Bear Chase

I could not wait to take my husband to Brooks Camp.  We didn't want to spend the night but just a day enjoying the bears.  We were on the first flight to to the park.  His first flight on a float plane and he was a little disappointed that we took the otter and not a beaver.  My husband is a big plane fan.  The otter is a larger plane.  The beaver is the kind of plane the park owns, and is smaller.  Other than that I have no idea what the difference is but he does.

We saw bears in the river as we landed.  Ken went to do his bear orientation and Craig and I talked with the staff.  Then we were off to the river to watch bears.  We did not have to wait very long.  We crossed the river and bears were every where.  Ken loves to take pictures and he isn't too bad unlike me who justs gets lucky once in awhile and gets a good shot.  We had a big bear next to the platform chewing on the fish.  There were five more swimming in the near vicinity.  All day we wandered the park.  I showed Ken the cabin, the falls and the views from the beach.

We went to go check in with the lodge for our flight back to King Salmon.  While we waited to board the plane we heard that a bear was coming down the beach.  I told Ken he would get a great shot if we stood on the hill and watch it pass by an opening in the trees.  All three of us waited and waited and no bear. I didn't take my work radio as I didn't want to get called to do work, so I didn't know what the bear situation was.  So I told the two of them to wait while I slowly made my way to the beach.  I took about three steps and saw two bear chasing each other.  The first bear ran through the opening followed the second bear.  I turned to yell at my guys but they had seen the bears too running straight for them.  Craig bolted one way then slowed down and jumped behind a tree.  Ken did this funky half climb, half fall into a clumb of trees.  Me, I stood laughing.  The first bear ran past Ken and the second bear seeing them stopped and turned around and went back to the beach.  Craig said that he started running then remembered that you never run from a bear so he stopped and then thought he should put something between him and the bear, he chose a tree.  It was a dead tree but at least he was thinking.  When they had both caught their breath I asked Ken if he got the shot.