......

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Maybe he was right