Bear Hunting

Alrighty... well we went on a few bear hunting trips.  We didn't bring back a bear but we had many once in a lifetime experiences that left us speechless!  Unfortunately, Adam wiped out many photos and videos of these experiences.  Fortunately, he is a genius and managed to save them with a recovery tool (but a little quality was lost in the recovery, especially with the videos)!  Please enjoy....

 This picture is for our mamas..... look at the boils on that tree!  You could make a whole set of bowls!  So... people cut these off, w/o harming the living tree, and fix them up to be the most beautiful bowls, bathroom sinks, business card holders etc- depending on the size.  We want to get into the business! :)

 Not completely clear due to the melting that day, but this is a rather large griz track!  The amazing thing is, this dude was roaming around the same area the black bear and her triplets were--- impressive she could keep them all alive!  The mama black bear and triplets video is below.  They are second year cubs which means she kept them alive all last summer and made a den large enough for the 4 of them over winter!  That's one awesome mommy!

 One of the triplets tracks.... we are assuming

 So---you're going to say-- which black dot?!?!  But in the tree with 2 black dots- the higher one is an itty-bitty black bear cub.  It was the size of a cat!  Mama is in the woods eating and wanted the cub to stay up in the tree.  Well, we watched them for about an hour and a half and that cub was getting into all kinds of mischief!  The mama kept scolding it and even slapped the tree it was in to to let it know she was serious! It was quite a hoot to watch!  Unfortunately, we only had Adam's camera which doesn't have any zoom compared to mine...... lesson learned.  ALWAYS have my camera and ALWAYS carry a gun ;)

 The black dot at the base of the tree is the bear cub!  He got in trouble for getting out of the tree.  Not long after this, the mother followed the bear up the tree and they fell asleep for the night!  A black bear's bed time is 11:00!

 This is the wolf track from the wolf you will see in a video at the bottom of this post.  The size of my hand! Yes- I said wolf.. for those of you who know I am terrified of wolves!

 This picture is for mama Harris.  What a beautiful day for a snow angel!

 We found this old dude back in the woods.  He must have been a monster, considering his antlers slant down from his skull!  The rack was pretty chewed up and HEAVY, so we left it there.

 My best buddy and me after taking the pups for a swim

 The first (of many) bear track we saw.  Decent sized black bear.

 I have a whole series of these pics... Adam would throw the stick- Tundra would retrieve, drop it by Adam, and procede to soak him with a shake!  It was hilarious!

 Best buds!.... watching crazy Chena swimming!  I have never seen such a thing.... Chena will purposely go out into the current and swim as if she were on a treadmill!  She is unbelievably athletic and the strongest swimmer I have ever seen!  We were dog-sittin Chena, so we put life jackets on both pups and took them up river with us.  They stayed in the cabin while we hunted and we took them to swim and played with them in between.  I'm not sure who loves our Alaskan adventures more.... us or the pups!

 Our transportation for the week!

 We saw 10-12 eagle nests along the river!

 We also saw some pretty massive trees that had been gnawed down by a beaver.  What an insane beaver!  I wonder how long it took!

 There were a few pretty waterfalls along the way.

 This is a picture of my point of view of.... "feet in the sand"

 Gorgeous view while boating to our next hunting spot... Denali is hiding in the clouds to the right.

 Another view.  One happy boat captain!  .... until... the boat crapped out on us!  We had driven 50 miles up river and tootled around while hunting during the days-- the boat did GREAT, that is, until we were 1/2 mile away from the dock on our return!  LONG STORY-short= we had to get towed back but had somebody come out and checked out the boat for us so now it is ready to go for Adam's parent's visit and KING SALMON FISHING!!!

So that was our first trip.  We boated about 50 miles up river and stayed at the cabin we had stayed at last year along the train route.  We were thankful for our boat because it gave us more hunting opportunities and was a lot of fun.  We hiked A LOT and sat A LOT on this trip.  We saw the black bear with triplets, the black bear w/ a fresh new baby, the moose skull, a small/ average black bear that we decided not to harvest, and the wolf. 

For our next trip, we decided to try something new.  Since we had record snowfall last winter, there was still alot of snow and not much green in the area we had been hunting, meaning the black bears weren't really there yet.  So we took up the offer of a friend who said we could try out his bait stand.  A bait stand has to be registered with Alaska Fish and Game.  The bait stand has to be clearly marked for others who might happen across it.  Hunters given permission to use it must sign in with their hunting license number for the Fish and Game to check.  This bait stand consisted of an old keg hanging from a tree, dog food, and syrup.  It can go up on a certain day in May and has to come down on a certain day at the end of June.  It is only legal to bait and harvest black bear although grizzlies are the most frequent visitors.  It is illegal to try to scare away a grizzly as it is seen as harrassing wildlife.  We got to this spot by 4-wheeler, climbed up the tree stand, and sat....and sat... and sat, watching the bait area.  Here are some pictures from this experience...

