Safe to Learn
  • About
    • Why Safe to Learn? >
      • Page 2 - Why School Safety?
      • Inspiring Quotes
      • Thank You...
    • Leading Safety >
      • Select one action item to support the Safe to Learn Community Project
      • Incorporate Safe to Learn
    • Safe to Learn
    • Safe to Learn Community >
      • Mission & Values
      • Background: Safe to Learn Pilot Project
      • How Are the Children?
      • Reflections: Education & Safety
      • Educators Q&A: "Why be part of Safe to Learn?
      • Saving School Safety
      • Let's Be Safe
    • Quick Views >
      • Principals Quick Views
      • Teachers Quick Views
      • Directory Quick Views
    • Advisory Council >
      • Chate Asvanonda
      • Dr. Nancy Degnan >
        • Uncommon Sense, Uncommon Courage
      • Renee Domingo >
        • School Safety Standards
      • Kim Colella >
        • A Musical Journey to Africa
        • Kim Travles to Africa
        • Kim's Photos from Africa
      • Dr. Tom Horton >
        • 1923 Cleveland School Fire was Catalyst for School Fire Drills
      • Kay Karr >
        • Why Plan?
        • Lessons Learned from Hurricane Ike
      • Avagene Moore >
        • My Dream of “A Nation Prepared”
      • Sgt. Tracy Moore
      • Captain Jim Olsen >
        • School Shootings - What Have We Learned
        • Let's Listen - School Shootings
      • Barbara Thurman
    • Safe to Learn Teams >
      • Our Team & Contributors >
        • Dee Beaugez, Founder >
          • Interview Q&A
          • About Safe to Learn >
            • Preparedness Experience
          • Real Images
        • Donald J. Beaugez >
          • Technology Expereince
        • Diana Savage
        • Jessika Savage
        • Elizabeth Hall
        • Patti Lowry-Parrish
        • Kanun Andrade
        • Jorge J Martinez >
          • A Gateway to Freedom
      • Pilot Project Team - LCISD >
        • About the Safe to Learn Pilot Project
        • Thank You - Lamar CISD Principals & Assistant Principals
        • Balancing School Safety and Academic Goals
        • Irma Nurre
        • Sonya Sanzo
      • Safe to Learn Authors
    • Authors
    • Authors In the News >
      • Phillip Martin - In the News >
        • The Mural Man - Liberia
        • Help African Teachers Expand School and Clinic
        • Mural Man - Moldova >
          • #1 TV Interview
          • #2 TV Interview
          • #3 TV Interview
          • #4 TV Interview
          • #5 TV Interviews
        • The Mural Man Series Begins
        • A Taste of My World Cookbook
      • Rick Tobin - In the News >
        • Ten Tips for Safer Schools Series
      • Authors Press Releases
    • Media & Press Releases >
      • TEPSA Conference 2016
      • Three Questions June 2016
      • Authors Press Releases
      • Advisory Council Press Releases
      • About Safe to Learn
    • eBook Submission Guidelines >
      • eBook Submission Requirements
  • Blogs
    • Wander My World With Me by Phillip Martin >
      • 2018 - 2016 Directory Wander My World With Me
      • Introduction - I Draw
      • Faces in the Crowd Logo
      • Help African Teachers Expand School and Clinic
      • Wander My World - Liberia -eBook Helps Fund School
      • About Murals for U.S. Embassy Ebola Survivors Project in Liberia
    • Safe to Learn by Advisory Team and Authors >
      • Dream of A Nation Prepared
      • About the Masai Warriors
    • Golden Navigator by Sage West
    • Ask Tiffanie - Seasonal Foods and More >
      • Tiffanie's Invitation
      • About Tiffanie Boldizsar
    • Nurse Stitches
    • Authors Blogs >
      • Authors Blog Directory
    • Honoring Mourning and Remembrance
    • Preparedness Perspectives >
      • Preparedness Directory
      • Flooding in Texas
    • What Have We Learned? >
      • Directory 2016 - What Have We Learned?
      • Let's Listen - School Shootings
    • Inspiration for Life
