Valdez Sunday:     The morning was a slow start with a big lie in bed. The weather had improved slightly to light showers and lots of fog. So we decided to just take a walk about the town, we started at the Marina which is directly in front of the RV Park. We watched them take a boat out of the water using a big mobile Crane thingy. Interesting. I decided after that to take a walk out to the old town of Valdez site which was about 3 miles out of town along the highway. So without a great deal of thought off I went following the Highway. Kaff wanted to stay in town. I went into a Salmon Spawning Creek and waterfall but the Fish in there were so close to dead it wasn't funny. On I went. I passed a swampy area which had a lot of different ducks in it. Its the first Mallard Duck I had seen so far.
I kept going and finally got to an old area so I stopped at the One stop shop and took a break and chatted to the lady there . She gave me directions to the old town but then said maybe I should take care as the Black Bears were about because of the Salmon running in all the creeks and there was a creek near the old town. So I hadn't given them a thought, so I decided to give the old town a miss and just do the Loop road behind the shop and back onto the Highway. So off I went, taking pictures as I went as the sun had been trying to come out and the area is just stunning. I saw an Eagle and then I looked up and saw a Black Bear in front of me about 20 metres away... To say I shit myself was putting it mildly ! I had to run back the way I had come, then I remembered I hadn't taken a photo so I snapped one off. The Bear wasn't to big and I assumed maybe Mother was around somewhere. It crossed the road and went into the bushes and I debated whether to go ahead or return the way I had come..as I was standing there the Bear came back and crossed the road again...decision made go back the way I came ..all in all I think I must have walked 5 miles. I told the lady back at the One stop shop about my encounter and she asked about my Bear Spray ..?? What bear spray ?? anyway I was back on the main road and as luck would have it Kaff came cruising out in Rocky the RV so I cadged a ride.
We drove out to where the refinery is, they have a Salmon Hatchery on the way which bears frequent, we watched the Seals and otters at the creek. They are fun to watch. There were Eagles aplenty. They are a really angry looking Bird... We are going to go back out there after dinner to see if we can see more Bears. This time I will be remaining in the Vehicle .
The Moral to todays Blog is never leave home without your Bear Bell !

I forgot to mention, as we drove in yesterday we passed two lots of Hunters with Moose heads with full racks on their heads, tied down ontop of stuff in the back of their utes..Saw another one today...Lucky we got our moose photos early in the trip ! Sad Face