September in Alaska #10 - Bears, Bears, Bears

I told you that we saw a bear in a stream as we landed at Silver Salmon Creek Lodge (SSCL). According to its website, SSCL, “has evolved into one of Alaska's premier sites for viewing coastal brown bears in their natural habitat. Guests can enjoy witnessing these magnificent mammals as they forage in the local meadows for sedge grasses, dig for razor clams at low tide, or chase salmon returning to their native streams.”

Brown Bear patrolling the beach

Yep.

Silver Salmon Creek

The site goes on to say, “Silver Salmon Creek is home to a subset of local bears, most of which are mothers with cubs and juveniles, although we do see the larger males during breeding season and other times. It is not unusual for guests to watch bears from the deck of their cabins, as the free-ranging omnivores wander in and out of the premises.”

From my cabin

Yep.

In front of the Lodge

“Silver Salmon Creek Lodge is different from most other bear viewing locations in that we move into the habitat of the bear, avoiding the necessity of viewing platforms and designated sites."

On the beach

Yep.

Further evidence

“Knowledgeable guides are always present and vital to the experience of not only getting properly positioned for excellent viewing, but to understand behavioral nuances and gain key information about bear biology.”

Last year's cub

Yep.

Adult Brown Bear

The Brown Bear has lost 98 percent of its habitat in the lower 48 states. About 95 percent of the Brown Bear population in the United States -- about 32,000 Bears -- is in Alaska. That's why we travel there to see Bears.

Two on the spit

The most reliable place to see bears is where they can easily catch and eat salmon.

I am not going to attempt a blow-by-blow of our two days of bear viewing -- there were just too many moments. So, I'll just share some photos and videos. Plus, I'll have a few more posts about some specific events.

To see the bears, we traveled in a small cart attached to an ATV that Dave drove. It gave us great access and the safety of being able to quickly escape (which we never had to do). 

And, sometimes, we saw bears by just looking out the window (the pan over is to our cabin).

The first day we dodged in and out of rain showers and, unfortunately, I got my trusty Canon camera just a bit too wet and it died. 

Ouch!

Fortunately, Scott had a camera that wasn’t too complicated that he loaned me for the remainder of the trip. 

Whew! I would have died without a camera. I mean, seriously. This has prompted me to consider purchasing a second camera body so i will never have this happen again. Right now, the Canon is being looked at to see if it can be repaired and I am trying out one of Scott's Nikons. If I go the Nikon direction, it means new lenses; if I stay with Canon, it means a new camera.

But, back to the bears. We got very, very close to the resident Bears – most often to Agro, a big female ...

Argo

... and to Crimpy Ear ... 

The name comes from her crimped left ear

... and her two cubs ...

Such cuties

The three were always together. She's a pretty small bear; her cubs are approaching her size already.

Following Mom

Although wary of each other, Agro and Crimpy Ear fished salmon on the same beach. Agro bore a large wound on her back, the result of a run-in with the much smaller Crimpy Ear a few days earlier.

Fishing is hard work

We also saw “the old sow,” but only at a distance. That may have been her as we flew in.

Who is this?

The Orphan, a two-year-old whose mother hasn’t been seen in the past year ...

Also a cutie

... and another two-year-old that just passed briefly by ...

Just passing by

After all the rain, it was a treat for us, and the Bears, to see the sun come out.

Does it get better than this?

Among the fabulous things we witnessed, were ...

Resting Bears

Napping Bears

Curious Bears

Funny Bears

Fishing Bears

Eating Bears

Satisfied Bears

Swimming Bears

Ambling Bears

Playing bears

… and a charging Bear (but I am saving that for a separate blog). 

In addition to shooting on the beach, we also shot the orphan cub on a grassy riverbank … and got some great close-up expressions.

Riverside Bear

And, we tracked Crimpy Ear and her cubs to the river to watch them fish.

Fishing in Silver Salmon Creek

Well, really to watch her fish and the cubs eat (more on that in another blog, too). We even got a shot of a Bear and an Eagle at the same time.

Extra special

Although there are other animals – Moose, Caribou, Wolves – in the area, we saw nothing but Bears ...

Lots of Bears

... Bald Eagles ...

I didn't get many Eagle shots

... Common Ravens ...

Ravens are important to indigenous peoples

... a Northern Harrier (very hard to photograph because it was very fast) ... 