  • Let's Guide Safety
    • School District COOP
    • Principles for Principals >
      • Leading the Way to School Safety
      • Reflections >
        • The Day After 9/11
        • Observations
        • Be Prepared and Be a Leader
        • Communication is Key
        • New Safety Checklist
        • Practice, Practice, Practice
        • Note to Ada
      • Author Ada Rosario Dolch
      • It Takes Time & Practice
    • Keeping It Real >
      • Building School Response Teams >
        • Lucien Canton, CEM
    • Response to Violence >
      • The Best Response to Violence in Your School Is the Response which Never Has to Happen >
        • Dr. Cathy Anthofer
        • Links and Resources
    • Ten Tips for Teachers for Safer Schools >
      • Elementary Schools
      • Middle & Junior High Schools
      • High Schools
      • A Great Starting Point
      • Rick Tobin
    • Color Me Safe Series >
      • Patti Parrish >
        • Pet Safe - All Seasons
        • Keep Pets Disaster Safe
        • Lucky Dog's Message
        • Lucky Dog Rap
      • Denise Langston
    • Forever Hope >
      • Fulfilling a Dream >
        • About Vickee Greer
    • 2016 Authors Inspiring Safety & Awareness
    • 2016-2017 Authors Inspiring History & Leadership
  • Safety Series
    • Invest 1 Hour a Month to be Safe to Learn
    • Principles for Principals by Ada Rosario Dolch
    • #1 - Safety First
    • #2 - Calendar >
      • Safe to Learn 2016-17 Calendar
    • # 3 - Fire Drills >
      • 1923 Cleveland School Fire was Catalyst for School Fire Drills
      • Fire Drills Prepare Students for Real-Life Incidents
      • Outstanding Safe to Learn Pilot Project for 2014-2015
    • #4 - Building & Campus Safety
    • #5 - School Response Teams
    • #6 - Tips for Teachers
    • Why Plan? Documentary >
      • Why Plan? For Sale
    • Future Safety Series
  • Teachers Tools
    • About Health Equity Project >
      • Waiting for Health Equity
      • Start a Conversation about Health Equity
    • The Door - A Must for the School Year >
      • More About - The Door
    • Tsunami K-6 Curriculum
  • Let's Read
    • Wander My World - Liberia -eBook Helps Fund School
    • Let's Read Authors
    • Contact Safe to Learn About Volume Orders
    • Let's Read - Books >
      • What Do You Do With An Idea by Kobi Yamada & Illustrated by Mae Besom >
        • Resource: Examples of Lessons Plans Based Around "What You Do with An Idea"
      • The Mitten by Jan Brett >
        • Sheir Loy Reads "The Mitten" to Help with Safety
      • Sleep Ponies by Gudrun Ongman
      • Garbage Bag Suitcase
      • A Long Walk to Water >
        • Links - Linda Sue Parks
      • What Color is Your Parachute for Teens
      • Helping Traumatized Children
      • Let's Be Prepared Resources
    • Let's Read Educators
  • Let's Talk
    • Start a "Let's Talk" Round Table Discussion >
      • Let's Brew a Cappuccino
      • Every Child Needs a Champion
      • Foster Care & Garbage Bag Suitcase >
        • More about Garbage Bag Suitcase
      • "Why Plan?" Documentary
      • 9/11 Webinar 9/13/2016 >
        • New York 9/11/2015 >
          • Let's Talk 9/11/2015 - Stand with Me Today
          • New York 2015 - 9/11 Images
          • Remember 9/11 by Phillip Martin
      • Documentary Films >
        • Let's Talk - Most Likely to Succeed
        • Let's Talk - Beyond Measure
        • Let's Talk - Paper Tigers >
          • Educational Versions
          • ACEs/toxic stress color wheel
        • Let's Talk - The Cats of Mirikitani >
          • The Cat Who Chose to Dream
          • Asian American History
      • Distracted Driving Awarenes
      • Discovery Education MS 88 Brooklyn NY
      • Bullying Though the Eyes of a Child
      • Kindess Matters Campaign
      • Let's Listen - School Violence
      • Let's Talk - Safe to Learn >
        • How Are the Children?
