The Wisdom of the Donut Hole Podcast Episode 2: Ron Walden’s New book, “The Fishing Hole, An Alaska Bear Tale”

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Ugly Moose AK’s “WISDOM OF THE DONUT HOLE” PODCAST EPISODE 2Part 1

Episode 2: Alaska Author Ron Walden … The Fishing Hole..An Alaska Bear Tale © Ugly Moose AK

Book 14/Podcast Episode 2

“The Fishing Hole An Alaska Bear Tale”

Ron Walden, Author of Alaska True to Life Crime and Other Stories

Ugly Moose Alaska Publishing, Soldotna, Alaska

Welcome to The Wisdom of the Donut Hole Podcast. A podcast about Alaska Author Ron Walden and his many novels.

This Episode is about Ron Walden’s 14^th and most current book, “The Fishing Hole, An Alaska Bear Tale”, Published in 2023 by Ugly Moose Alaska.

You want bears? This book has ‘em.

You want huge fish? This story has ‘em.

You want bad guys? This book has them too.

You wanna visit one of the most beautiful, awesome places on earth? This book gives all that to ya.

You want characters that you may recognize when you visit Alaska? Yep, Ron’s books have ‘em.

And You want family-friendly, good reading stories, right? Ron Walden’s books are what ya want.

At about 27,000 square miles, the Kenai Peninsula Borough where Ron lives is about the size West Virginia. Even subtracting the 10,600 square miles of Cook Inlet, a bay off the Gulf of Alaska that cleaves the Borough into East and West land masses, its larger than West Virginia and a few other States. Yet it’s still small by Alaska standards.

Cook Inlet is rich in marine resources including whales and fish natural resources of oil and natural gas. Cook Inlet is only about 14 miles wide at its narrowest. It divides the Kenai Peninsula Borough almost in half, with the Peninsula itself on the East side and a similar mass of property on the West side of the Inlet.

The West side of Cook Inlet is remote with a few villages, many salmon rich streams and wildlife including bears and moose. And several active volcanoes. The balance on the East side is the actual Peninsula, with 5 cities along its 150-mile length.

This podcast won’t give away any secrets, but will describe places, people, history and attractions of this amazing slice of outdoor heaven. Episode Transcripts and show notes are downloaded and available at: wisdomofthedonutholeblog.blogspot.com, including a couple photos The Fishing Hole Book Cover and a couple small maps for reference.

Our story of massive bears, hundreds of thousands of salmon and one small but significant, very bad element takes place in the top quarter of the Kenai Peninsula on the West side of Cook Inlet. This is the epicenter of The Fishing Hole: An Alaska Bear Tale: The confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers near Cooper Landing.

The Kenai Peninsula’s Alaska Wildlife Trooper office is in Soldotna, about 40 miles West of the Russian River Ferry. Travel time is about an hour. Travel time to Cooper Landing from the Anchorage office would be about half hour if not for Turnagain Arm, a fjord-like salt-water mudflats arm of Cook Inlet, the Gulf of Alaska bay that extends inland more than 100 miles, dividing the Kenai Peninsula Borough into two parts.

With no bridge to cross from the North at Anchorage’s City limits, it’s a drive of about 110 miles. 2 hours or more, depending on traffic, road construction and weather. From either direction, it’s a long time to wait for backup whether you’re facing a bear or a human adversary.

Alaska Wildlife Troopers, often referred to as Brownshirts and Alaska State Troopers called Blueshirts, work closely with Federal Officers of the expansive Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and Chugach National Forest.

Each year, over 150,000 people visit the Russian and Kenai Rivers, Campgrounds, Russian River Falls, the areas many hiking trails, the Dena’ina K’Beq’ Cultural Site and other attractions. Most visitors congregate alongside brown bears during the few weeks available for fishing for Sockeye or Red Salmon. Hiking Trails are open most of the year, weather dependent. Hikers, visitors and sportsmen love the areas’ recreational opportunities and once in a lifetime experiences.

Poachers may create distinct threats for visitors by harassing or wounding wildlife, including bears. This can be an issue, but usually not amid a busy time like the salmon run. Unless maybe a uniquely profitable circumstance arises. The wildlife prized for sale as trophy’s or even folk remedy ingredients are dangerous by nature. Harassed or wounded, they’re more sensitive to intruders including innocent moms and pops experiencing the trip of a lifetime along a river full of fish.

Brownshirts in our story are there year-round for real. Mitigating bad encounters, protecting visitors and verifying regulatory compliance. When guidelines and rules are followed, Bear attacks are highly unlikely. They just want some fish to eat like everyone else in the river. Otherwise they’re not much of a danger unless agitated, provoked or harassed.

