Icewind's Ramblings

Animal Planet is now playing a six part series called “Stranger Among Bears” about Bear Haven and a friend of mine, Charlie Vandergaw who is a retired Anchorage school teacher who spends his summers at his compound observing and interacting with Grizzly and Black Bears. I used to work with Lee who also spends his free summer time at Bear Haven helping Charlie keep up his place. It is a truly unique and almost magical place being with these wild animals spending time in what is surreal to most people but to those who have had the experience there a sobering sometimes life changing perspective of Bears, Life, and how you deal with certain situations. The last two years there have been film crews on site for the BBC and ABC’s Primetime staying for several months getting these stories. The Animal Planet story is from BBC who had cameraman Richard Terry alone to cover this story. He was observer, writer, cameraman, participant in what can only be described as an Alaska...

Continuing my post from last night it has been hard to get the song Fishin’ out of my mind all day today. There were a few flurries but warmer temperatures in the twenties so not a bad day unlike a few weeks ago. Friday the 13 th had no bad incidents only the normal hustle and bustle that goes with a Friday. Too much to do, not enough time to get it done, and other things pulling me in many directions keeping me from the items I wanted to accomplish by weeks end. I apologize for the size of the pictures as for some reason the scale is not bringing them down to the size I expected. I hope it is not a pain to look at them. Last summer there were several trips doing all kinds of fishing which is pretty normal for me? My brother in law and me for the last several years embarks on a crazy 72 hour fishin’ marathon where we load up some food and first head out to a local river (Eklutna Tailrace) here in Anchorage after I get off of...