        • Reflections about Safe to Learn
        • Why Safe to Learn?
      • Let's Talk - Safety >
        • Active Shooter
        • Make A Difference
        • Emergency Preparedness for School
        • Incarceration >
          • Incarceration - Links and Resources
        • Natural Disaster - Lessons Learned
        • Teaching 9/11
        • Violence in Schools
        • Violence Prevention Resouces
        • Cure Violence
      • Let's Talk - Social Issues >
        • Homeless Students >
          • Homeless Youth Resources
        • Helping Hunger
        • Human Trafficking in Schools
    • Health Equity Issues
    • Share Your Ideas
  • Free
    • Free Graphics for Teachers
    • Presentations for Teachers
    • Free Art Lesson Plans
    • Free Coloring Books
    • Websites for Teaching and Learning
    • Original Stories
    • Safe to Learn Calendars
    • Safe to Learn Drawing
    • FREE Seasonal Recipes >
      • ​Cumin-Jalapeno Black Bean Soup
      • Pies by Barbara
      • Healthy "Ice Cream" Treats
  • Links
    • Suggest a Link
    • Animals and Children >
      • Pasado's Safe Haven
      • The Gentle Barn
      • Red Rover Readers
      • Travel the World & Learn Kindness to Animals
      • Animal Stories & Books
    • Children, Education & Safety Resouces >
      • Linda Lantieri
      • Resilience Resources
    • Let's Talk - Preparedness >
      • Emergency Plans
      • Incident Command System
      • FEMA Trainings
      • Earthquake and Tsunami Resources >
        • The Really Big One
      • Distracted Driving Awareness
      • School Bus Safety Resources
      • Fire Drills
      • School Safety Resouces
    • Homeless Youth
  • Leadership
    • Inspiring Leaders >
      • Every Child Needs a Champion
    • In Memoriam >
      • Principal Susan Jordan
  • Amazing Educators
    • Every Child Needs a Champion
    • Sheri Loy's Innovative Lockdown Solution
    • Miss Julie Inspires Safety >
      • Julie Kennedy, Teacher/Educator
      • Outstanding Safe to Learn Pilot Project for 2014-2015
    • Let's Sing >
      • Nancy Stewart, Founder of Sing With Our Kids >
        • Sing With Our Kids - Nancy's Pilot Project and Free Resources Website
        • Nancy Stewart Free Website Resources
        • Why Sing? The 5 Practices of Early Literacy
        • Safe to Learn - Let's Sing Excellence in Education Award Winner 2015
    • Let's Sign (ASL) >
      • Nancy Hanauer, Founder Hop to Signaroo ® >
        • Babies Can Communicate
        • Signing for Social and Learning Skills
    • Educators in the News >
      • Abigail's Plan
      • 10 Minutes of Compliments >
        • Special Books Project
      • Inspiring Student with Music & Songs
  • Let's Explore
    • Phillip Martin - The Mural Man >
      • Directory of Murals
      • Let's Explore Mural Man Series
      • Murals #43 and #44
      • Mural #14 - Don't Let Drugs Take You for a Ride!
      • Murals #6, #7 & #35
      • Food Pantry - Ohio, USA
      • Mural Man' Phillip Martin
      • Artist Phillip Martin
    • Wander My World With Me Blog Directory 2016
    • Water >
      • Water Center - Earth Institute | Columbia University
  • Let's Taste
    • A Taste of My World Cookbooks by Phillip Martin >
      • Let's Brew a Cappuccino
      • A Taste of My World, Vol. 1
      • A Taste of My World, Vol. 2
    • The Very Exciting, Great And Nutritious (VEGAN) Cookbook >
      • Kanun Andrade
    • Flavorful Food Adventures >
      • Tiffanie Boldizsar
  • Communities
    • Principals Resources >
      • "Why Plan?" - School-Center Emergency Management
      • Lessons Learned from Hurricane Ike
      • THE DOOR - Health -Safety
      • "Principles for Principals" A Gift From Ada Rosario Dolch
    • Leadership & Safety Series Downloads >
      • Leadership and Safety Series HS
    • Lamar CISD Community
    • Inner Resilience Program
  • TEPSA 2016
  • About Health Equity Project

