Tundra Day 1


Thin pickings on the tundra today. Nothing in the afternoon. Zippo. In the morning, arctic foxes, ptarmigan birds. A couple of bears, but far away and lazy. Another couple laying near a tundra buggy.
Disappointed? No. Because it’s quality, not quantity. We PolarBearites had one fat, healthy, beautiful male bear who walked to the back of the buggy, slunk down, put his head on his paw just like my dog, and stayed. And stayed. For half an hour.
His face was toward the buggy porch, his nose right in front of the middle of the buggy porch. We could see his eyes, ears, hairy paws. His big black nose (we learned that polar noses can move from side to side across their faces). His hips, splayed like a puppy’s. Grace.
If that weren’t enough, during lunch, as I was alone on the buggy porch, a bear, pretty far away but close enough to differentiate without a zoom, walked from right to left before me, from the bay’s edge to behind a bunch of willows. His head swayed down and semi-down. He lumbered deliberate and indifferent. His hips were huge. Just the bear and me, alone on the buggy porch. Sublime.
We will try for more bears Thursday. No matter. I am satisfied. I love my bears.
P.S. You can have your ashes scattered on the tundra. I asked Steve the wonderguide. Noah, be warned.