We have seen countless bear since first entering Canada and talked to at least dozens of people about their bear (not bare) experiences. The further North we traveled, the more the bear and other animals seemed to want to put distance between them and us. Early on we hit the brakes hard if a bear appeared ahead. They were gone before we had a chance to shoot a picture. Later we accelerated in hopes of capturing a picture. We caught this guy Wednesday evening in Hyder, Alaska walking the bank asking everyone, "wheres the salmon bake?". The people throughout Canada and Alaska respect but do not fear either the grizzly or black bear. A flag lady on road construction today told us that she occasionally has to beat on the construction barrels to get wandering bears to leave. BTW, throughout Canada and Alaska, motorcycles are invited to the front of the line when waiting for the pilot vehicle to escort them through the countless construction stretches (many flag persons are attractive young ladys and a 20-minute wait  seems to be over in seconds!). Wednesday night Redsy was riding in the middle of the little town of Hyder, AK, when a black bear ran across the street in front of his motorcycle.

Having said all of that, Dick Wooley's 12-gauge pump shotgun, loaded with OO buckshot, has been closer to my sleeping bag than Faith. I have the shotgun in one arm and a super sized bear repellent spray can in the other arm. SAFETY FIRST :=)