After proclaiming the day prior was the best day of our trip so far – with its porpoise escort and soak in the hot springs – I was quickly repeating myself once we set anchor in Foggy Bay, Alaska.  I had piloted us almost 60 nautical miles from Prince Rupert, B.C., across the Canadian border, and back into waters of the United States –  we had finally made it to Alaska!  We hadn’t been anchored long when we heard, “Bear!” yelled from another boat.  Sure enough, there was a  bear walking along the shore.  We watched in awe as the bear climbed along the beach and shore until it disappeared back into the trees.  It had been making its way toward the near corner of the island and about 30 minutes later we noticed it again, it had rounded the corner and was now completely in our view (a safe distance away.)  Oddly, the difference between black bears and brown/grizzly bears is not accurately determined by their color.  Color can help, but the shape of their face and ears, the presence of a shoulder hump in the case of a brown bear, and size help you to identify them. This was a pretty big bear, mostly black but with a definite brown rump.  We determined that it was a black bear and before long we were once again in awe as her two cubs came out to join her.  While she was busy eating grass, her cubs explored the rocky shore and played nearby, entertaining us all evening long. 

In the morning, we looked for them again, but they were not visible.  When it was time to get underway, I noticed some movement on the island on the other side of the boat.  This time it was a grizzly bear, even closer than the others had been (but still a safe distance!)  The bear chomped on his grassy breakfast and watched us weigh anchor.  After scoping out many a bear-shaped rock on our journey north, we were thrilled to witness our first bears just hours after crossing into Alaska. (Melinda)

Photos taken largely by Grace Hall.