Oh My

We have been having an amazing summer. Juneau has been blessed with warm temperatures and much sun! Believe it or not, we went out and bought a water hose and sprinkler, because the grass was starting to yellow with so little rain.With the amazing weather, tourism has been blessed as well. The visitor center at the glacier seems crowded as do the trails and viewpoint lookouts when we visit. The wildlife has been abundant with bear spottings nearly every time we visit the glacier.

This photo was taken last night: Of course, this is very real and these are wild animals, but with the heavily populated trails, we can often stand on a bridge or look-out point and watch safely as these bears search for salmon snacks and care for their young. Of course, there are occasions when you can find yourself alone on a bridge or a trail. That very thing happened to me this evening.

I knew of a young bear that had gone into the area and decided I would stand on the bridge just next to the parking lot and try to get a video or photo of him walking along the stream below me - looking for his dinner. I waited for several minutes before I decided to leave the trail. I turned and took a step toward the parking lot and when I looked up, I was about 3-4 feet away from a little black bear who was walking toward me, ON THE TRAIL. "Go back," I told him. He ignored my request. uuummmmm...okay...now what? I know that if a bear is on a trail with you, you are not supposed to run and it is suggested to get out of the way of the bear, so I stepped up onto the park-bench and got as far off the trail as I could without jumping over into the creek. It occurred to me that I should be making a video of this, so I caught him on video about half way across the bridge. Here is that video:

Just as this bear passed me, a man appeared and behind him about 9 more people - chasing after the bear for photos. I went the opposite direction - whew!!! Thank the Lord he was little and although he definitely noticed me, he wasn't interested in me for a main-dish.

Mary - I promise to NOT go alone on trails anymore. I will be safe - and I am looking for a new camera with a better zoom, so I can still get my photos, but from a safer distance!!!

The funny thing is that I have been injured 2 times since arriving in Juneau. One time falling on the stairs in our house injuring my ankle and the second time falling in the mall parking-lot fracturing my elbow. No bears associated with my injuries, I think the larger danger is my stupidity and inability to walk without falling! he he heee...