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Borrego Springs, CA

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

A successful tour

I got a phone call from my friend Jack last night saying that he had safely arrived at his campground in Avon out on the Cape Hatteras Nat’l Seashore.  Out plans for today were for him to drive over to my rig on Alligator River NWR, and from there I’d give him a tour of the refuge. 

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Of course, he wanted to see some bears, but I wasn’t sure we’d have much of a chance since we wouldn’t be leaving until late morning.  While I waited for him to arrive, I enjoyed all of the little butterflies that were gathering nectar on the blooming flowers in my front yard.

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As we were going down one of the back roads, I caught sight of a bear walking down the road quite a distance in front of us.  We moved up closer to try to get a shot through the front windshield, but he didn’t hang around for very long.  No chance for a nice close-up, but I was relieved that at least we had seen a bear.

One thing I appreciate about Jack is that whenever our paths cross he generally takes me out to eat.  I enjoy sharing a meal with someone other than Emma.  Smile  This time I chose the place, and you can bet it wasn’t a Waffle House!  I’ll never let him forget that ‘fine’ dining experience.  Anyway, we ended up at the Fisherman’s Wharf Restaurant in Wanchese.  We both had tasty seafood dinners, and liked their homemade chips with Wanchese sauce. 

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After lunch, we stopped by the Gateway Visitors Center so he could see all the great exhibits.  Wouldn’t you know, today was the day that the folks from Florida came to do the final touches to all of the exhibits and fix those things that needed adjusting.  All but one or two exhibits were roped off.  Shucks!  By the way, Jack is the one with the mustache above.  Don’t we look fine in our fire fighting outfits?

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In the afternoon, we drove some more of the refuge roads.  As we turned the corner to head back to the rig, this big male was standing on the levy by the corn fields.  I thought it was probably the same male that I had taken some photos of last week in this same area.

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He did a marvelous job of posing for us.  He probably spent the hot afternoon hours relaxing in the woods, and had just come across the road, through the water ditch, and up on the levy when we arrived.  I was even able to get this pic of him shaking all the water out of his coat just like a dog does.

While we were busy snapping off shots, I glanced up the road, and saw another bear walking towards us.  It was still about a block away when a car came from the other direction, and it exited into the woods.  So we saw three bears on a day that I wasn’t sure we’d see any.  I’d call that a successful tour!

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When I got home and looked at my pics, I decided this big male was not the same bear I saw last week.  If you look closely at its hind quarters you can see that the poor guy is afflicted with the mange.  Last week’s bear had no such affliction. 

I have to work tomorrow, and then Jack and I are going to The Lost Colony production in the evening.  It will be a late night, so I’m guessing I’ll not get a post up tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

25 comments:

  1. You look fabulous in your firefighter duds. . .and seeing three bears is just awesome!

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  2. Hope you enjoy the Lost Colony production. I was part of the DNA project a few years back because one of my ancestors surnames was associated with that colony. I paid to have an uncle test his DNA, but could never make a connection with the group at Roanoke Island.

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  3. I thought that bear in your header was coming at me!! Great bear pictures.

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  4. Wow, you hit the jackpot of bear sightings! Lucky Jack, so glad he wasn't disappointed.

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  5. I'm glad you pointed out the mustache or I wouldn't have been able to tell you apart... ;c)

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  6. I'm telling Eldy, we gotta come see these bears! It ain't gonna be for awhile (Just got done reading three of Billy Bob's blogs so please excuse the vernacular!) Glad Jack got to see the bears..Awesome shots!

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  7. I think Jack owes you a bonus as a tour guide.

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  8. You were a tour guide extraordinare, I would say. Great shots of the bears, especially the one shaking off the water.

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  9. Glad you a fun time ...nice to share a couple of days with a good friend.

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  10. There are a lot of bears around there if you saw in such a short time.

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  11. Boy, you hit the jackpot with bears. Great shots!

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  12. a three bear day?..wow!..good for you!

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  13. I didn't think he was the same one. Your first bear was a very big and healthy looking guy. This one seemed smaller.
    You 2 looked very good.

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  14. I am thinking all those bears look pretty healthy- hope that farmer has some corn left to harvest.

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  15. Glad to year you and Jack had such a great day.

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  16. OK - August it is for a visit to the refuge; so many bear sightings ... great. I'll be interested in hearing your impressions of The Lost Colony production; they hadn't started performances yet when we were there in the spring of 2011.

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  17. All sounds like gr8 fun and don't think I'm corny or anything like that, but I really enjoyed the part about butterflies gathering around bloomy flowers. I'm sure you must've felt all marsh mellow-ish inside..I felt like that just by reading about that..hahaha!!! *..All warm and fuzzy inside*

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  18. Don't you just love it when the critters cooperate for a tour? I'd like to take that tour... maybe someday....

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  19. Being able to produce bears upon request is a pretty great talent!!

    Mark

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  20. You ARE a great tour guide, be it sandhill cranes or bears... wonder what's next?

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  21. More great bear pics - amazing to see so many bears in the wild.

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  22. Great bear pictures espcially that shake off one. Amazing that you saw so many. Jack got a mighty fine tour. No wonder he comes to visit you. I would too if I could manage it.

    Wasn't it pretty hot in those fire fighting suits? Which one was Jack did you say??

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  23. Great bear photos, especially the one with the bear shaking off water. Very cool! :)

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  24. The bear on your header sure is a brawny dude! He looks more massive than the male you saw today. I'm not sure I'd want to see a bear..I'm a bit scared of those big suckers!

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