Bears are as opportunistic as any poachers. They learn bad habits quickly. When they profit from it, they continue with bad habits. Improperly discarded fish waste is easy for them to get. A fish on fishermen’s lines is easy pickings for them. Maybe they’re stalked or harassed for nefarious purposes and many of us don’t notice. Predators dislike being stalked and can get aggressive.

Greedy folks taking too many fish reduce opportunities for honest folks and that can diminish stocks. Some poachers might even not realize that’s what they are. Some sell canned or smoked salmon illegally in Alaska and even at swap-metes around the country. Criminal professional poachers take advantage of the bounty not as a unique experience, but as a criminal enterprise that can eradicate wildlife and may even endanger recreational users. Poaching generates millions in illegal profits annually.

The Dena’ina are the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s ancestors. They recognized the abundance of the place they called Yaghanen or "The Good Land". They settled along banks of its rivers and Tikahtnu, identified today as Cook Inlet after Captain Cook’s voyages there.

Today, Kenaitze partners with Chugach National Forest to preserve and protect a site at the K’Beq’ or "Footprints" interpretive site near the Kenai River. Members share traditions and culture with visitors with interpretive walks during summer months. It’s a nice break from fishing and an enjoyable experience. The Director of Government Affairs for the Tribe emphasizes there’s more to the Kenai Peninsula than fishing. These sites are a way to preserve, protect and prevent damage to natural and archeological resources, by encouraging visitors to take care and not damage any sites along the rivers.

Bears are apex predators spanning Alaska. Black bears are numerous, but brown bears get the most attention as they often haunt the same fishing holes as people, often at the same time.

Brown Bears and Grizzly Bears are subspecies of Brown Bears. Alaska Brown Bears are coastal bears. Inland brown bears, found in central Alaska and even Yellowstone Park are smaller examples of Brown Bears called Grizzlies. They have brown fur with pale silver tips. This gave rise to the term “Grizzly” as in grizzled, gray prospector, when first encountered centuries ago. They have distinct faces and short ears, muscular bodies and a hump on the back.

Brown Bears at the center of “The Fishing Hole”, making it an Alaska Bear Tale, span the Northern Hemisphere, including the Kenai Peninsula. Up to 10 feet long, or tall when standing, they can weigh up to 1,700 pounds. The taller the bear, the heavier they are. The more fish they catch and devour, the more they get noticed by tourists and animal traffickers alike.

The bears in this story have thick dark brown fur, muscular bodies, thick neck manes, huge, curved claws and hump on their back. They’re awesomely intimidating at a distance. Many Alaskans can attest that close-up they’re intimidating, frightening, beautiful, loud AND smelly creatures.

Further south on Kodiak Island and its Archipelago Islands, brown bears called Kodiak Bears, the largest of brown bears, comparable in size to a Polar bear. Science surmises Kodiaks are so distinctive because they’re island dwellers with minimal contact or competition from other bears, so they maintain unique features and lifestyles and become much larger.

Regardless of the subspecies or color of a Bear, the warnings are the same. Our story is set in a location where Brown Bears are common along roads, trails and streams. Large ones draw the greatest attention of tourists, fishermen, wildlife officers and even poachers looking for a unique trophy, rather than a simple memorable photo.

The area is saturated with warnings near the rivers that are central to The Fishing Hole story. Imagine a Drill Sergeant like R. Lee Ermey, rest his soul, his raspy loud voice shouting the would likely be much more memorable than just glancing at a poster with cool stuff about bears on ‘em. These are real warnings…

Alaska’s bears have a short season to find enough food to survive the winter. They’ll take carelessly discarded scraps or garbage. Black and Brown bears fish the rivers, rest on the banks, travel on trails and boardwalks and meander through campgrounds. The same access and sites people use.

Obey the signs!

Fish Waste Attracts Bears! Bears eat fish heads, backbones and other parts left behind!

Reducing fish waste and human food sources reduces bear-human conflicts!

Remove fish whole! Fillet them offsite! Take them home or to commercial fish processor!

If you must filet on-site, use cleaning tables at the Kenai-Russian River confluence or Ferry Landing!

After filleting, cut carcasses into small pieces and toss them into fast-moving currents!

Common sense is posted very clearly too:

This is NOT a safari park or petting zoo! The area is NOT managed for bear viewing!

Do NOT approach or follow bears! Do NOT behave in ways that cause conflicts with people or bears!

Imagine that Drill Sergeant in your ear, you won’t disregard the warnings:

Being in the same space as wild animals including moose and bears carries inherent risks!

Stay on trails! Make noise to prevent surprise encounters!

Don’t run from bears. (They like a good challenge and running could trigger a pursuit so only use trails with someone you can outrun.) …Made that last part up… it’s not on a sign, but it’s true…

Stay in a group! Keep kids close! Carry accessible bear spray! Be prepared to use it!

