Rest day to Fish Creek: Bear watching

August 20, 2007

Last night after dinner on the way to our tent, we see another touring bike in the campground. We stop and talk as we walk up he says "Boise ID! He had met Noah & Simon at Bell II! Rich is from Oregon, started in Prudhoe Bay stopping back in Oregon for a wedding, the continue cycling to South America. We tell him about our plans to go early tomorrow to see the bears.

Rich is ready to go with us at 6:30am. We get to the viewing area as a female grizzly is just finishing feeding. We wait until there is another grizzly that shows briefly near the bridge at the entrance. About 9:30am we are ready for coffee and have lost patience to wait for more bears. We head out, just moment away from the entrance , we can see the boardwalk across the river, we round a corner there is a grizzly crossing the road headed for the creek. We turn around at the entrance the ranger says, "See a grizzly?" We get to the end of the boardwalk just as the grizzly gets to the river. Someone in the crowd said to me, "We saw you stop and figured you'd seen a bear and are waiting."

The female grizzly didn't seem too good at hunting fish--maybe just too many choices of all the salmon swimming up stream. She finally caught one! It was a bit disturbing see her skin the fish as it flopped around still trying to escape. Soon she looked around, caught another fish and took it into the bush....then a mama griz with 3 cubs appeared and worked their way downstream along the boardwalk. Spectacular experience! and to think we were headed out and almost missed it!!

We go into Hyder and find a shop selling coffee, take pictures of the old buildings, mail books home then cross the border from Alaska back into Canada with a passport check.

We have lunch at the King Edward Hotel, then do some shopping. In the afternoon, after coffee & a pastry, Patrick returns to Hyder to mail DVD's to Nathan. Rich and Rachel find the local library to access internet. For $2 an hour, we have high speed internet!! It is sweet to answer emails, it's been more difficult here than in Asia. (Addendum: remember this is 2007 prior to when everyone has their own devices, just transitioning from internet cafés.)

Under the picnic shelter, we eat dinner, a dehydrated lasagna meal and corn and finish the red wine. The weather threatens rain.

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