BEARly Believable

8/23/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Bears and bear stories seem to be common place events in rural Alaska.  It appears that everyone has some kind of story to share.  I saw a bear outside my sister’s dining area at her river camp on the first day I arrived.  Before I could take a picture, someone chased the adolescent away.  (Something that I never want to attempt.)  Needless to say, I decided against taking daily walks like I normally do back home.  My momma didn’t raise no fool.

I have three bear tales to share.  The first story took place when my sister and her family first moved to King Salmon in 2006.  Her three children were invited to a birthday party.  One of the guests said, “I hope the party won’t be like the one last year.”

PictureAll bear images taken at Katmai National Park
My sister’s oldest son asked what the person meant.  It appears that the party was raided by two bears.  One bear actually came into the house.  The mother of the birthday child shot it dead in the hallway.  Then, she stomped over the dead carcass to chase after the other bear that was running away.  After that, the conversation naturally turned to skinning bears.  Isn’t that what everyone would discuss?  My nephew was fascinated and asked, “Where did you learned to skin a bear?”

Instead of the expected answer, one of the kids demanded, “How old are you?”

“Twelve.”

“And you’ve never skinned a bear?  You’re twelve years old and you’ve never skinned a bear?”  It was simply inconceivable to all the kids presents.  Well, to all the kids who were raised in rural Alaska, that is.

They mocked my nephew throughout the rest of the party.  That has probably never happened to him at any other time in his life.  When his parents came to pick up the kids, my nephew said, “These people are weird.  Don’t ever leave me alone again.” 

Tale two involves my sister and her bear experience.  Now, I’ve learned that the only difference between brown bears and grizzly bears is geography.  Brown bears live near rivers and eat salmon.  Grizzly bears live farther from the rivers and are hungrier.  For any person outside of Alaska, my sister faced a grizzly.  But, in King Salmon, she had a run-in with a brown bear.

The bear was not a happy camper . . . or grizzly . . . or brown bear.  He lingered around their camp most of one season.  He wasn’t happy because one of his legs was injured.  If he ran, it would have to be on three legs.  If agitated, this critter preferred to swat at things and sit.  I would, too, under the circumstances. 

On one occasion, my sister was alone at the camp.  She wasn’t worried about anything because she had two golden Labrador retrievers that watched over her.  In the past, they team-tagged bears in the camp.  One dog nipped at the bear’s left side and then the other nipped at the right as they chased the invader from camp.  On this particular occasion, as my sister rounded the corner of one cabin, the two dogs barked as soon as they spotted that bear in the camp.


PictureBrooks Falls at Katmai National Park
You may ask, “What do you do when you come face-to-face with a grumpy bear?”  Even though every fiber of your body screams, “RUN!”  That is the last thing you should do.  You’re supposed to reach for bear spray or a gun.  My sister had both of those, but not on her.  They were inside the cabin next to her.  She backed into the cabin to arm herself.  She called her husband long enough to say, “If I disappear, it’s because I have been eaten by a bear.”  Most likely, he’d never had a call like that before.

You might feel inclined to hide in the cabin under the circumstances.  I would.  But, an angry bear can smash apart one of those cabins.  It would be best to face the bear.  Those are words I never want to hear.

What were her options?  The best one was to shoot the bear with bear spray.  Except it really wasn’t an option. The wind was blowing in her direction.  If she used the spray, it would have blinded her instead of the bear.  That was out of the question.  “The bear spray burns for what feels like forever,” my sister said. “You’d rather just have the bear eat you.”

Shooting the bear was an option, but not the best.  A wounded bear can still do a lot of damage.  So, she followed her husband’s suggestion and shot over the bear’s head.  And, what happened?  Her two trusty golden Labradors fled the scene.  The bear did not.

