Barry Willis

Some of you folks may have seen these already, I've had a few more requests since. Some of my favorite pics. The way I put it is some people will see a black bear and wonder if it is a grizzly, if you see a grizzly you'll know it is a grizzly and not a black bear.

I wish I could do it over again, I wouldn't change a thing.

I have hundreds but here just some of the pics I am fondest of. Notice the cub in front of mom. She is on high alert as all mother bears are. The worst thing you can meet and or especially surprise is a mother grizzly with cubs. I can assure you the out come will be in the grizzlies favor.

Howdy Akrisoner, it's been a spell. Unless you have been around bears as much as I have it can be difficult to tell the difference. The way I put it is if you see a black bear, you're not sure if it is a grizzly or a black bear, if you see a grizzly you know it is a grizzly and not a black bear. My wife and I, especially myself have spent decades studying bears especially grizzlies. I was very fortunate to have worked along side bear biologists to tag and weigh etc. grizzlies from helicopter. This is actually a fairly big bear and lacks the very distinctive shoulder hump that grizzlies have even at a young age. It gives them incredibly powerful shoulders and front legs . A grizzly does not have the tall rounded ears of the black bear and also the grizzly has a concave face from it's eyes to the tip of it's nose where as a black bear has a relatively straight face from it's forehead to the tip of it's nose. Colors can vary widely for both bears. Even grizzlies can be from their typical brown color to several different shades of brown to black and white and one never knows where you may come across one, they certainly are not restricted to the mountains. A few years ago a fellow was killed by a grizzly an hours drive north west from the house here, west of Airdrie, and I have seen grizzlies near Hinton. Here's a picture for comparison. I must say I envy your cousin living near Hinton. Beautiful country, that's where I should be living with my outdoor photography and other activities.

I'm glad I tended to my trail cams yesterday as here's what I woke up to this morning and there will be a lot more of this white stuff where they are. More often than not it snows 12 months out of the year up where I have them. And I don't mean just a few flakes, the trees will be loaded and the ground covered. Quite a bit has melted at the house here since 5:00 am this morning and it's 1:00 pm now (mountain time) but here it comes again and is supposed to continue to do so for the next two days. Not as much as in the second photo though, maybe.

Yes, you are absolutely right Lew. Especially the one I mentioned near Elbow Falls. I don't expect I will any time soon but if I find the 35mm pictures of it I will certainly post them. According to my bear biologist buddy Brian H. it is indeed a very rare bear for these parts or any where else for that matter. They are truly a beautiful animal and a sight to behold. That guy from last summer, I have five pictures of him and is clearly on a mission, he knows exactly where he is going.

Thank you Lew, It is fairly rare as most are typically black. It may sound silly but I feel very privileged when I do see one. In all the decades I have spent in the Rockies and their foothills I have only seen five counting this one. I have pictures of one (somewhere) that I spotted about thirty years ago near Elbow Falls sw. of Calgary that was so blonde it was almost white, it was gorgeous. The one I posted yesterday still has his winter coat. I can't believe how beautiful it is, so thick and luxurious. I would love to pat him and run my hands through it but I don't expect he would let me LOL. Here's a pic you may remember from last summer taken about two miles west, a little darker in color but I expect they are from the same gene pool.

Howdy smitty55, it is methane gas that is released from decaying plants and also from the lake bed itself. As the bubbles of methane gas make their way to the surface they become trapped in the ice.

Thank you, I thought and think it is very cool as well. I see it fairly often but not as nice as these ones and they stretched right across the lake in places.

Deer, fox, wolf and bear. This black bear, a good size one of a cinnamon blonde color phase spent fifteen minutes in front of the camera but unfortunately to close to get a picture of his face and never lifted his head once. Just out of hibernation and in very good shape having not eaten for five months or more, and hungry, he was sniffing the ground where I had put some corn the month before which my old arthritic hands dropped and it spilled too close to the camera. Haven't got a picture of a lone wolf (an outcast) for years. I wish it been during day light hours. Sorry Lew, no moose this time.

I thought these were maybe worthy of posting. Sent to me from my almost 80 year old sister who still loves to fish and hunt and is very adept at both.

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I've had this happen more times than I care to think about. Losing an expensive lure on the first cast. The only difference was my vulgar shouts that I am sure could be heard for miles.

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Very nice shot with the fog. How's the fishing at Mountain Lake these days? Speaking of making the move out west took a little grit but not all that much really as I had my mind made up and my wife was a behind me all the way, as she so nicely put it, a new beginning and we were young and loved adventure. I should have mentioned my younger brother came with me. From Wiarton to Beaver Lodge in northern Alberta, almost a 4000 km drive and made the trip (winter driving) in 43.5 hours. Of course we didn't have GPS back then just a road map. Conditions permitting the speedometer was seldom under 70mph and quite often 90 with my 76 Dodge Royal Monaco. Upon leaving I told my brother I was going to drive 1500 miles, not km. non stop except for gas. which I did. It took me 28 hours and 20 minutes. The last 3 miles were the worst as I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. Jumped in the back seat and became wide awake for 4 hours LOL. I don't remember how much gas was then but it was a fair size car, weighted down with a 360 (5.9) it cost me $224:00 for gas. Yeah, Happy days.