This was my first Northern Harrier

... and a few distant Seals ...

Harbor Seal in the surf

But, oh, the Bears.

Close enough!

Not only were they there when we were out photographing, they also showed up a few times by our cabin and we could see them walking around as we sat at the dining table in the lodge.

The dining room has a nice view

Plus, once as I was walking from the lodge to my cabin, one just ambled past me about 20 feet away. 

No big deal: Just a freakin’ Brown Bear

I have so many photos and apologize for posting so many here. But, what an opportunity! 

You just can't stop taking pictures

We loved it!

There was so much, I'll have a few more blogs about the Bears and the lodge.

Trip date: September 10-21, 2015

September in Alaska #9 -- On the Way to the Silver Salmon Creek Lodge

Now, for the best – and most unexpected – part of our trip. When Scott originally planned this trip, we were going to go to Copper River so he could fish. But, then he found out it was too late in the season to fish there. So, we rejiggered the trip and started looking for a place where he could halibut fish. Unfortunately, most fishing lodges were closing around Sept. 15 and we were going to need to do this part of the trip Sept. 18-20. After striking out a number of times, I found the Silver Salmon Creek Lodge in Lake Clark National Park online. 

A common sight at the lodge

It was described thusly:

Majestic, wild and untouched, Lake Clark National Park is located southwest of Anchorage approximately one hour by small plane. Roughly twice the size of Yellowstone, Lake Clark National Park embodies four million acres of pristine wilderness boasting glaciers, volcanoes, alpine spires, tundra, wild rivers, lakes and 80 miles of rugged coastline along Cook Inlet. The Park, established in 1980 is accessible only by small plane or boat and is home to countless seabirds, dense forests, brown and black bear, moose, herds of caribou, and many other species of wildlife. Silver Salmon Creek Lodge is located along the rich coastal section of this spectacular park.

Brown Bear crossing Silver Salmon Creek where it empties into the ocean

With 40 acres of private land within Lake Clark National Park and an experienced, professional staff, Silver Salmon Creek Lodge enjoys a 50 percent return guest rate. Hosts David and Joanne (Coray) invite their guests to enjoy the informal and casual atmosphere and renowned food service while partaking in adventure-based outdoor activities unequaled in diversity and personalization.

That's the Lodge in the background

We had been to Lake Clark before, but more on the inland portion when we stayed (twice) at the marvelous Farm Lodge on Lake Clark in Port Alsworth. 

The Farm Lodge is inland on Lake Clark

Plus, we have also stayed at the Katmai Wilderness Lodge, which is about 60 miles further south than the SSCL on the coast in Katmai National Park.

Katmai Wilderness Lodge

The website indicated that SSCL closes in September, but didn’t give a specific date. So, I emailed the owner, who first responded that they were closing Sept. 17. I responded with thanks, but no thanks because my dates weren’t flexible. To my surprise, he came back and said that he could do the later dates. So we were in. He also told me that it was late for halibut fishing, but that the salmon would still be running, so Scott would be able to fish.

The morning in Soldotna started beautifully and we were glad to finally see sunny skies. 

Soldotna as we depart

We were a little surprised when the airline, Natron Air, said they were watching some iffy weather on the other side of the inlet, but we would probably be OK.

Heading out over Cook Inlet

We were.

I love small planes!

The flight over was fabulous (complete with a Fleetwood Mac soundtrack). We managed to carry 20 lbs. over the 50 lb. per passenger limit (cameras!) because the only other passengers were eggs, bread and other foodstuffs for the Silver Salmon Creek Lodge (SSCL from now on).

We flew from Soldotna, but you can also go from Anchorage

We took off over a gloriously sunny Soldotna and dodged in and out of sun, rain and snow as we headed the 50+ miles across the inlet to the lodge. 

The weather wasn't as good on the other side of the inlet

Despite the clouds, it was an incredibly smooth flight and the vistas were magnificent. Mountains ...

This is dramatic scenery

... bays ... 

Very dramatic scenery

... snow-capped peaks ... 

The clouds were a bit concerning

... waterfalls ...

Falls as we came in for a landing

... islands ...

I wish we could have flown more, but there were Bears to see!

Some of the most beautiful landscape you’ll ever see.

Alaska is amazing

As we descended for a landing, we saw a positive sign: a brown bear in the stream. This was gonna be good.

Yeeesssss!!!!

