AdventureWomen^®

The highlight of our AdventureWomen Alaska Wildlife Safari and BearViewing trip, June 13-20, 2010, is the time we spend at a fly-in bear camp. It is here that we have the opportunity to observe the brown bears (also known as grizzly bears) of Alaska. Here are some interesting facts about the grizzly bears of Alaska:

1.  Grizzly bears are one of the largest living carnivores and males tend to be 30-50% larger than females. A male can weigh up to 1,500 lbs. and stand over 8 ft. tall when standing upright on hind feet. They weigh the least when they exit their dens in the spring and can increase their weight over 50% during the summer and fall.

2.  Mating occurs from May to July. After mating, the female may become pregnant, but that doesn’t mean she’ll give birth. An old joke says that you can’t be half pregnant, but in the bear world, this is false. The fertilized egg develops into a small embryo called a blastocyst. After this short period of development, the fertilized egg suddenly stops growing and simply floats freely in the uterus for several months. If a sow is in peak condition when she heads into her winter den, the embryo implants in the uterus and begins to develop. If the sow is not in peak condition, her body absorbs the embryo and she does not give birth that year. This gives bears more control over their reproductive rate than just about any other animal.

3.  Cubs are born during January and February and twins are most common. They stay in the den until June, when they emerge to explore their new world under the watchful eye of mom. New cubs, along with adolescents, are a common sighting on our Alaska adventure.

4.  Many people believe that bears are nearsighted. However, this is a myth and their eyesight and hearing are comparable to humans. They also have a keen sense of smell, exceeding that of dogs. Although their size might make you think otherwise, they can run in short bursts up to 40 mph and can outswim an Olympian! Watch out Michael Phelps!

5.  Grizzlies are usually solitary animals. However, they often gather in large groups in concentrated feeding areas such as salmon spawning streams, sedge flats, and at whale carcasses. They have developed a complex language and social structure to express their feelings and minimize serious fights in these situations. It is this type of feeding concentration where our fly-in bear camp provides AdventureWomen the opportunity to view these magnificent bears of Alaska.

We had the BEST time on our Egypt and Jordan trip! It is so hard to come up with a single instance that stands out, as there was so very much that was outstanding! When I think back on the experience I was, of course, blown away by the pyramids. We first saw them from the air on our descent into Egypt. They were so much bigger and yet smaller than I was expecting! How in the world did they ever build them! And then to get to see them from the perspective of being on a camel’s back! Oh my gosh! I’ve always wanted to ride the camels but I was so much older and taller than all those little children in line at the fair. Now I was able to accomplish this desire along with all those other “children” who were closer to my age. I will always remember that. It is the thing that dreams are made of!

Cheryl (left) and Barbara at the Pyramids and haggling for postcards in Jordan

Throughout the trip there was so much packed in that I’m still sorting it all out. Learning so much about the Ancients and their way of life, the temples, the sand and rocks, the hieroglyphics, the Nile, the animals, and Jordan – was awesome. I loved the river boat rides! Water and animals are my passions. So ending at the Dead Sea was truly amazing! I haven’t wanted to use my lotion from there yet ‘cause I didn’t want to use it up! I can’t wait to go on another trip but it’ll be hard to beat this one!
- Cheryl Randall, Egypt’s Mysteries and Jordan’s Petra: Wonders of the World, 2009
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These photos of Betsy Morrison on the elephant (taken by Ellen Bump and Gayle Hagins on the Nepal 2009 trip) were some of my favorites out of the thousands that were taken.

Betsy and her elephant

It was a great group of women to travel with, and from the photos, a very fun group too. Our AdventureWomen® guide, Stacey, was the best, even while she had to deal with her own tummy and flu issues. This is really a once in the lifetime trip that [all adventurous women] should take, but good knees are required.

- Lisa Itatani, Nepal Trekking in the Himalayas: The Gates of Heaven, 2009

One of my favorite memories from my New Zealand trip was “mustering” sheep. During our local farm stay, we went with the farmer to check on the flocks. His mode of transportation was an old VW bus. While we were chugging and bumping through the green fields of the farm, we ran across 2 lambs that had been separated from their mom. The lambs were scared and the mom was wandering off in another field. We used the VW bus to round up the mom and herd her toward her lambs. Every now and then the mom would fall over on her side. She was too wooly to get up on her own. We would pile out of the bus, upright the mom, and continue to herd her in the right direction. Eventually mom and the lambs were reunited and everyone was happy. We had a great time speeding around the fields in the VW bus and all felt a sense of accomplishment when the little family was reunited.

My favorite quote from the trip was from one of the women as she donned a wetsuit in preparation for our dolphin swim. She came out of the dressing room with her wetsuit barely on, extra leg material and arm material dangling from her feet and hands, and exclaimed to our guide, “I believe you overestimated my height and underestimated my girth!” We all, including her, laughed until it hurt. What a great sport she was!

- Lori Booth, New Zealand’s Spectacular South Island, 2006

Speaking of wetsuits…, one of the funniest moments on our 2009 Papua New Guinea and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef adventure last April was our snorkeling excursion on the Barrier Reef off Cairns. Since it was jellyfish season, we were required to wear full wet suits to avoid getting stung. It’s always embarrassing to try putting on a wetsuit, but even more funny was that we all looked like “Smurfs” in our full regalia (except for one smart woman, Gayle Hagins, who didn’t finish dressing until after the picture was taken)!

Probably the most endearing time was when we got to hold “Frank,” both individually and together as a group. Frank was a friendly and cuddly koala bear, and it was amusing to watch everyone talk baby talk to him! We also got to visit with and hold some baby rescue kangaroos, or joeys, whose mothers had been hit by cars or killed in other ways.

-  Susan L. Eckert, President of AdventureWomen, Inc.