Grizzly Bear Lodge Meals 3 of 3

Dinner table set

The table is set with salads, fresh homemade bread and wine. Dinning at Grizzly Bear Lodge is the good food that the guests rave about and guests and staff’s lively conversations. Remember “what happens in the boat stay in the boat unless the guest open the topic”. The eating part of dinner may be completed in an hour but the conversation around the table may last for several hours.

Grizzly Bear Lodge Meals 2 of 3

dock lunch boat lunchtrapper ricks lunch spot

The picnic lunches are popular with the guests. The basics start with: cheese, crackers, fresh vegetables (carrots, peas, tomatoes), drinks, plus a dessert of cake, loaf, squares and the ever popular LARGE bag of cookies. Then add any of the following: homemade soup or chili, wraps, sausage rolls, hard boiled eggs, smoked salmon and bagels, “Dagwood” style sandwiches (check the internet), BBQ chicken and the list is long enough so that you will not have the same lunch twice on your visit. What changes is the location of your lunch: while grizzly bear watching it is on a float in Knight Inlet’s Glendale Cove; whale watching it is drifting in a boat somewhere in the area of Johnstone Strait; and if visiting Trapper Risk on a remote BC  river it will likely be on the deck of his cabin with a view of the river.
The champagne was brought from France (a tradition with the guests who take a bottle on all their vacations to drink in a memorable location). This picture is missing another table of food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grizzly Bear Lodge Meals 1 of 3

breakfast at Grizzly Bear Lodge

Guides at Grizzly Bear Lodge are up a half-hour before we call the guests for breakfast. Guests are call at 7:00 in the spring and 6:30 after August 24th (however some days guests are up before guides allot depends on “jet lag”). Our most important job is coffee and hot water for tea. The table is set the night before and we put out the “frig food”. The table contains home made muffins and bread, cereals both cold and hot (in a package), fruit (fresh and in bowels to be added to cereal), yogurt, and juices. Some guests take a muffin or fruit for a morning snack even though each boat has a great picnic lunch….

Grizzly bear watching? 2 of 2

Grizzly bear family fising Knight Inlet

The problem the grizzly is yesterday’s post has is the four bears in today’s. No bear except a large male wants to confront a mother grizzly bear with two cubs. And this was a five-year-old male who wanted time to think about its decision. Also in the photo is another large female but without cubs (head lower right corner). After about five minutes of pondering he entered the river and did some fishing but kept his distance from the other bears.

Grizzly bear watching? 1 of 2

Grizzly bear watching river

This grizzly came to a point about 8 meters (26 feet) from the base of the viewing platform that overlooks the spawning channel on Knight Inlet’s Glendale River. The platform, which we use after August 24th, provides a view of the man-made spawning channel containing salmon. This is a favourite fishing location for the grizzlies on the lodge’s grizzly bear watching tours. That creates the problem for this bear as will be seen in tomorrow’s post….

Sooty shearwater epic migration

Sooty sheerwater

Always trying for an interesting photo while on a wildlife tour and this time it worked. The whale’s tail gets the attention but I wanted to focus on the sooty shearwater. The heading of an article I found reads “Longest Animal Migration Measured, Bird Flies 40,000 Miles a Year”. Sooty shearwaters migrate nearly 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) a year, flying from New Zealand to the North Pacific Ocean every summer in search of food. The birds leave New Zealand in the Southern Hemisphere’s winter—summer in the Northern Hemisphere—and take advantage of prevailing winds along different portions of their migration route. Our area is a resting point and feeding area as they return home in September.”

 

 

Black Bear in the Morning

black bear cubsYour first evening at Grizzly Bear Lodge includes a tour in looking for black bears. The “looking” for black bears is part of every trip we take in a boat. This photo was at 7:27 on August 11 on the back side of Minstrel Island the home of Grizzly Bear Lodge. Yes, we do have black bears on our island and our daily tours do leave at 7:30 or earlier if guests are ready.

Salmon?

watching grizzlies watch salmon

There were some salmon working their way up river over the small falls and they were spotted by this grizzly. However by the time it got closer the salmon had mover up river but that did not stop this bear from watching this same area for over ten minutes before it moved on.

Stellar Sea Lions

Stellar Sea Lions are often seen on out tours and are common in large numbers from late August until the end of our season.  Stellar Sea Lions are creatures of habit and will use the same rocks to haul out on year after year.  Stellar Sea Lions do not migrate, but they do move throughout the season from resting, feeding and mating(rookery) areas.  They eat a variety of fish, but can often be seen feeding on migrating salmon that pass through Blackfish Sound, where we spend a lot of time whale watching.

Humpback Flipper

Humpback whales are extremely manoeuvrable and often quite acrobatic.  The reason for this is their long flippers.  Humpback Whales have longer flippers then any other animal. They also have large bumps  on their flippers called tubercles.  These tubercles act like rudders, creating turbulence and reducing drag.   Thanks to Annette for the photo