Always follow regulations! They’re designed to protect you, your family and the bears!

Immediately report bear encounters to agency or staff.

Drill Seargent has a dew special Instructions for Anglers:

Don’t let a bear get a fish from your line! If a bear approaches as you’re reeling in a fish, cut the line!

Don’t let bears get an easy meal of fish waste! Bears will learn bad habits! It’s dangerous to other people! Carry your catch out whole or chop waste into small pieces and toss into fast-moving water!

And for Campers:

Keep a clean camp! Store attractants in bear resistant containers or your vehicle! Follow advice and warnings as posted! Bears may be encountered but most likely not as dangerous when obeying posted warnings!

Ya think? How much clearer could it be? Drill Sergeant or not. Read the signs. Obey the signs. Simple.

Back to the story of how the book became a story… No spoilers in any of these podcasts, just background info, some history, a bit of geography, characters and other bits of info that’s likely make you want to visit Alaska.

Our Author of Alaska True to Life Crime and Other Stories, Ron Walden has been a hard rock miner, carpenter, salesman and business owner. He relocated to Alaska with his wife Betty in the early 1970s where they built their log home and he learned to fly. Ron retired from the Alaska Department of Corrections and worked as a security officer along the Alyeska Pipeline. Now he spends his free time writing, fishing and building furniture for friends.

And coffee. Ron loves coffee. No day has begun until after the Geezer Squad has had their coffee at his table. Alaska has been his home for over 50 years and he'll never tire of it. Ron’s someone that doesn’t understand technology. Doesn’t want to understand technology. Nor does he want to use technology. It comes with too much of a reverse employer/employee relationship.

It’s needy. Always slowing him down with silly tasks like:

Click “save”, Ron. Update programs, Ron. Replace end of life programs, Ron. Reload printer, Ron.

Fill ink, Ron… That sort of thing.

He prefers tools do his bidding. Like a hammer, a saw or a coffee maker. He’s never micro-managed good employees. A computer requires micromanaging. It’s a forced necessity, not so much a good employee.

To hear more about Ron Walden listen to our Podcast trailer, an introduction to Wisdom of the Donut Hole and to Ron. Then listen to Episode 1 Part 1 to hear Ron's biography as he grew up in North Idaho.

Listen to Episode 1 Part 2 to hear about where he grew up. You'll enjoy them and you'll know Ron better when you're done.

He’s a big believer in meaning of The Wisdom of the Donut Hole, hence the title of the Podcast. He encourages everyone to appreciate what they have. Choose Optimism over Pessimism. As kids, we heard it often. It goes like this:

As you ramble through Life, Brother,

Whatever be your goal.

Keep your eye upon the doughnut,

And not upon the hole.

The Fishing Hole is one of more than a dozen exciting family friendly books he’s written. They feature crime and adventure stories loaded with Alaskan places bursting with backstories of history, recreational opportunities, characters and plots of interest to all ages. There’s no gratuitous violence or rough language, just good stories readers of any age can enjoy.

These podcasts take you to real places, meeting some composites of characters featured in his books and how they became those. Our goal is to post a new episode monthly, if not more often.

Ron’s books are available wherever books are sold, including your hometown bookstores and online.

Try RonWalden.com, Booksamillion.com, BarnesandNoble.com and others. Ron’s arranged special pricing for wholesale buyers ordering through Ingram Spark. Ask for his books if you don’t see them on shelves. And Thank You for giving us a try.

Poaching, Tourism and History

The Fishing Hole, An Alaska Bear Tale is a story of resources that encourage tourism and provide subsistence in hunting and fishing for indigenous and other Alaskan residents. Visitors can fish and hunt with proper licensing.

Some of the areas in this story have size limits that are almost unbelievable. In some places a fisherman may not be able to keep a rainbow trout under 30-inches in length or a salmon under 50-inches. The World record King Salmon caught on rod and reel was caught in the Kenai River near Soldotna in 1985. It was over 97 pounds and the record still stands.

This book’s setting is primarily near the confluence of the Kenai and Russian Rivers. Salmon fill those streams by the hundreds of thousands. Pacific Sockeye Salmon, known by anglers as Reds or Red Salmon are a smaller species of Pacific salmon. They’re 18 to 31inches long and weigh between 4 and 15 pounds. Sea-going sockeye are prized for firm, bright-orange flesh.

They live in the ocean but return to fresh water to spawn. They spend up to 4 years in fresh water and up to 3 years in the ocean. In Alaska, most sockeye return to spawn in June or July to the same area where they hatched. Usually freshwater drainages and lakes.

