The highlight of the trip was to spend 3 days/3 nights in Hallo Bay at a bear camp. They feed you ridiculously well, take you out with naturalists on long walks throughout the day and help you understand the animals, their behaviors and habitats. It's hard to wrap your head around how remote this area is and how few people every explore the wild country. Mountains remain nameless and unclimbed, any trails in the area are not made by man, but by bears and the wildlife population is healthy and untouched. We saw anywhere from 10-13 bears per day. We also saw, wolves, river otter, sea otter, eagles and raven (even raven fledgelings which were adventurous, mouthy, and boisterous- as most teens are). Every day the tide goes in and out and the animals are hardwired to know the exact times. Bears wander down to tidal flats to scoop up clams, sand pipers and gulls follow the lead eating sandworms and cleaning up leftovers, and otters move further and further out to sea. Our video of the trip is just over 20 minutes long, so this is a big, warm invitation to come visit and watch it with us (uploading takes too long). In the meantime, I'll share photos and memories.
Along with Hallo Bay, we also were able to get in a couple days of halibut fishing and river fishing for Humpies (pinks). 50 pounds of halibut are sitting in our freezer- come for dinner AND the movie!!
Alaska is stuck in my heart, where it will always remain. "The Last Frontier" is not just cliche, but entirely fitting for this beautiful, wild place.
Homer airport terminal.
Flying out to Hallo Bay requires some guts and bravery. This little Cessna 206 is equipped with big round wheels to bounce along a sandy beach- also known as the landing strip.
When we arrived a couple of sub-adult males came to greet our plane. The pilot had to bang on the window to get them to back away. They were just curious and didn't like the sound of that banging. They were no problem at all.
When we arrived a couple of sub-adult males came to greet our plane. The pilot had to bang on the window to get them to back away. They were just curious and didn't like the sound of that banging. They were no problem at all.
The camp itself!
Camp food. Um...yum.
This is the galley area. It's the only place where food is allowed to be consumed. It's also the hang-out area in camp with suduku puzzles, games and good company to enjoy. A couple from Munich, Germany had our same itinerary and we all got to be fast friends.
The inside of our camp cabin.
Awwwww...those feet. Those big, wonderful, stinky bear feet.
These are juvenile bald eagles- they play and play as you would expect.
This picture is one of my favorites. Sea Otters give birth to only 1 pup every 2-3 years. After the pup is born, the mother carries it around on her belly until it's old enough to hunt on it's own. During this time, they are inseparable and the mother teaches the little one the ways of the ocean from the comfort of her warm tummy. If she needs to leave it for any reason, she'll find a shelf of kelp or piece of drift wood to leave it while she goes to find food. Sea Otters hardly ever go to land. Look closely at the picture below- see the baby? Isn't that precious?
It was a fantastic trip! 
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