Brown Bear Sightings - Destruction Bay Yukon

Destruction Bay, Yukon (52 degrees, blue skies, chilly)

                                         "You can't stay in your corner of the Forest

waiting for others to come to you.

You have to go to them sometimes"

Winnie the Pooh

Our next campsite involved traveling in Alaska, British Columbia and the Yukon all in one day. Destruction Bay is a small town in the Yukon overlooking a very big lake. Wildflowers were in full bloom along the roadside and mountains. It was delightful.

Our plans included  relaxing for a few days and enjoying a few hikes.  We found out it is also Brown Bear country and our campground had lots of information warning us to be alert and careful with trash. In this area they are called Brown Bears or often times grizzlies They are huge and  much larger than ones we have seen in the Grand Teton National Park. They can weigh between 800-1200 pounds and are considered very dangerous. However, due to the plentiful food supply as a rule do not usually think of humans as food. They love salmon and sedge grass.

Grizzly Bears and Brown Bears are technically the same species. Basically, the distinction is based on where they are located and what they like to eat.

The bears were munching on the wildflowers and it seemed to be delectable to them. We saw four of them near our campground over two evenings. We got some great photos but keep in mind our camera has a tremendous zoom and we were safely at a good distance in our friends truck. What was fascinating was being able to watch them without any crowds. We spend two enjoyable evenings watching them for a long time. They were not the least bit interested in us but seemed aware of our presence.

In the past when we have spent the summers in the Grand Teton National Park we only got quick glimpses and most of the time were very concerned about the hordes of people getting way too close to them. It was wonderful to observe them quietly. 

Campground review:  Cottonwood RV Park, flat, gravel sites, with 15 amp electric and water, dump station available, carry out trash due to bears, pretty park, water view sites available if you are small without hook ups. Lots of nice landscaping and wildflowers, nice deck off of office, WiFi is poor, very limited cell phone signal (Verizon), could only text. Electric service is run by a generator and at times was not very reliable, be sure to use a surge protector, free video/DVD rentals. Not many services in the area so be sure to have some groceries.