Hyder, Alaska

Well, I guess you can probably see that Hyder is not a really big place. Actually the last tally gave them 87 fulltime residents. But to their credit, they didn't let small numbers stop them. They have two liquor stores and three bars. They also have two RV parks for us tourists on wheels. One of them even has electricity (and WI-FI).


But I didn't come here for the bars. One attraction was the fifth largest glacier in North America, the Salmon Glacier. Your are looking toward the head of the glacier. It splits as it comes toward the camera and goes both left and right. It has to be at least 4 miles long. But it wasn't really the glacier either...

And believe it or not it wasn't to catch any of these Chub salmon which are plentiful in Fish Creek. What I did come for was a fishing lesson......


From this guy. The salmon in Fish Creek, during their run from late July to early September, draw the big Alaskan brown bears (Grizzlies). They come to fatten up for the winter by eating their fill of salmon. I was as close as 10 yards to some of these flesh eaters, watching them catch, tear apart, and devour 15 to 20 pounders.

In case you thought I was nuts enough to stand on the creek bank taking this picture, think again. I was on an elevated viewing platform (with about 100 people that I was sure I could out run).