Spawning in rivers, streams and areas along lake beaches, a female deposits 2,000 – 5,000 eggs in depressions made by digging with her tail over several days. The depressions are called Redds, with two D’s. This may be where the nickname Red Salmon comes from.

Bears love ’em too and fish in their own unique way, at their own pace, side-by-side with fisherman on riverbanks.

Among the good folks enjoying the resources and beauty of the area, not so legitimate trophy hunters, poachers, animal parts traffickers may be lurking about. More of a threat to wildlife than fishermen, they’re not so friendly toward Alaska Wildlife Troopers. They like to blend in, mingling with fishermen. They take what they want wildlife-wise regardless of size or quantity, not causing a scene or drawing undue attention.

Regulated trophy hunting isn’t poaching. It’s controlled and regulated under prescribed criteria. Areas, animal size and sex and seasons are designated. Unlike poaching, hunting is based on scientific management. The season is not open during the salmon fishery when large bears are so easily found. Managed properly, hunters taking can help improve populations and actually reduce the number of animals taken. It’s worked for Alaska big game and internationally. Hunting is an important tool of wildlife management.

Alaska has seasons and regulations for subsistence users to pursue food year-round. This may be moose, caribou, fish or even whales and bears. The seasons are carefully and cooperatively managed to improve populations, sustain subsistence needs and discourage poaching.

Most poachers don’t need an animal. They want it. They sell ill-gotten trophies through illegal wildlife trade, often operated by dangerous criminal networks. There’s huge profit in providing illegal hunts and black-marketing whole animals or even just parts.

Alaska’s Brownshirts enforce these laws alongside Blueshirts and Federal agencies. They enjoy their days with tourists and recreational users and remain vigilant to illegal acts and safety of visitors.

“The Fishing Hole...An Alaska Bear Tale” Is about a suspected killer, an accused violent offender is on the loose along the glacial beauty of the Kenai River on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, near Cooper Landing and the Kenai Canyon. Tracked by Alaska Wildlife Troopers, the fugitive is unaware how close he may be to being caught, or worse…Terminated by criminal poachers on his trail seeking a trophy like him. A fugitive like no other...big, savage and maybe innocent. Follow clues in the story of the brave officers tracking, even protecting an unusual, elusive foe in Alaska’s wilderness as they learn the truth of who’s actually good and who’s bad along the way.

An Exciting Family-Friendly Story. Alaska's amazing mountains, waterways, fish and wildlife provide backdrops and characters drawing readers to the story. This is a land everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime. Follow Officers Betty Holden, Les Goddard and Sgt. Ted Wilson as they solve this unusual case.

Ron’s Dedication Of The Fishing Hole Reads: “I dedicate this novel to all the professional officers of the Alaska State Troopers and Alaska Wildlife Troopers who give so much of themselves to protect the citizens and wildlife of the great State of Alaska. It's this selfless dedication to duty that allows the rest of us to live in peace and safety. I thank all of them in memory of my late wife, retired Alaska Fish and Wildlife officer Betty L. Walden.”

Next time you visit Alaska, go to downtown Anchorage and tour the Alaska State Trooper museum. It’s small but packed full history on Alaska’s law enforcement from territorial days to today. Find the display remembering Betty Walden, one of Alaska’s first female Fish and Wildlife officers. When you visit Alaska, this museum is a must see.

Ron Walden’s Connection: How A Book Evolved From Experiences and Memories Ron didn't work for Fish and Wildlife or Alaska State Troopers. His wife Betty was one of the first female Fish and Wildlife officers in the State of Alaska. Her involvement with that office created good relationships with officers across the State. They were either frequently at the Walden house for coffee or he’d stop in their office for coffee with Betty.

The officers and families attended Betty's backyard birthday BBQ that Ron put together each Spring. When she passed, it left a large hole in many people's lives. Many coworkers have passed on as well.

She enjoyed watching moose from the back deck. Visitors and tourists alike enjoyed coming by to sit on the deck and watch moose wander the yard. A cow moose that stayed about 13 years had many calves there. She was friendly, not at all aggressive but definitely not a pet. Bears were sometimes seen in the yard too. Jousting a bird feeder or attacking a lawn ornament.

Ron’s connection to the story The Fishing Hole is the accompaniment he gave Betty when she strolled the shores the Kenai River near the Russian River, not far from Cooper Landing. It was her job, and she enjoyed it. They enjoyed the time together, the outdoors and close encounters with nature, its prey and predators. Sometimes animals, sometimes of the human variety.

He spent a lot of time with Betty on the shores among the bears. His friendship with Betty’s wildlife co-workers brought Ron closer to their field work in conversations and friendships. Their stories of huge bears, untold numbers of fish and excited fishermen stuck with Ron.

