Saturday evening we went on a Bear Hunt.
About this time every year, the bears come down from the mountains and toward the rivers so that they can fill up on fish before the emanate hibernation. About 8pm you will see the same one or two bears at the mouth of the river fishing for a fresh salmon.
There are always a few cars parked along the roadside watching these humongous creatures in their natural habitat.
So, on Saturday night we took the kids and drove down to Bells Flats, which is a location about 10 miles from our home, and a location where many streams feed out into the ocean...a great place for salmon!
We made a few passes around the area before we finally saw a bear off in the distance. We all got out of the car so that the kids could get a better view. He was about 20 yards away when we saw him fishing in a stream. He was HUGE!!
The kids were extremely excited to see a bear! Well, Ethan was THRILLED! Emily was a little scared and apprehensive, as she's scared of bears...mainly because of the old "fireside chant"..Going on a Bear Hunt...which she learned at school, and now she's terrified of bears!
Emily was holding onto Daddy for dear life and Ethan was screaming with excitement.
......................And then the bear turned........................
He turned and looked right at us. Then he leaned back to stand on his two feet...HE MUST HAVE BEEN 15 FEET TALL! He was MASSIVE!
By now we were the only people left along the roadside, so I KNEW it was US he was staring at! He fell back down on all fours, and then we could see him charging in our direction...leaps and bounds over the grassy knolls! HE WAS FAST!
Chris started yelling..."Tracy! Come On...it's time to go! -- Go! -- Go!"
And I saw Chris bolting with Emily toward the safety of the car, which was about 30 feet away. I too, turned and ran back toward the car, not knowing if I had time to get Ethan in his carseat, or if I would have to thrust both of our bodies into the front seat of the truck.
Just as I finished buckling Ethan's seatbelt, still outside of the car, I saw the bear charge across the road where our truck was parked; but, luckily he crossed about 40 feet away and didn't confront us. He saw us as a threat, and was only running to get away and back into the safety of the forest.
(WOW! WHAT A RUSH!)
2 comments:
I think that was just a little too close of an encounter. But I sure wish we had been there too!
Wow, what a scary time!!! I probably would have watched form the safety of my car :)
Love reading your blog...Alaska seems like a fun place!
Post a Comment