Morning Commute Surprise

Before I tell you about the surprise, I have to set up for you what downtown Juneau looks like.  It's much like any other downtown; there's shops and office buildings and bars  and restaurants.  The main thing about Juneau that truly sets it apart from other cities is that downtown is set right against the Coast Mountains where you can be in true wilderness in just under an hours hike. 

Now, that doesn't seem like such a big deal, right?  Well, the part of this closeness that is slightly challenging to get your brain around when you first move, or visit, here is that that wilderness doesn't always stay an hours hike away.  Sometimes it walks down the mountain on it's four furry little legs and comes to say hello.  And that, folks, is how we get our story. 

About two weeks ago on a Sunday, I was walking to work.  Granted, I work at Starbucks and I mostly work the opening shift, so my morning commute takes place at about 4:15am.  As I'm making my way along, I passed one of Subway's garbage cans that was completely destroyed.  Most places, your first thought would be the correct one and you'd probably assume vandalism.  Here in Juneau, it's a bit different; your first thought is bear.  At this point, I'm taking a bit more time to be aware of my surroundings and looking into the alleys before walking by.  As I reach the intersection where the store is, I notice this shape moving down the street across from me.  What do you know, it's a big black bear.  He saw me, we both stopped, and then he decided I didn't look nearly as much fun as the trash, so he turned around and moseyed back up the hill.  And I continued on my way, a bit more quickly this time.

An hour later, after telling my coworkers about my bear sighting, one of our customers happened to see the bear wandering up the street outside the store.  Of course, we all had a tourist moment and stuck our faces to the store window and snapped as many blurry and poorly lit photos as possible!  Our bear friend explored a set of stairs that led to an apartment, came back down to look in shop windows, and then finally continued on his beary way (probably in search of more garbage). 

Isn't he adorable????