May 2017 - Lake Clark

The second stop in our week-long tour of Alaska was Lake Clark national park, at the Silver Salmon Creek lodge. While planning for the trip we discovered that bear watching was something that could be done in Alaska, and were immediately interested. The silver salmon creek seemed to be the best place for seeing bears early in the season, and so we went. We took a small plane across the inlet and landed on the beach next to the lodge. We saw many bears and it was incredible. The bears come out to the meadows to eat grass straight out of hibernation, and a guide took us around on an ATV to see them.

On the airplane over!	Flying over	A seemingly endless range of snowcapped mountains
On the airplane over!	Flying over	A seemingly endless range of snowcapped mountains
After our smooth beach landing	The Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, where we stayed for the night	Our cabin
After our smooth beach landing	The Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, where we stayed for the night	Our cabin
	Out on the beach at low tide
	Out on the beach at low tide
The ATV we rode around on	Bear tracks on the beach!
The ATV we rode around on	Bear tracks on the beach!
		Our first bear sighting! I was standing on the road and it walked out from the forest very close to me.
		Our first bear sighting! I was standing on the road and it walked out from the forest very close to me.
	Incredible scenery	Running along the beach
	Incredible scenery	Running along the beach
A grizzly bear chasing a bald eagle on the coast: Does it get more Alaska than that?	A bald eagle flying off his rock	A volcano
A grizzly bear chasing a bald eagle on the coast: Does it get more Alaska than that?	A bald eagle flying off his rock	A volcano
A pair of harlequin ducks	The large, grassy plain where the bears come out to feed
A pair of harlequin ducks	The large, grassy plain where the bears come out to feed
Watching a bear from the ATV	Grizzly bear!	Itching his back?
Watching a bear from the ATV	Grizzly bear!	Itching his back?
Eating grass like a sheep	Us and the bear. It was pretty terrifying having our back to it.
Eating grass like a sheep	Us and the bear. It was pretty terrifying having our back to it.
So fluffy!	Us and the bear one more time	A pair of bald eagles
So fluffy!	Us and the bear one more time	A pair of bald eagles
A varied thrush with dinner in his mouth	The boar: an enormous male grizzly bear	A red fox
A varied thrush with dinner in his mouth	The boar: an enormous male grizzly bear	A red fox
He walked over to check us out
He walked over to check us out
Stretching out		Another bear eating grass
Stretching out		Another bear eating grass
Yet another bear out in the meadow		Chewing with his mouth open
Yet another bear out in the meadow		Chewing with his mouth open
And yet _another_ bear - we were out non-stop looking, and saw many.
And yet _another_ bear - we were out non-stop looking, and saw many.
The next morning	A juvenile bald eagle	I am oddly unable to identify this bird of prey
The next morning	A juvenile bald eagle	I am oddly unable to identify this bird of prey
A whale spout out in the inlet, one of many that morning	Our last bear sighting of the trip - a momma and 3 cubs!
A whale spout out in the inlet, one of many that morning	Our last bear sighting of the trip - a momma and 3 cubs!
River crossing		Feeding time
River crossing		Feeding time
The post-meal nap	Our plane landing on the beach	Vast wilderness
The post-meal nap	Our plane landing on the beach	Vast wilderness