Hyder, Alaska

Hyder Alaska is the southernmost town in Alaska, accessible by vehicle only thru Stewart, BC.  We arrived in a downpour and it had been raining for days/weeks in this lush rainforest area.  The waterfalls along the roadway were magnificent even in the rain/fog.  Two and three waterfalls off cliffs, spouting water like no tomorrow.  The campground was near flooded but we did manage to find a high spot to call home for a couple of nights.  I really wanted to see Hyder because the salmon were running at Fish Creek and the forest service has an observation area where you can see bear, black and grizzly, catching salmon.  And it was on my list to see just that, if I could.  Well, it had been raining so hard and the creek was so muddy and deep that the bear were not frequenting the area very much.

But the guy at the campground said that when it stopped raining, it would drain off in a hurry.  And lucky for us, it did stop raining the day after we arrived.  Fish Creek cleared overnight  and was barely deep enough to cover the fins of the spawning salmon.  I had watched many people fish for salmon all over Alaska, but never was I close enough to actually see them spawning.  It was a sight to behold!  No wonder those fish are so haggard by the process.  The females fight each other for the desired spots to lay their eggs; the males fight each other for the females.  They stay all stirred up in those spawning grounds and they are just inches apart in the water.  Thousands of them coming to a relatively small body of water.  After they reproduce, they die in those creeks.  I learned that the stench of decaying fish permeates the area, but that it is really good for the ecological process, as they fertilize the area at the completion of their life cycle.

Well, I didn't see a lot of bear catching salmon - I think they were further up the creek from the sounds of it.  They were a lot of people in this very small town, hoping to catch a glimpse of the bear.
But I did see one black bear cross the road, saunter down into the creek off the bridge, walk along the shore picking berries, and then - plucked him a salmon right out of the water and took it off to the wooded area to eat.  I was ecstatic!  I wished for about 50 more; but after hours of waiting, that was the only one.  It was worth the side-trip, however!

Must have been a hundred salmon in this small area - large chum

salmon !

Grocery store in Hyder  - very colorful shopping carts on roof

Marv- supporting a local rock sale!  Industrious kids visiting Grandma from San Francisco

And, glaciers have become so common a site over the past few months, that I almost forgot to post this visit to Salmon Glacier in Hyder, a beautiful site about 15 miles up some rugged road:

After this final stop in Hyder, we really did say goodbye to Alaska.  We still have some major travel to do before reaching the lower 48.  It is really hard to leave, knowing that we probably will not return again to this great wilderness.  We sure loved our visit and it will be memories we shall not forget.