Back at Brooks

Ken had spent a fantastic eleven days with us.  He fell in love with Alaska just like us.  But after he left I needed to spend another week at Brooks Camp.  The thing I noticed was all the changes that had been occuring there since I had been away for almost a month.  First of all the water in the river was way up from all the snow melt all summer long.  Half the beach had disappeared and most of the islands in the river were under water.  The grasses were turning brown making the bears so hard to see.  The salmon had changed and were the red and green colors of spawning and they were dying along the shorelines of the river and the lake.  The mountains were turning into gold and yellow colors.  Yep, fall was arriving at Brooks Camp.

The bears were what really shocked me. They were huge.  They had gotten their new fur so they were no longer shaggy like when I first saw them in the spring.  Their tummies were round and their faces fuller.  I thought I had learned to recognize quite a few bears the last time I was here but now I was totally lost to which bear was which.  Not only had the bears changed in appearance but they were every where.  Some of them I learned quickly hadn't changed all that much.  206 was still walking around showing all her attitude and trying to make a nusance out of herself.  402 and the cubs were around camp a lot.  They kept the bridge closed most afternoons as they snoozed in the grass near the bridge.  Beadnose was constantly fishing under the bridge and I really don't know where she put all the fish she caught but she was on quite the feeding frenzy.They will need all that wieght as they loose 4000 calories a day in hibernation.