Knight Inlet - Day 3

There was a brief hour or so where we were worried the waves would make it a rough night, but I think it was the turn of the tide. The wind and waves calmed, but it rained heavily through the night. We had a leisurely breakfast - we knew the trip DOWN the inlet would go faster - before setting out for Glendale Cove and another chance to watch the grizzlies.

Anchor up and on the way. Welcome to June.
We are missing the sunny May weather we had in Desolation Sound.

Every nook on this mountainside in Glacier Bay has its own cloud.

We notice a lot more waterfalls on the way down. Cascade Falls even has a companion that wasn't there on our way up, making it into the 'twin falls' mentioned in The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet.

 We arrive at Glendale Cove just before lunchtime. The guide boats are out and there are bears everywhere! We drop anchor behind a sailboat, and we are further from shore and further south from our position a few days before. We are further from Nursery Point, but have a better view of the meadow.

Straight ashore is Frank.

And Flora. We think this is the pair we called Romeo and Juliet.

Later we learn that this is Stella, a year old, and her mother Lenore. They move down shore and spend a significant length of time in front of the 'Bus Depot'. I knew that bears will eat grass, but Al says he had no idea that they will graze like cows!

Stella and Lenore are just out of the picture on the right. The car held two employees waiting for the shuttle boat to come pick them up. There is a group of patrons who were dropped off  by the bus from the viewing stands, walking across the tideland to the landing craft -- look closely for the red and yellow jackets -- merely yards away from grizzlies!

My camera works better when the sun comes out.
That's mama Lenore eating, and Stella is lying in the grass to the right of her.

Now on Nursery Point is the mama with the triplets - a big brown dot with three little black ones to the left of her.

One of the cubs even stands up to look around.

The next morning a few bears were out turning over rocks. This one was the closest, straight ashore from the boat.

We were glad for the opportunity to explore Knight Inlet in quite settled weather, except for the rain. We chose this time of year rather than later, having heard that the summer winds can really howl.