He’s experienced close encounters with the large brown bears on many fly-in fishing trips in his airplane, a Cessna PA-14 that he rebuilt from the ground up. Bears on one side of a stream, fishermen on the other. A few feet separating them, the mutual goal of nabbing fish for dinner kept them tolerant of each other. And there were plenty of fish to be distracted by.

Sometimes a plane would have teethe marks in the fabric from a curious bear that wandered by while Ron was fishing. Taking off from an oceanside beach and flying over swampy river deltas revealed massive bears. Massive in quantity and in size. Some would stand swatting the air as the plane took off above them. Ron always marveled at these giants and enjoyed showing others Alaska’s fish and wildlife.

While office work was a reality for Alaska Wildlife Troopers, patrolling and meeting people is actually what Betty loved most. The job just happened to be along one of the most beautiful rivers in the world, fifty miles from lake to ocean. Amazing sights amid the most majestic mountains in the country, alongside the largest bears in the country, except Polar Bears further North and Kodiak Brown Bears a couple hundred miles South.

Bag and possession limits were often disregarded in the rush to catch fish. Same with regulated types of fishing gear. People sometimes fudged that too, snagging with lead-weight treble hooks rather than fishing with a single hook.

Betty would sidle up to someone that had obviously exceeded a limit or she’d seen snagging fish. Wearing a brown jacket, she’d clearly display Wildlife Enforcement emblems. She’d comment on the abundance of the day’s catch skewered on a stringer at the feet of a fisherman. They’d respectfully acknowledge her as a curious grandmother, not so much as an enforcement officer.

With a sheepish smile, they’d admit they had too many fish, offering thin justifications saying they needed a few extras to send to relatives. She’d ask them to reel in their line and show a license and ID. She’d confiscate the fish and issue a ticket.

Offenders often apologized, more embarrassed than angry, signed the summons and sometimes even carried the illegal catch to her marked Brownshirt truck. They might open the door for her, even thank her. Then pack up and drive away, probably back to Anchorage. They’d see her again at their court date.

A good friend of Ron’s built airplanes with him and had been a Territorial officer before Alaska became a State. This guy had a dry sense of humor that could keep a situation manageable when used practically.

He sometimes sat quietly in the brush behind fishermen, watching them wading near a riverbank, reeling in fish after fish, mostly snagged, not hooked legally. Feigning he was a fisherman looking for a good spot, he’d whisper, “Looks like you’re doing pretty good.”

The fisherman would whisper back, “Amazing! I know I have too many but I ain’t stopping. Come on over.”

The Officer would whisper back, “I’m gonna have to cite or arrest you”, then he’d stand up revealing his uniform and badge.

The surprised fisherman whispered back, “Then why the hell are we whispering then?”

The Officer whispered a response, “Less stressful that way”.

Betty may be summoned to a car versus moose accident on a highway or along a country road, where a moose was badly injured. She’d call a charity from a list and request a State Trooper to investigate.

She could dispatch an injured moose with a revolver from impressive distances. Above riverbanks from a bridge. A long shot from a narrow road in deep snow. She was quite a shot. Smart and fair too. And tough as any officer.

She’d wait for the charity as a Blueshirt investigated the accident and issued citations to drivers. With a Charity on-scene, she’d provide light to dress the moose by and a warm truck if the cold was too biting.

A charity list is a roster of folks needing food or just willing to salvage a moose in cases like this. Salvagers bring certain moose parts to the office for biologists in exchange for keeping salvageable meat to feed their families. It’s still a well-managed program, with moose so abundant that hundreds are involved in collisions annually on the Kenai Peninsula alone. Show notes provide links and information for the program.

Ron accompanied Betty on these efforts whenever he could. Some poachers she encountered would end up facing her in court. Later they might even meet Ron at the prison if a judge decided 30 days was in order.

On a fall morning long ago, I accompanied a friend on a morning moose hunt not far from Kenai. It was a non-motorized area so we rode bicycles along a gated road a few miles to a field that looked to be a great spot to find a bull moose at daybreak. It was a dark, foggy morning and very cold.

Leaving his bike in the ditch, the guy I was with walked in about 50 yards from the road. He stayed to the right side of the field near the scrub brush. I walked along an elevated ridgeline another couple hundred yards to the left side of the field.

The fog thinned a bit about sunrise, but it was still fairly foggy at ground level and hard to see clearly. I used binoculars to glass the field’s back edge where dense brush rose in a stand of birch trees. Then scanned back to where my partner was sitting. It looked to me that if I saw something legal at my end of the field, he could shoot and I wouldn’t be in harm's way. I was elevated on the ridge and well to the left, out of the line of fire.

