How To Spot A Bear!

Pirates and bears, bears and pirates, what do they have in common? Absolutely nothing that I know of! I do know that I like to read about pirates, and I love the history and all that there is to learn about how much the act of piracy has to do with the very establishment of these United States.

I also like bears, especially the black bear; probably because they are the only bears that I have encountered in the wild. On more than one occasion, I have come across a black bear and have been absolutely enthralled by it. One might ask where you can go and see a black bear in its natural habitat. According to http://www.bear.org/ their range is over most of the forested regions of North America, including all Canadian provinces, Alaska, at least 40 of the 50 states in the continuous United States, and significant portions of northern Mexico.

In the eastern United States, the black bears range is continuous throughout New England but becomes increasingly fragmented from the mid-Atlantic down through the Southeast. In the Southeast, most populations are now restricted to the Appalachian mountain chain or to coastal areas intermittently in all states from Virginia to Louisiana.

My encounters have been in the western part of the US, and most recently in Canada, specifically in the Canadian Rockies along the Colombia River Basin. I was way up north visiting the Mica Dam, a hydroelectric dam spanning the Columbia River 135 kilometres north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. It is also the dam farthest up the river on the Columbia River Basin.

The reservoir below the dam was a fishing ground for bald and golden eagles, a site that left me speechless, but then came the bears. Black bears roamed all about, and it became instantly clear that my associates and I were not at the top of the food chain. This was a remote and primitive area, and bears were everywhere, and it was fantastic!

Shortly after visiting Mica, as well as the Revelstoke Dam, I went over to Whistler, which is a few hours north of Vancouver. It is also where they will hold many of the skiing events during the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympic Games. While there, I had the opportunity to walk the slopes where the slalom events will take place, and to visit the bob sled and luge tracks.

While walking up the mountain, you had to be careful that you did not step in poop, bear poop that is. Even down in the Olympic Village, the bears had come calling and left their mark. The bear’s habitat is being disrupted by the construction efforts as our neighbors to the north prepare for the games, and the bears are simply curious to see exactly what is going on. Great strides are being taken to protect the bears and to relocate as necessary, but largely the approach is to coexist and leave them be. It seems to be working.

My point to today’s blog is to share a few simple points about how to see a black bear in the wild. The following pictures should help spell it out. First, go where bears live:

Once you get there, look for warning signs about bears being in the area:

Next, look for signs that bears are in the area.

Finally, you will find a bear; or bears as the case may be. However, follow all of the rules and do not attempt to approach or feed or encroach on their space. Keep a safe distance, travel in numbers, stay in your vehicle and take in the moment, snap a few pictures and move on!

Lastly, changing the subject entirely, CONGRATULATIONS BRAD!!! My son graduates from Salisbury University tomorrow. That now makes four through college, with one at med school. Once again, a very proud papa bear!

A Pirate of Exquisite Mind

I just finished reading one of the most interesting books that I have read of late; A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: The Life of William Dampier: Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer, by Diana and Michael Preston. I was not familiar with Dampier, and being an avid reader of all things piratical I came upon this book while visiting the gift shop at the San Diego Maritime Museum. I thoroughly enjoyed it, I was fascinated by what was presented here, and I find the story of Dampier’s life to be almost unbelievable.

In case you are unfamiliar with Mr. Dampier, allow me to introduce you. William Dampier, born in September of 1651 (died in March 1715) was an English buccaneer, sea captain, author and scientific observer. He was the son of a tenant farmer, and went to sea in the 1670s, eventually joining a crew of buccaneers who had no problem crossing the line into out right piracy. Over the next 40 years, he wandered around the globe and spent years in the Caribbean, raiding Spanish ships and settlements. As he traveled, he recorded his observations in journals that he managed to preserve in bamboo.

He was the first Englishman to explore or map parts of New Holland (Australia) and New Guinea. He was the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. The information he recorded produced three travelogues, beginning with A New Voyage Around the World in 1697. His books became bestsellers, and he published the first account of Australia's aborigines and the first English description of the zebra, the breadfruit, and the effects of marijuana. His writings galvanized generations of scientists, writers, and explorers.

While he was a pirate; or a buccaneer as he claimed, he launched dozens of raids on gold-laden Spanish ships, and marched through Panama's jungles to sack cities for their gold and treasure. However, what distinguished him from an ordinary pirate was his sharp eye for observation. He was the first self-made naturalist to visit the Galapagos; his sketches of the region's turtles set the stage for Darwin's future visit. He also drew detailed maps of nearly every place he visited, charts that defined Western Europe's knowledge of the Americas and the South Seas.

Diana and Michael Preston, in A Pirate of Exquisite Mind, describe him as “the greatest nautical explorer-adventurer, British or otherwise.” Charles Darwin called his books "a mine of information" and took them aboard the Beagle during his exploratory cruises. Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe used his experiences as inspiration in writing Gulliver's Travels and Robinson Crusoe. Captain James Cook relied heavily on his observations while voyaging around the world. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him a genius and "a man of exquisite mind."

Dampier has more than a thousand entries in the Oxford English Dictionary, and he introduced hundreds of words into the English language, including barbecue, chopsticks, and kumquat. Dampier's powers of observation were astonishing. He was the first to deduce that winds cause currents and the first to produce wind maps across the world. His insights when on land were equally acute: For example, he introduced the concept of the "sub-species" that Darwin later built into his theory of evolution, and Dampier's description of the breadfruit was the impetus for Captain Bligh's voyage on the Bounty.

For the life of me, I cannot recall having ever read about Dampier during any history class at any level, which troubles me. Perhaps I missed class that week or the public school system, not to mention my college alma mater, which I will not mention, did not adequately educate me about this “exquisite” explorer. No matter, I can’t wait to pick up a copy of his own writings from his first published manuscript, A New Voyage Around the World.

If this was your introduction to Dampier, then I highly recommend you pick up a copy of the Preston’s book, as it presents an extraordinary story about one of the most fascinating people of the 17th century. Perhaps like Dampier’s own work, recognized as the first “Travel Guides,” it will spark your imagination about that incredible period of discovery. Pirate aficionado or history buff or simply having an inquisitive mind of your own, A Pirate of Exquisite Mind is a great read!