Bear flightseeing

It has been a very interesting day.  After our breakfast in the motel we had a shuttle to the flight service.  Then we boarded a water taxi airplane for a trip to a remote lodge and a chance to see Alaskan bears trying to catch the salmon on the run to their spawning areas.  The flight was about 30 minutes in a southwest direction from Anchorage where we landed on a lake near the Redoubt Bay Lodge.  This lodge is isolated and only accessible by air.  We then boarded a pontoon boat with four other folks for a guided tour of this lake area.  Our guide took us to sites around the lake where small streams dump into the lake and that is where the salmon are trying to migrate upstream to spawn and also where the bears know that it is a place for their favorite diet.  These locations just at the mouth of these streams is where the salmon gather in large schools before attempting the run up stream to spawn.  This is where the local fishing guides take their clients to fish for the same salmon that the bears are after.  As you can see in our pictures that is up close and personal to the bears.  On the flight to the lodge we saw from the air beluga whale, trumpeter swan, brown bear, and moose while cruising at about 700 feet.  From the boat we saw bald eagles, harbor seal, black bear, schools of silver salmon, and a brown bear.  We had lunch at the lodge that included salmon burgers and black bean soup before our return trip to Anchorage.  On the return flight at about 1000 feet we saw moose and trumpeter swan.  Our flight both ways was in a bush plane with seats for 9 and our pilot was quite seasoned (the oldest in the company) and made several circles just to let us view the various wildlife sightings.  It was quite an experience just to get Jo into and out of the plane.  It was not easy to catch pictures from the plane so I only took a couple.

After our days excursion we walked to a local restaurant for a super seafood dinner.  It has been so nice to be able to enjoy fresh seafood and we are making the most of that situation.

bear viewing flight