She backed into the cabin one more time to gather her thoughts.  Then, she decided she needed to stare down the grizzly. Okay, a brown bear, but in my mind it is still a grizzly.  Suddenly, her two golden labra-chickens were back at her side.  She stared at the bear.  He stared back at her.  She didn’t move.  He didn’t either.  Slowly, she backed away from the situation.  The labra-chickens still at her side.  She never turned her back on the bear.  Eventually, she moved far enough to be safe and the bear left camp. 

Fortunately, my personal bear experience was not at all scary.  It was closer to un-bear-ably wonderful.  My sister took me to Katmai National Park.  If you have ever seen photos of bears fishing for salmon in Alaska, it is at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park.  And, that park is a delightful hour-long boat trip across Naknek Lake from my sister’s fishing camp.  There are no roads to the park.  It’s probably why Katmai is the least visited of all U.S. National Parks.  If you don’t take a boat to the park, you fly in on a float plane.

In preparation for the park visit, my sister packed bear spray.  I learned that when approached by a bear, survival is about 99% if you spray the bear in the face.  The critter is temporarily blinded and you are free to walk away (even though I know everyone would run).  If you try to shoot a bear, your chances of survival drop to 40 or 50%.  A wounded bear is still able to chase, slash and devour.  Now, I really didn’t expect that I would be in a situation where I might need bear spray.  But, I’d never been to Katmai before.  Bears are free to roam everywhere.  The observation platforms, all three of them, have gates to prevent bears from entering.  However, to get to those platforms, you must walk through bear territory.  We saw no bears while we strolled the park, but I was ever so thankful that my sister came prepared.

During non-Covid seasons, there is a long line to get to the platform that overlooks the bears at the falls.  Times are assigned so you can only stay for half an hour.  During the pandemic, only 16 people are allowed at the platform at a time.   Yep, social distancing takes place even in the Alaskan wilderness.  There was a bit of a human traffic jam at the platform around noon.  However, that was the only time.  My sister and I had long periods of time when we were the only two viewing the bears and salmon. 

I really got to see salmon leaping in the air, trying to go upstream over the falls.  I’m still not sure how that is possible.  A lot of them fail.  The seven bears I saw at the falls were well-fed.  Depending on the bear, there were several ways to get a salmon.  Some bears just sat in the water and waited for the fish to come their way.  The bigger the bear, the better the spot to sit.  Other bears snorkeled.  They floated in the water, with just their heads visible, as they chased after their meal.  My personal favorite method was diving.  These hunters disappeared under the water in search of salmon while their back feet waved in the air.  Whichever way they decided to hunt, every bear at Katmai National Park looked well-fed and happy.

Picture
On the return boat trip home, a cable broke.  I just put my head down and shut my eyes.  I didn’t care how long it took to get home.  But, when I finally looked up, we were back at Katmai National Park.  A float plane was sent for our return.   Yep, I was going to fly back to camp!

A float plane lands on water.  I’d never flown in one before.  I didn’t expect it to happen on this trip.  So, in spite of the delays and a breakdown, this was a treat for me!  The view was wonderful.  I’d hoped to maybe see a bear from above.  That didn’t happen, but there were so many lakes and the unspoiled wilderness stretched on as far as the eye could see.

The day was so wonderful it was bearly believable.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Wander My World With Me 
    by Phillip Martin

    Artist, Muralist,
    Photographer and
    World Wanderer
    Blog Directory

    Wonder about Wander My World With Me?
    • I Draw (Introduction)
    • Faces in the Crowd
      About Icon Images 
    • Directory

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    Categories

    All
    Portraits
    Travel

    RSS Feed

    View Previous Blogs and Add Comments
    Scroll to the bottom of this page and select "Previous" 
    and/or add Comments by selecting "Comments" and fill in the "Leave a Reply" form.
    Phillip Martin's Web Sites
    • Facebook
    • ​The Mural Man
    Phillip Martin's Books
    • The Mural Man Series 
    • A Taste of My World Cookbooks
“Safety and security don’t just happen; they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. 
 We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear.”
 
~ Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa



Proudly powered by Weebly
Design by DivTag Templates