Alaska Day 9: Safari Explorer

 

Day 9: Safari Explorer (Sunday, Father’s Day)

Weather Report: Overcast, high 50s to low 60s, light rain in afternoon, misty, foggy, almost no wind

Quote of the Day: You can’t tell a bear by its color.

 

It’s a Covid world: THB and DB share a taste of their shared Negroni with A from Baltimore. How’s that for leaping over the sanitization barrier?

 

DB and THB are up and about by 6 and at 6:30 are having decaf coffee and small cinnamon rolls. With a few others, stand/sit at the bow watching for wildlife. D from NY is a birder and helps us spot bald eagles, of which there are many here once you know what to look for (white heads, black bodies and supposedly yellow beaks).

 

DB attends the stretching “class” at 7:30, THB tries to catch up with the blog text.

At breakfast, THB has waffles, topped with fruit and yogurt from small buffet; DB has eggs, bacon and toast. EL (Expedition Leader) explains the morning activities and most of us decide to kayak in the small, still cove. THB and DB don’t overdo it, though it is a bit more strenuous than the day THB tilted way left.

Pics of bear from kayak

Lunch is a very good shrimp cake (like a crab cake) on top of pappardelle al dente. We share a table with a very conservative couple from Kansas, hardly any common ground.

 

Bushwhacking in the afternoon. There are 13 or 14 of us, EL in front and a crew member at the back, and the bartender is along to fill her afternoon. Ride a “skiff” a short way from the boat and set down on a beach and then head into the bush. 2+ hours, sweating, wet from the rain, drained from the humidity, we arrive back on the beach. Way harder than the hike the afternoon THB leaned over left, practically with his left ear on his hip.  THB feels fine other than the normal exhaustion.

Boots required. We brought our own, boat had many tho discouraged us ahead of time from expecting to us theirs 

rock weed

EL

Chocolate day lily?

Skunk weed, a bear fave

Fungus, very interesting looking

Bear scat

A sink hole: the poles wouldn't reach the bottom

2 year old, most likely eaten by another bear; this is the rear end

Cookies with powdered cider mix in hot water.

 

Hot tub for THB (one other couple is already there), then a shower.  DB skips the tub and goes for the shower.

 

One of the other options was a meadow walk, and THB thinks most of the bushwhackers will switch over to this option the next time.

 

Pre-dinner drinks, appetizer, and then we share a table for dinner with Baltimore couple and D the birder. 4 of us were bushwhackers, one did the meadow walk. DB and THB share lamb chops and quinoa salad, both pretty good. We coerce our dedicated server into finding us some chocolate and THB and DB have chocolate ice cream with the post-afternoon cookies. Ahhhhhhhhh….

THB stays for EL’s talk on bears, which focuses on the differences between brown and black bears (polar bears, the third bear of Alaska, won’t be found here in Southeast Alaska…or, as it goes unstated, anywhere after the ice in the Arctic melts away. DB goes upstairs and crashes.

What is this? It's a drip pipe taking the water off the top of the boat...we can hear it inside our room