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Cookin' and a'Codin's avatar

Your humor is great! I can just see the young bears, eager to catch fish, moaning that they have to get a lesson from Mom first.

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Dianne Jacob's avatar

What a great story! Thank you Dorothy. Your photos are fantastic and I particularly liked seeing the one of you in your younger years.❤️

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Wendy Parciak's avatar

What a fantastic trip & photos - and so much courage on your part, Dorothy!

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Jon A Jackson's avatar

Interesting report on going to meet the grizzly, quite enjoyable. I read this about an hour after being regaled by one of our new housemates about the awful conditions he'd endured during a one-time contract with clam boat out of Dutch Harbor. His account of the float plane was itself horrifying: an ancient crate that was literally held together by duct tape. Yours sounds much more reliablel, 30-years old notwithstanding.

Jon

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Dorothy Patent's avatar

Thanks for the comment, Jon. Actually, the float plane was fun, as it flew closer to the land so we could see the landscape well. And I liked the sharing with the people boarding as we sent our gear down the line and took theirs up the line, all while standing in knee-deep water in our waders.

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Jon A Jackson's avatar

Heh, heh ... John Solberg, Jean's son-in-law and our new housemate, was huddled in with a crew that evidently was recruited out of prisons - no less than three were subsequently arrested at the end of the 6-week season for sexual assault. The cops didn't bother to come out to the crab boat, or maybe the owners didn't report the molestations before heading home. As for the float plane's shuttle to an island near Dutch Harbor, John says they were dumped out in about 5 feet of water to wade ashore with all their gear. No hip boots or waders. The whole vent;ure was a nightmare. It was, he says, essentially six weeks in a rough prison.

Jon

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Alice's avatar

Hi Dorothy, I remember when you did this. Fun to get the first person account and great pictures.

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Kristin Freeman's avatar

Dorothy, I truly enjoyed this story!

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Dorothy Patent's avatar

Thanks, Kristin--it was fun poking my memory to include some of the fun details. And to pass on the message about dealing with fear.

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Dorothy Patent's avatar

Thanks, Rita! My doubts ended, I think, when the plane landed so nicely. Even putting up my flimsy tent while I could see the young bears not that far away, looking for fish, didn't scare me.

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Dorothy Patent's avatar

Yes, it was fun to listen to them, moaning and groaning. And I don't know just how the mom signaled them first to sit and wait, and then to come down and learn. But they were focused the whole time.

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Rita's avatar

Your fear and bravery are so clearly written. I wanted you to hear me saying,"Take a breath and GO" but you did anyhow. That's our girl! Thanks for this exciting memory.

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