It would take time and a lot of energy to pack out a quartered moose through this swamp to the road, crossing soggy, spongy muskeg and deadfall trees. Then, with pack boards on our backs, we’d have to bicycle toward town to my truck.

As dawn broke I could almost see across the field without binoculars. Fog was still hanging low but less densely near the ground. From my vantage point, as the curtain of fog thinned and daylight made it possible to see a little better, I spotted two moose in the tall grass and foggy haze.

A cow moose was facing away from me, maybe 70 to 80 yards away in the center of the field. She was about 100 yards from my partner. Her head was low in the wet grass as she ate a tundra breakfast.

A few feet to her left but directly beside her and facing me, was a legal bull moose. He’d drop his head low to the ground, eat a bit, then slowly raise his massive head high in the air to look side to side. First over the rump of the cow, in the direction of my partner. Then then back to where I was before lowering his head and antlers to pull up more grass and grains periodically poking his head up to scan the area.

The cow did the same thing, except when his head was up, hers was down. Guess they were looking out for each other maybe. I could barely see my friend. When the bull dipped his head, I waved at my partner, signaling to not shoot until he was sure the moose was a bull. I used my best hand-antlers and a finger across my neck while shaking my head no, waving my arms in front of me like a baseball ump and indicating there were two moose with fingers in the air.

This either meant something different in his Midwest mind or I wasn’t frantic enough. I was sure he misunderstood. So sure that I yelled “Don’t Shoot”!!

Later I realized I may have given third base coach signals that said Legal Bull (hand antlers), Kill It (finger across neck), It’s Safe (waving arms life an ump). So he stole Home and shot.

When that bull put his head up as I yelled and the cow had her head down, in the fog he says saw the body of a moose with the head and antlers of a bull. He thought there was one moose there, so he shot. I hollered to stop shooting and ran down the ridge toward him.

The bull moose ran into the birch trees and scrub-brush at the far end of the field, never to be seen again. The cow had fallen to the ground. I hollered to my partner that he’d shot a cow!

We met in the center of the field next to the cow. He looked stunned, saying “I know it was a bull. I looked at it through my scope. I saw one moose there with antlers”. He was sure 30 days would be his likely sentence.

I explained the view from my vantage point; two moose. A cow standing closest to him. The bull behind the cow. When the bull lifted his head, it may have looked to him to be a single bull moose.

Right then I knew we had to get Fish and Wildlife involved because it's not okay to shoot cow moose. I slogged to the road, got on a bike and rode about two miles to a paved road, then another mile or so to an airport building that had a phone.

I called the Wildlife Trooper Office, asking them to send an officer to meet me. He showed up to drive me to the site. I explained the situation. I knew him well. Still do. He’s a good man. I loaded the bike into the back of his truck, next to 3-wheel ATV and off we went. He had a key to the gate so we were able to get through and drive to the field where my partner waited. When we stopped my friend came from the field to announce he’d dressed out the moose. We just had to put it in meat sacks and pack it 100-plus yards to the road.

Since this Trooper worked with my stepmom Betty, I presumptively remarked how nice it was to have an ATV right here to make packing it out so much quicker and simpler. Silence. Mosquitoes and biting white sock flies swarmed around our uncovered hands and heads. Many years later this Trooper would become Alaska’s Commissioner of Public Safety, leading Alaska’s Department of Public Safety, including Alaska State Troopers and Alaska Wildlife Troopers.

He looked at me. Then at the ATV. Then at my friend who’d shot the wrong moose. Then more seriously at me before saying: “That's not how this works. You two pack that out here like you would have if it were legal. I'll wait for you and we'll drive it out to your rig. The 3-Wheeler isn’t an option.” Then, he climbed into the truck and was no longer being eaten alive by mosquitoes and biting flies.

We packed the moose through flies, mosquitoes and wet, spongy muskeg and deadfalls in 8 trips. We put it in his truck next to our bikes and the idle ATV. He took us to town where we moved our bikes into my truck.

He issued my friend a citation and summons. Confiscated his guns and other hunting gear. Then he began to drive away. He stopped after a few yards, backed up, rolled his window down and said, “You know Betty’s not gonna like this.” He smiled, rolled the window up and left. I’ve known him now for more than 35 years. Aways cordial and friendly, I’ve seen him smile twice. I know he smiles more though, because some of the Geezers of Ron’s other books that heard the story say he cracked a smile.

Couple weeks later, my friend went to court on the cow moose summons. He asked me to go with him.

I was named on the citation, though I wasn’t cited. Oddly, in the intervening weeks, Betty said nothing to me over dinner or at family gatherings about the run-in. Maybe she didn’t know after all. Maybe No one told her. Yes!

