A beary special romance

Bear searching

Bear running (really) up the road

Bear crosses road

Bear meeting companion

She is thinking - how is his DNA?

A good match

A perfect match

Baby bears in the spring !!!

What an incredible day! During our first bus tour from Teklanika River Campground we saw 11 grizzlies but the highlight was the "afternoon romance". It is mating season for grizzlies and saw the male first running fast up the road which he crossed until he met the lady bear. The entire bus was in awe, including the bus driver (he was actually a tour guide). This is a very rare ocurrence and many people that live here have never seen anything like it. We met Ron Dalby (author of the Guide to the Alaska Highway) at the campground the next day and confessed he had never seen this in spite of living in Alaska most of his life. I guess we were very, very lucky.
Until the next air waves connection - this is Bernardo signing off.

A Bear on the Move

I'm hoping that this can be seen as a video. There's still a lot to learn about this blogging stuff! But, here is the black bear that we saw along the road from Haines Junction to Beaver Creek on Tuesday. We saw the grizzly first, and there are videos of him, too. But it's difficult to catch all this in the "heat of the moment" and still respect the wildlife and not get them used to people and vehicles. It's important for their survival. It was interesting to see that both the grizzly and this black bear actually looked both ways before crossing the road in front of our RV. I guess their mom's taught them well!

More Than Wildlife

There's obviously more to Alaska than wildlife and since none were waving at us as we drove to Fairbanks today we stopped to see one of the best views of the TransAlaska pipeline just outside of Delta Junction. It carries more than 11% of US crude, over 510,000 barrels a day. It's an eight hundred mile pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. (Just a little social studies trivia for you)
After taking Bessie to a vet in Fairbanks (she was really stressed and we were worried about her), we drove about 60 miles east of Fairbanks to Chena Hot Springs Resort. It's the end of the Chena Springs Road with so many turnoffs for great fishing we want to try them all this weekend. But we were tired and wanted to get to the campground, which really is great as it's part of the resort, no hookups, but a beautful hot spring with showers, horseback riding, airplane rides (no plans for that), dog sledding and the world famous ice hotel. I've been told that the appletinis are terrific....We'll let you know later. So, here are Bernardo and Bessie, keeping away from the mosquitoes and working on the internet!

A Two Bear Day

Yesterday, we finally pulled ourselves away from Haines, with plans to return soon and as often as we can.  It's a long drive, but well worth the effort.

There were several pairs of humpbacked whales in the bay and we were told they were most likely a mom and her calf.  We caught this one near the boat.  The dog was barking madly as they approached the whales.  This bay was across from our campground.






The road from Haines to our next stop winds though incredible valleys with impressive views of several mountain ranges.  One of the inhabitants along this stretch and throughout Alaska, too, is the porcupine.  Unfortunately, it's hard to see them until you're almost next to them  But this one gave us more time, and Bernardo hopped out of the RV and watched it climb the tree.  Ifyou double-click the picture, it will enlarge (I've been told).

After stopping in Haines Junction (still in Yukon) to pick up some fresh baked goods for lunch, we set out for the next stop and then decided to go further....We're so glad of this, for we were rewarded with this wonderful grizzly.  He's snarling because another camper had stopped and several dogs were barking at him.  I can't believe Bernardo caught the moment.  But then he went on his way, trying to fill up on everything edible in sight.  He then hightailed across the road (and believe it or not actually looked both ways before crossing).

Several miles down the road we were treated with a black bear.  We couldn't believe our luck in seeing both bears in such a short span of time.  This one, too, lumbered along and picked up whatever bears eat in the grass and roadside.  He, too, looked up and down the road and then crossed to the other side.

T

Where to Next?

Takhini Hot Springs, Whitehorse Yukon. Whitehorse was a very pleasant surprise: a town of 25000, capital of the Yukon. We spent the day there (my birthday), had a terrific lunch and lots of fun at the local quilt shop. I think I need to quit buying more projects. Bessie got to have a much needed bath at the local pet store, shopped at Walmart (where else?) and bathed the RV. Now, here I am soaking at a very nice hot spring. It's still very early in the season, so we practically had the place to ourselves. I wouldn't want to be there when it's full!

The Alaskan Highway, outside of Whitehorse on the way to Haines Junction. This is pretty much the way it is; incredible scenery, wildlife from time to time, very nice roads except an occasional bad stretch.




Our campground in Haines Junction. The park was closed but we were told to camp there anyway. We were able to camp by the beach. This picture was taken early morning on the 18th. Yes, that's Bernardo fishing in the background.




This is where we find Bessie after walking around a town for a while. I think she'd like to ride up there permanently, but she's too long for the seat!


Yesterday afternoon, just outside of Haines, we saw this little bear wandering the beach all alone. At first everyone said his mother must be nearby. That was pretty exciting, but a few hours later he was still there. I talked to the local police and the bear cub had been reported by many people. The thought is that his mom either abandoned him or been killed. It is bear hunting season now, until mid-June, though sows are protected if they have cubs. But that doesn't always happen. Hopefully there will be a happy ending. The biologist in Juneau is coming up and will try to rescue him.

Eagles & Whales

These are humpback whales right in front of our campsite in Haines, AK. Today we saw a pod of at least 6-8 whales. The dog at the boat barked everytime the blow was heard



More whales






Below is a picture of Fort Seward in Hines (first army post in Alaska)







While in Haines, we also camped one night at Chilkoot State Recreation Area with only two other campng. Finally used the gazebo!!





This a young eagle by the Chilkoot River (where I caught my first Dolly Varden) and they are quite agressive towards seagulls who were chasing small fish (called hooligans)





This the adult eagle right in front of our campsite

 The Happy Fisherman on the Toad River

What a view, but no fish!!!!

The Big Bear taking a picture of the real bear!

Poor Bessie.  The only way to get her in for the night.....

Mile 0 in Dawson Creek on Thursday, May 12

Finallly, A Quilt Store!  Fort Nelson, BC

Too close to the road

This guy was very busy eating grubs.

 Wish we could have seen his face!  He was beautiful!