Fox Pup's AK Vacation - Day 9: Sea Lions, Otters, and Bears... On My!!

***Note: Pictures will be added later, so please check back.  Thanks!***

This morning, we decided to start the day off by going back to the small boat harbor to see if we could find some sea animals that might want to show off for us.  Soon after we got to the dock, we found a sea lion who came pretty close to us (I’m sure he thought we might have some fish we’d like to share, but of course we didn’t).  So after a great photo session with the otter yesterday, we got a great (but quick) photo session with a sea lion.  Other than this 30 seconds or so, all we’ve really seen of the sea lions is heads sticking up out of the water as they come up for air.

After awhile at the dock, we decided to go check out the fish hatchery just outside of Valdez.  We found many more sea lions, otters, and seals there, with a couple more getting close enough to be something other than a tiny little head in the water in our photos.  There were also several bald eagles and a couple golden eagles around the hatchery (they’re smart… there were a lot of salmon there!), so it was neat to hear their calls and see them in the trees.  Overall though, they were too far away for our meager zoom lenses.

On our way back to Valdez from the hatchery, there were several cars parked on the side of the road along a bridge.  That’s a tell-tale sign that SOMETHING is lurking nearby.  We realized it was a grizzly bear… not just one, but 5 right there together.  Right in the river finding stuff to eat.  Out came the cameras once again…luckily we hadn’t put them too far away!  Just another “awesome” (have I overused that word yet??) experience in Alaska!

We drove all over Valdez looking for some shops or something open, but apparently a Sunday outside of tourist season (which ends either around Labor Day or Sept. 15^th) is pretty quiet around there.  Good thing the wildlife didn’t know about that! 

We headed back to the dock for the evening, and watched more jumping salmon, looked for otters, seals, and sea lions, and even searched for Poppy (the harbor kitty).  We found Poppy after awhile… she’s a great ambassador for the harbor!  We learned that she was found under one of the docks about 10 years ago, and has lived on one of the boats (and wandered around the docks) ever since. 

Tomorrow we head back to Anchorage.  It’s hard to believe this vacation is almost over, but at the same time it feels like we’ve been in Alaska (and away from “life”) for a long time.  Oh, and by the way… it’s still been sunny everyday!  Amazing.