Brooks Falls in Alaska's Katmai National Park is the best place in the world to watch brown bears feasting on salmon as they swim upstream to spawn. My wife, my son and I visited there decades ago; it is still one of the two most memorable travel experiences of my life (along with watching the flowing lava at Kilauea at close range). They have a wooden platform about 15 feet off the ground, overlooking the falls, for observing and photographing. When we were there, there were always 3 or 4 professionals with huge lenses that spent all day at the overlook. (I have a few images of my own, but none of great quality, as that was pre-digital, and my lens was not that long.) Now there is a webcam so all can enjoy the spectacle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mphg2feuAPo (Note that one can watch live or go back to view the activity earlier in the day.) Katmai is in my view the most under-rated national park in the system. The park and preserve encompass 4,093,077 acres (6,395.43 sq mi; 16,564.09 km2), which is between the sizes of Connecticut and New Jersey. Most of the national park is a designated wilderness area. In addition to Brooks Falls with its abundance of bear, one can hike through the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a 40-square-mile, 100-to-700-foot-deep (30 to 213 m) pyroclastic flow. The park includes 18 individual volcanoes, seven of which have been active since 1900. Oh yes, there is excellent salmon and trout fishing, moose and beaver sightings, and eagles, eagles, eagles. The national park has limited capacity, to preserve the natural conditions and for safety reasons.. When we were there, sll the cabins in the park were full, so we stayed at an inn in King Salmon, and flew in and out by float plane each day for three days. Now, reservations are required for entry into the park, and are fully booked a year in advance. Still, I highly recommend Katmai if you are able to go there. It is the experience of a lifetime. Enjoy the webcam, in any event! Dan Matyola *https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery <https://tinyurl.com/DJM-Pentax-Gallery>*

> On 12/07/2022 13:14 Daniel J. Matyola <danmatyola@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Brooks Falls in Alaska's Katmai National Park is the best place in the > world to watch brown bears feasting on salmon as they swim upstream to > spawn. > > My wife, my son and I visited there decades ago; it is still one of the two > most memorable travel experiences of my life (along with watching the > flowing lava at Kilauea at close range). They have a wooden platform about > 15 feet off the ground, overlooking the falls, for observing and > photographing. When we were there, there were always 3 or 4 professionals > with huge lenses that spent all day at the overlook. (I have a few images > of my own, but none of great quality, as that was pre-digital, and my lens > was not that long.) > > Now there is a webcam so all can enjoy the spectacle: > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mphg2feuAPo > > (Note that one can watch live or go back to view the activity earlier in > the day.) > > Katmai is in my view the most under-rated national park in the system. The > park and preserve encompass 4,093,077 acres (6,395.43 sq mi; 16,564.09 > km2), which is between the sizes of Connecticut and New Jersey. Most of the > national park is a designated wilderness area. In addition to Brooks Falls > with its abundance of bear, one can hike through the Valley of Ten Thousand > Smokes, a 40-square-mile, 100-to-700-foot-deep (30 to 213 m) pyroclastic > flow. The park includes 18 individual volcanoes, seven of which have been > active since 1900. Oh yes, there is excellent salmon and trout fishing, > moose and beaver sightings, and eagles, eagles, eagles. > > The national park has limited capacity, to preserve the natural conditions > and for safety reasons.. When we were there, sll the cabins in the park > were full, so we stayed at an inn in King Salmon, and flew in and out by > float plane each day for three days. Now, reservations are required for > entry into the park, and are fully booked a year in advance. Still, I > highly recommend Katmai if you are able to go there. It is the experience > of a lifetime. > > Enjoy the webcam, in any event! There's a rabbit hole of unmeasurable magnitude. Many thanks, I think.