As we entered the courtroom a Judicial Services Officer told us to sit at the defendants table to wait for the judge and Wildlife Trooper get here. The JS Officer was all smiles and looked suspiciously like a character in Ron’s 13^th book “Alaska State Troopers: Geezer Squad”. A character named John Ashley.

The court door swung open. My stepmom Betty marched in wearing a crisp uniform, as always. She shot me a look that clearly startled the judge. He called the Bailiff to the bench. I heard the JS Officer tell the judge “These guys won’t get out of line judge, if that’s what you’re worried about.” The judge whispered, “It’s not them. I've seen that look on Betty's face before. We might need extra help in here is all.”

The judge cleared his throat, then asked Betty to read the citation. When she finished, he asked her opinion on penalties. She reviewed the citation again, concurred with the young Wildlife Trooper’s actions of confiscating the rifle, handgun and other items and for taking the hunting license. Officer Walden asked the judge to fine the man $500. To forfeit his rifle, handgun and hunting privileges for one year before items and hunting privileges would be returned. The judge concurred and so ordered.

Then he asked, “What about the young man that was with the culprit. The young man with the same last name as you, Officer Walden?” Betty thought for a moment, then replied, “Well your honor, I know for a fact he knows better. He's my stepson. He'll be at my house for dinner tonight.”

She glared at me and I nodded yes, trying to hide my fear. She continued, “I'll make sure the penalty’s appropriate.” The judge laughed and concurred with all her recommendations. He wished me best of luck at dinner that evening. Betty rose to leave. She leaned across the table and said, “I’d better never see you under circumstances like this again. Dinner’s at 6.” And with that, she was gone.

You’ve just met a few examples of real folks that could become characters in “The Fishing Hole” and other books by Ron Walden. There are more characters, to be sure.

How a Title Came To Be Growing up, nearly everyone’s had an experience if they fished it all, of finding a place they favored. Their Fishing Hole. In this book, the Kenai River at the confluence of the Russian River is The Fishing Hole where the Alaska Bear Tale unfolds.

Bears mob the area along trails to the Russian River Falls. People come from all over the world to hike, fish and see the bears. Bears love to fatten themselves up on the fish, roe, milt and all the other goodness raw fish gives a bear.

So the title is simply a reference to a Fishing Hole like no other in the world. One that thousands of people and hundreds of bears call their own. One with hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of fish swarming the waters. Thousands of fishermen on any given day during the season do their best to bring fish home.

Somewhere in that mix must be a few not so nice poachers looking for opportunities to line their pockets. So when you see this book called The Fishing Hole: An Alaska Bear Tail, maybe it’s defined a bit better now. But you've got to read the story to reveal villains and heroes and follow Alaska Wildlife Troopers in their daily duties, which are definitely not as simple as you might have thought. The images this book paints are beautiful. Just look at that cover!

Why visit Cooper Landing? Cooper Landing is the place to visit if you’d like to enjoy a float trip of a few hours or even longer for a float through the Russian River confluence with the Kenai River, through a canyon below an area called Jim's Landing and into Skilak Lake.

Show notes at wisdomofthedonutholeblog.blogspot.com have links and information

Fish for salmon, huge rainbow trout and watch for wildlife. Archaeology sites along the Canyon are preserved out of respect for Alaska Natives that seasonally migrated to and from the canyon due to fish populations.

A beautiful area between the Chugach Mountains and a valley, the Kenai River is a glacier-fed stream at the outflow of Kenai Lake in Cooper Landing and on to Skilak Lake, where the outflow there spans 40 miles downstream, through Soldotna and Kenai where it flows into the Pacific Ocean in a branch of the Gulf of Alaska called Cook Inlet.

There are lots of branches to explore out of the Cooper Landing area. Just upstream is Kenai Lake. Quartz Creek is near the highway at the old townsite of Sunrise (a fine place for a meal and to watch the mountains for sheep and goats). The entire area of Cooper Landing, including Quartz Creek, is famous for gold, panned or sluiced. Watch eagles in the Kenai River near an old gold site at the outflow of Cooper Creek.

Ride the Russian River Ferry, shuttling fishermen and tourists across the Kenai River since 1955. Powered by the current, it takes just minutes from your car to the wilderness side of the River. The world-famous Russian River Ferry is located at the confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers on Alaska’s beautiful Kenai Peninsula. The ferry services one of the most productive salmon sport fishing areas in all of North America. Bears abound in the area, so be aware.

Brown Bears Make “The Fishing Hole, An Alaska Bear Tale” A local Brown Bear had to be the cover. The cover had to hint at the story at a glance. A brown bear minding its business, enjoying the Fishing Hole.

The Book Cover Story What makes this book’s cover so amazing? Well, it has a story of its own!