The landing was a bit of a surprise: we landed on the gravel beach, which is only about 40-50 yds. wide where we set down.

The pilot didn't warn us that there was no landing strip

We were met by Dave, was our guide for the that day and the next. We then found out that we were the ONLY guests. Thanks, SSCL, for staying open for us!

Left to right: the owner's son, Oliver, Dave and another guide, Corey

Dave dropped us at the Halibut Hut, a cute cabin that faces the beach.

Home! Cozy, cute and convenient to the Lodge

Then, we suited up in rain gear (it wasn’t raining, but there were threatening skies) and we headed out for bear viewing. Read about that next time.

Lots to come

Here's our trip over in the plane:

Trip date: September 10-21, 2015

September in Alaska #8 -- Kasilof and Homer Spit

With an extra day on the Kenai, Scott looked for a fishing guide. But, no luck on short notice. So, we decided to drive down to Homer to see the sights. It was a rainy, overcast day. But, there were moments of sunlight and some beautiful clouds.

A beautiful beach

We started off at Kasilof beach, which is just south of Soldotna. We were looking for beluga whales, but never saw any. It is, typical of that part of Alaska, a gravel/rock beach.

On the beach; Right photo: Scott Stevens

After Scott headed back to the car, I walked down the beach because I wanted to photograph some gulls.

A flock takes off

Then, behind the gulls, I saw an immature bald eagle. As I approached, he took off and flew around the corner. 

At first, I thought it was a Golden Eagle

As I followed him, I saw three or four more. 

Not as graceful as the other shots

I clicked off a few shots before we headed south.

That's more like it

We didn’t go to the town of Homer; rather, we headed for the Spit.

Homer

The Homer Spit, a very narrow 4.5-mile-long piece of land that juts out into Kachemak Bay, is home to the Homer Boat Harbor. 

The Harbor

The harbor contains both deep and shallow water docks and serves up to 1,500 commercial and pleasure boats at its summer peak. It was winding down for the season when we arrived. It features the longest road into ocean waters in the world, taking 10-15 minutes to cover by car. The spit sits about 19 feet above sea level, making it susceptible to storm surge.

Buildings on the Spit

While not the southernmost part of the Kenai Peninsula, it is as far south as you can drive.

This says it all

There are two different theories postulate on how the spit originated: the tidal swells and currents of Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay built it up over millennia or it was pushed into place by now-retreated glaciers. In 1899, the Cook Inlet Coal Fields Company laid a railroad track along the spit, connecting the docks to the coal fields along Kachemak Bay. 

The sky, water and mountains are gorgeous

Local, fresh AND tasty!

The resulting business led to the development of what eventually became Homer. The 1964 earthquake shrank the Spit to 508 acres and killed most of the vegetation, making it mostly gravel and sand.

We wandered a bit, had a fantastic lunch at Captain Patties Fish House. I had a grilled halibut sandwich (some of the best halibut I have ever had) and Scott had local Kachemak Bay oysters and a salad. 

After lunch, we stopped at the Spirit of Alaska art store that had a stupendous inventory. 

A little shopping (rare for me)

We each bought a piece (normally, it is just Scott who buys native art, but I just loved the piece I bought). It is an owl carved by Charles Slwooko from St. Lawrence Island, the best place to find native crafts. 

I LOVE this!

It is made of the fossilized cheekbone of a walrus (taking advantage of the natural curve where the tusk is seated). 

Sometimes one purchase is just so special

It is embellished with whale baleen ... 

I assume it's a Snowy Owl

... and is mounted on a pedestal of fossilized Steller’s Sea Cow rib bone. Similar to the manatee, the Steller’s sea cow had fed the native peoples for centuries. It was hunted to extinction by 1768 by Russian fur hunters, just 27 years after they first encountered the creature.

Scott's is a fetish showing a half person/half squid in walrus tusk.

Not bad, either

As we headed home, the sun started to peek out and we enjoyed the view on the beach as the snow-capped peaks across the inlet started to come through. 

So pretty

We also watched a Bald Eagle rip apart and eat a fish that he had either caught or found on the beach.

Everyone lunches on the Spit

Our next stop was an overlook just after the Spit, where the fall views were lovely.

Overlook

Take a close look; Bald Eagle photo-bomb

It was a very pleasant day that we hadn’t planned on.

Homer

Trip date: September 10-21, 2015