 We took the dogs for a "run".... they love going with for 4-wheeler/snowmachine trips.  .....short trips

 Hmm... okay.  This is what we found one morning.  This sturdy, stock pot was completely flattened by some big ol bear!   We wish we would've been there to see it!

 This lil fella visited us every day at the bait stand.  He/she was a young bear who was VERY spooky and would take a bite, then quick look up and around, then take a bite and repeat!  It was a pretty entertaining bear to watch! 

 This is the lovely hat that Adam's sister, Jess, made for him for Christmas last year.  Weelll... I have claimed it and it suited me well.  I was not spotted by a bear!

 So perfect example of our dog's personality... Chena very gracefully jumped over the muddy muck and Tundra jumped right in and proceeded to lay down.  This dog LOVES mud and being dirty... lucky us! 

 We got a bit bored up in the stand, so we played some games like "21 questions" and Adam started a squashed mosquitoe collection!  We became creative with our mosquitoe squashing tactics!

 A look at the "trail"... haha Adam had a hard time!

 THIS WAS INTENSE!!!!!  We heard some very strange noises coming from the woods and not long after, out popped 2 brown bear cubs, then a VERY protective mama, and then the last cub!  They were too darn cute but she was too darn scary!  Check out the videos below!

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She watched over them, checked the surrounding area, smelled the air, and made her "beware" noises while

they chowed down.  She never once took a bite of food.

This is the video of the black bear mama and her 2nd year triplets.  As you will hear- we didn't know there were three until they got up and moving.  We did the "hey bear" to get them moving since they were in our path.  Once again- taken with Adam's camera so not the best quality.

This... is.... the WOLF!  We came down the stairs from the cabin, ready to cross the train tracks to the boat, when Adam looked up the tracks and saw this dude jogging at us!  It didn't see us and Adam insisted on staying around to get photos/video while I was trying to yank him back up the stairs and in panick mode.  He tried handing me the camera, but I quickly exchanged the camera for the gun in his hand.  It was a lone wolf-- in a hurry to get somewhere--- perhaps a scout.  It was not the least bit scared of us, just confused!   You will see that it contemplated going by us anyway.  So much for the theory everyone keeps telling me, "OOHHH, they're more afraid of you than you are of them!"  Now I can say BullShitty!  So as you will see in the video... the wolf goes to the right and up a hill...... to the cabin.  So we ran back up the stairs and watched it continue on it's way.  Later that day when we returned and let the dogs out- Tundra immediately smelled the wolf and went to the exact spot it had come over the hill.  He was not happy about the visitor!  I have mixed feelings about the event... I did NOT have a panick attack or cry and we had a VERY RARE encounter with one of Alaska's wild animals.  BUT.... I was def more scared of it that it was of me!

This is mama brown bear (brown, not griz, because she has access to salmon) with her triplets.  You can hear her defensive sound, see her smelling the air, and check out the adorable cubs with blonde rings around their necks.  There is an itty-bitty and one that kept going back to check on mama.  The one with the least amount of blonde on it was the mischevious one!  I just wish we could've seen them play!  


Well-- I know I have left a lot out.... I could write a book with all of the details of each experience.  Again- we didn't bring any meat home but had AN AMAZING trip(s)!!!  :)

Shoulder surgery= no adventures!

Hello, hello, hello!  Yes- we are still here and adding to our blog..... Adam had shoulder surgery mid-March (3 days after our spring break fishing trip) so we haven't had many adventures!  He had surgery on his left shoulder due to bones not growing correctly since he grew so fast growing up (imagine that) AND a snowboarding crash that then fractured it.  He is healing up well, sore with overuse of course, and has a gnarly scar!  I think we set the record for spending the most consecutive weekends in Anchorage since we have lived here.  We finally had our first "real" adventure in a long time this past week...... we went BEAR HUNTING!!!!  No bear(s).....yet, we will be heading out again tomorrow.  The bear hunting stories and pictures will be posted after our second hunting trip.

But for now.... we got our 4-wheelers out 2 weekends ago and spent the day riding with a couple friends.  Here are the pictures.....

 The little white specks are dall sheep!  It would be a dream-come-true to draw this sheep tag since you can basically ride on up to the base of the mountain to glass!  We will keep our fingers crossed!  (The "good" hunts in Alaska come from "drawing a tag"....basically you pay to put your name in for a certain species in a certain area and have to have your name drawn to be able to hunt it.  We have yet to get our names drawn!)

 Riding up to Knik Glacier

 Our buddy Kevin being silly and riding into the picture at the perfect moment!

 Knik Glacier!  Keep in mind that pictures do zero justice for the true beauty!

 Ice, ice everywhere!

 Having a picnic with a great view!

 Had to go through a few "puddles" along the way!

 Us girls.... just waiting on the boys!

 No, this is not snow!  The wind picked up and we found ourselves in a nasty dust storm!

Have to cross the river!!!


