Eagles and Bears, Oh My!

July 12th: Finally, our bear tour! We all believed that this would be the grand culmination of our Alaska adventure and we were not disappointed. It was the most beautiful, clear, sunny day yet. Wrangell natives were saying it was the best day of the year, weather wise. We have discovered that here in Alaska, weather is just about EVERYTHING. Rain and fog…and you wind up seeing nothing. Our tour leader said that just two days or so before we got there he had had to cancel that day’s bear tour because the level of the stream was so high the bears couldn’t get to the bank to fish. And so, we counted our blessings on our “perfect day.”

After an hour ride in a high speed, river runner boat, we arrived at the Anan Bear Observatory on the mainland across from Wrangell Island. It was a half mile walk to the viewing deck. Our group of about a dozen folks followed closely behind our guide–the man with the gun. We didn’t see a bear on the path as many groups before us had, but we did see “signs” of bear all around! (The next morning I would awake with the thought….”Oh…so that’s where that phrase comes from…Does a bear sh–t in the woods?…because there is a whole lot of it everywhere you walk!)

Upon arrival at the multi-tiered observation deck, the bears began to emerge from their caves in the rocks by the stream as if on cue…and up above eagles–both mature and immature–flew right by us, landing on trees and fallen trunks. Honestly, there was so much activity for the three hours we were there, we didn’t know where to look next.

Enjoy the pictures! I’ll be posting one more time as a follow-up reflection in a few days. Richard and I made it back to civilization last night and are on our way to Whidbey Island today (July 14) to visit friends. In five days, we will return to our family’s house in Sedro-Woolley for a week’s visit. Stay tuned!