Julie and I went to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska for our 25th Wedding Anniversary. A highlight of the trip was the opportunity to go salmon fishing and see the Alaskan Brown Bear. We took 2 separate trips. The first was a fishing expedition out of Soldotna. We flew across Cook's Inlet at sunrise and landed on a freshwater lake. We then boated across the lake to the mouth of a mountain stream where the salmon were running. Julie caught a couple of fish while I photographed the many grizzlies and black bears that came down to feed in the same spot. It was kind of odd to be there with the bears fishing, but the scenery and animals were beautiful.

Later in the week we flew further across the Inlet to Katmai Preserve with noted bear expert, Chris Day. She and her husband Ken know the Katmai like no others and we literally walked the trail of the bear for the day. There were times when we were no more than 50 yards from a 10 foot 1200 lb grizzly feeding on one of the thousands of salmon running through the ribbon of streams. It was mind boggling to be so close to the bears and to be in such a wild environ.