Alaska 2015 - Bears, Bears, Bears, More Bears, and a Mountain - Page 5 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
I'm still patiently waiting for more Sharon. Will you be finishing this TR this year or next year .
Laughing here. I gues it will be "next" year ... Which is hopefully "this" year. My family is also giving me grief about not yet finishing sharing photos.
I do plan to finish. ... I don't know what's happened this past year or so ... As I seem to be easily distracted . I'm sure age has nothing to do with it!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Tough that life gets in the way of doing these TRs as my last update on my cruise TR was 2 or 3 weeks ago. I'm hoping to do one next weekend. I can only generally do these on the weekend, unless I have a week off!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
No heart attacks, please! I am actually getting back to this report, with every intention to finish the darned thing. We have just returned from another trip to Alaska, and that has whet my desire to finish organizing and editing our 2015 photos.
My last post of substance was in October 2015, so here we go, nine months later - and about a year since the trip took place.
Day 3 Silver Salmon Creek - More Bear Viewing (or Not?)
We were up well before dawn to head out of the lodge by 5:30AM. The plan today was to capture sunrise on the coast, and hope the clouds cooperated. Truth be told, while beautiful, it was not quite what we were looking for - just a little too much cloud cover. Still, who can complain about the peace and serenity of a sunrise on the Alaska Coastline:
It was interesting to see our boat from the previous day's puffin tour:
After an hour of sunrise photography, we did a search for bears but came up empty. Nothing to do but go back to the Lodge for a pancake breakfast. Notice the cat watching over the kitchen:
After breakfast, we loaded up into our carts and went to back to the beach. The plan was to check out the tide pools and see some sea creatures. The tide was too high, but the guys had fun capturing some wave action. I can do this at home in Maine, so I wandered off, tracking for bear:
We followed the trail to the beach, hoping to find some bears clamming. No luck.
We did find our boat off the sand ... good thing we weren't trying to do our puffin tour today!
This was not the best morning for bears, but we did get a chance to enjoy the coastal scenery. Back to the Lodge for lunch, followed by a photography lecture by our leader, then free time until dinner.
We will continue in Part 2, to see what the evening brings in the way of photographic excitement! Thanks for checking out my report, especially after I've been gone so long
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
So wonderful to see you posting you again - you know how much I your photos. Shame you didn't see any bears, but despite that, still beautiful scenery.
Thanks all - it's nice to be back posting and finishing up a report! I have visited the boards regularly, but haven't been posting much.
On to The Rest of Day 3 - An Evening with the Bears
The title gives it away - we do see bears. After spending the afternoon at the lodge - bear viewing forays are dictated by tides, since we have to cross streams to get to the coast - we saw a bear when we looked into the meadow by the lodge:
We searched all morning for bears, and this evening we didn't need to go far - strolling through the backyard was Looper, a large female bear. She was well-known to our guides and they said she was looking really good (e.g. fat & fluffy, because she hadn't had cubs this year - being a Mom is hard work!):
It didn't take long to find bears on the beach. I have many, many photos, but here is just a sampling. We watched them run, play, fish, and just wander aimlessly:
At 8:30PM, we were starting to lose the light, and even the bears decided it might be time for bed. The lead bear headed over the hill towards the woods:
We made our way back to the lodge, but as we crossed the creek, we found some more bear activity. Mama bear charged us again, but this time we knew there was no danger:
We watched some half-hearted fishing attempts before going back towards the lodge - we didn't make it far before needing to stop for crossing bears (that's our lodge in the background):
Another good day ... can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Great photos and especially and especially of the bears!
__________________
October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
.
. I'm sure age has nothing to do with it!
PassPorter Guide Author
your photos. Shame you didn't see any bears, but despite that, still beautiful scenery. 
Beautiful photos. 
I love all the bear photos. They are such beautiful creatures. 
Linear Mode
