February 19, 2011

Grizzly Bear Series – Part 4, Strolling

My last post was a serious one, so let’s have a fun one for a little balance! It’s long overdue for a few more fuzzy-wuzzy bear pictures! These are some of my favorite ones from our trip last year to the British Columbia wilderness, showing bears strolling around on their home turf.

This gorgeous one tumbled out from the tall grass to do little fishing.

While we were riding in the boat, the most common place to see them was wading right along the shoreline. Despite their size, it was surprising to see how effortlessly they moved.

This acrobatic fellow even did a balancing act for us on a fallen log. In addition to being nimble, these guys can move as fast as 30 miles per hour!

They were such remarkable creatures to watch, many with soulful faces. We had to constantly remind ourselves that these were wild bears and we were not at a zoo!

I have a funny story to tell about this last photo. Hubby and I were standing alongside the shoreline, patiently waiting for a bear sighting and chatting with our tour guide. We were standing on a well-worn path that runs parallel to the river, a bear path to be exact. We were keeping a sharp lookout along the path and also the streambed. I was facing them, looking at the trail and river behind them, and they were looking in the opposite direction.

After about an hour of quiet visiting and no signs of activity, all of a sudden I saw movement in the far distance. So I pointed over their shoulders and excitedly exclaimed, “There’s one!”

Now, my temperament is pretty laid back 99% of the time. But when I am excited, my voice goes up in tone and volume. Hubby knew that I had spotted a bear and correctly guessed that it was well off in the distance. He recognized it as my excited voice, not my scared voice.

However, it was immediately assumed by our tour guide, as indicated by his dinner-plate-size eyes, that there was a bear immediately behind them on the trail. While the poor fellow was about to have a heart attack, I was wondering why he abruptly had a frightened look on his face. I thought perhaps there was one that he spotted on the trail behind me!

The whole episode was quite comical and we really had good laugh that afternoon. Our guide forgave me for scaring the stuffing out of him, and I managed to stop hooting long enough to take the bear’s picture.

13 comments:

  1. More great photos! I went to Alaska for a vacation and saw lots of bear tracks on a river bank but never saw a bear! The salmon were spawning and that was a site to see! ♥

    ReplyDelete
  2. Scary bears! When we visited Yellowstone National Park 2 years ago, I could not stop looking over my shoulder ALL THE TIME for grizzlies! Never did see one, thankfully!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fabulous pictures. I think I would have been scared to death to have one that close especially since they can run a heck of a lot faster than I can :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. With those claws, I can see how he balances so nicely on a log or anywhere else. That was a funny story. It would have been awful if you and the guide had both keeled over imagining the worse. Talk about overactive imaginations. Guess it pays to have your husband (who knows the difference between excited and scared) around on all these adventures of yours.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh I just love looking at your bear photos. And I can SO picture that whole episode going down and I probably would have been with your tour guide and had dinner size plate eyeballs. LOL!

    And I think you're right about the tree. I think it is a peach tree. Wish I liked peaches. LOL!

    Have a super day.
    Kim

    ReplyDelete
  6. Absolutely wonderful! Do you have pepper spray when you go on this little treks?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hahahaaaaa.....Oh no!!! I'll bet he WAS scared! And those bear look skinny and Hungry!!Lolol
    LOVE these shots Girl!!
    hughugs

    ReplyDelete
  8. -chuckle- "Mrs. Bradley" would never say that, now would she??????? Caught red-handed. In my persona stealth. :-)

    'Mrs. Bradley' ,-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have loved your bear pictures! They sure are "fuzzy wuzzy" !

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can't bear your sense of humor! LOLOLOL just kidding ... the bears are too wonderful for words. I just want to hug and kiss one of them, then sit and pet on him and have a nice long chat. Those bears look like they'd understand. How good of you to share your precious bears with us!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am loving your blog and also the tutorial. I am so glad to have found a felloe southerner here.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh gosh. Hilarious! These bears look so sweet but I know they could kill me. How's that possible?

    I'm late. Beary sorry...

    ReplyDelete

Marty, here! Donna loves comments, and I faithfully pass them on to her. Thank you so much for visiting!