Will post again after the next bear hunt trip! 

Spring Break and Northern Lights

Happy Spring! I'd like to start off with an adorable picture (minus the pet-eye effect) of Angel and Tundra, laying on the same couch, at the same time!

This was the largest spoonbill snagged in Missouri over spring break. It weighed in at 72lbs and was snagged by Gayle Kucera!

This is the catch from DAY 1!!!! 13 spoonbill....Around 250lbs of meat! We half-heartedly snagged for two more days and brought our catch total up to 25 fish. We ended up releasing or giving away the other 12 fish since we already had more than enough meat!

We snagged the spoonbill from boats. We had three boats total with 3-5 people snagging (depending on the day)

We also had a great time with the lil ones! These masked hooligans were squirting us with water!

Adam and a couple buddies walking back across the hay field from our creek walk. We spent 3 days in Iowa before heading to Table Rock Lake in Missouri where Adam's aunt/uncle/cousins live and where Kevin and Jeanette bought a cabin last year. The Harris' and Kuceras went for a long weekend of fishing, eating, and playing games!

The Aurora Borealis! Did you know Tundra's full name is Tundra Borealis Harris?!?!? Well, it is!

Lil pink in these

Some more pink to go with that green! :)

A pretty good band across the sky

The experience of the northern lights is breathtaking and indescribable! Luckily-- Adam will brave the cold and persevere through camera glitches to catch these photos (also because his ultimate goal is to show his mama the northern lights!) I say luckily because like most other Alaskan scenery, this is one of those experiences you CAN'T give justice to in a photo! I can't concentrate enough to take photos because I want to enjoy the experience---the way they move and literally dance is just..... I can't describe it and I don't want to miss a second of it!

(or maybe I'm selfish....?!?!)

SO... THANK YOU ADAM!!!

so much snow!

Hi there.... so the last time we had this much snowfall in one winter was back in 1955. The record is 132.8 inches of snow and we are currently at 120 something..... I can't keep track- it just keeps snowing!


We went to Girdwood to stay at Alyeska Ski Resort for a weekend to celebrate Shawn's birthday. It was lots of fun except that Adam ended up getting pretty sick.... never decided if it was food poisoning or a virus but he ended up in the hospital to get 3 liters of fluid.
The hot tub at the cabin with a fence of snow around it!

Our lil cabin, completely covered in snow! :)

Forgive me if I've already talked about it..... the snow has been bad news for the moose this winter. Lot's of moose being hit on the roads and railroads when they are trying to avoid the deep snow. Some hunting areas have already been closed for next year and an organization has plowed paths and set up feeding stations to lure them away from the roads. This lil feller was trying to stay outta the deep snow and therefore blocking our path. It was just me and Tundra, I was on skiis. We had already passed the mama, so we were in between the two of them. The moose was very curious of me but was not a fan of Tundra..... it walked straight toward us and became agitated with Tundra so I took off my skiis and had to chase it back up the trail so that it could take a side trail and we could get around. It was a battle of me chasing away the moose, then Tundra chasing after the moose and barking like he was big stuff, then the moose turning on Tundra and charging at him, then Tundra hiding behind my legs, then me chasing away the moose again- swinging my skiis back and forth in the air and yelling at it. It was a vicious circle, but Tundra listened when it was most important for him to listen and we got by safely! Luckily the mama didn't care to wade through the snow to assist her baby or it could've been much worse. I figured she was probably preggo and ready to kick him outta the house anyway! This had to be the funniest scene.... I was even giggling at the whole situation. I have to admit that at one point when the moose was walking up to us, I was thinking, "Sweet, I'm going to pet this moose!" then I quickly shook that thought from my mind when Tundra was defensive of how close the moose was getting. It was AWESOME that he didn't all out chase the moose, because he probably would've been stomped. However, it was HILARIOUS that he was trying to be tough stuff and chasing the moose and then tucking his tail and hiding behind me!

Tundra LOVES going to school!

This is the annual event of the "Running of the Reindeer" at the Fur Rondy Festival. Yes- people take off running down the street and then 10 secs later they release the reindeer that chase them down the street.....antlers and all!

Hard to tell in this photo- but there are always some fabulous costumes! It's really not as dangerous as it sounds as the reindeer try to avoid the people as much as possible and just file in line behind each other and run through the gaps of people

There they go!

This reindeer took two people to wrastle it up the street to the starting line!

AH YES... a carnival in the winter! People are riding the rides, playing games, and eating carnival food in the snow!...... only in Alaska!

Taking a goofy pic on the mountain.... feeling silly from the sunshine and awesome boarding conditions!

The boys were being silly too!

Well, I wanted to try the videos of the bear tracks and Tundra opening his Christmas gift, but I couldn't get them to work again....we'll see

We are headed back to the midwest for spring break.... in Iowa for 4 days then headed to Missouri with both families to spoonbill on Table Rock! Pics to come soon! :)