First, the Photographer: Heidi Hanson is an amazingly capable photographer. She’s spent countless hours in the wilds of Alaska, including the area that is the setting of The Fishing Hole: An Alaska Bear Tale, near Cooper Landing, about 50 miles from Heidi’s home in the Soldotna area.

She’s an independent soul, unafraid to spend many hours alone in any weather, surrounded by large fish-eating Brown Bears. Why? To get the perfect pictures she gets as these bears fish alongside people and other bears to catch and eat their fill of salmon.

Bears hibernate and have to put on extra calories to make it through the long, cold Alaska winter. Heidi catches these amazing animals in the midst of their fishing efforts and meal times as they devour every scrap of every fish they can grab. They dig. Sleep. Play. Catch fish. Eat. Scratch. Then Repeat.

When Ron created this book, he wanted a cover like none before. He wanted a local photographers work to be that cover. He wanted a photo so clear, so Alaskan, so raw and self-explanatory that it may not even exist. He had no idea where to look.

Being a hockey fan, Ron attended many North American Hockey League games of the local NAHL team. Of course the team is called the Kenai Brown Bears. Being acquainted with Heidi Hanson, manager of the Kenai Brown Bears Bear Den shop, Ron heard she photographed bears. He contacted Heidi to ask if he could look at some of her photos for possible use as a book cover on his newest book.

Heidi was the perfect choice. Looking through thousands of amazingly crisp photos was worth it. The candid shots of these bears are surreal. The behavior, looks, eye rolls, even the fishing are all captured perfectly. As he realized how long this search could take, Heidi suggested looking at the most current ones first.

On the first page of digital photos, Ron found The One! This photo is so lifelike and sharp. The bear is surrounded by thick greenery of brush and grass while standing in a clear stream. It has a salmon in its mouth, having clamped down on the fishes back just in front of the dorsal fin. The salmon is bright red with a green head, maybe weighing 7 to 8 pounds and about 2 feet long.

All around the bear, in the clear flowing mountain river you can see a school of similar fish, similar in size and color, idling and swimming around and under the bear, between river rocks. The bear is looking at the bounty in the river, not wanting to drop the one it has, but wanting more. This is the perfect Fishing Hole picture.

As Ron zoomed into the photo, it stayed crisp and clear. The bears eyes came closer but stayed sharply focused. The whites are visible, as are the pupils. The bears’ gaze is sharply on other salmon in the river as it steps around rocks rising from the stream.

This is The Fishing Hole and an Alaska Bear Tale in a single frame. Heidi had the cover photo for sure. Heidi agreed, and it’s perfect.

Ron included a full page near the title page of this book, and a back cover section to recognize Heidi.

To provide contact information for readers to order photos from her. It’s included in the copy of the book filed with Library of Congress, and in every copy printed. For more amazing photographs of Alaska Brown and Black Bears in the wild being bears, contact her:

Heidi Hanson Photography, Soldotna, Alaska

Email: aksk8@outlook.com

Facebook: HeidihoAK49photography

Instagram: heidi_ho_ak49_photography

Heidi supports the Brown Bears NAHL Team in the skate shop and at the Bear’s Den Store. She’s an amazing photographer and a sincere, good person.

Thanksgiving 2023, as in years before, she flew to Las Vegas for a break and to watch some Golden Knights hockey. She used her time there to walk the area providing gifts to homeless folks. She assured them they weren’t forgotten. And helped them feel a bit safer and more comfortable.

Fox5Vegas.com went with Heidi and produced a nice video report about her effort. Search Fox5Vegas for: “Alaskan Makes Holiday trip to Las Vegas to help the Homeless”.

Thank you Heidi!

This new novel “The Fishing Hole” An Alaska Bear Tale is on sale wherever books are sold.

Check your hometown bookstores and online, including: RonWalden.com, Booksamillion.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and many more. Ask for them if you don’t see them.

Next time, we intend to return to the beginning with Ron’s very first novel from 1996:

“Cinch Knot” Pigs, Politics & Petroleum, the Multinational Plot to Nuke the Trans Alaska Pipeline

We plan to release new episodes monthly. More frequently as we can. Check your favorite podcast platform for updates and new episodes.

Our Podcasts are found on all major platforms including iTunes, Spotify, Samsung, Audible, iHeart, YouTube and more. Listen, like and subscribe on your favorite platform.

Order your books today. Check out RonWalden.com for a look at covers and a synopsis of each book.

I’m your host, Scott Walden. Read Ron’s Books! And Visit Alaska!

Episode Transcripts and show notes are downloaded and available at

wisdomofthedonutholeblog.blogspot.com

(Thanks to Ray Lankford for the show’s theme music titled “The Wisdom of the Donut Hole Theme” an instrumental written, performed and provided with permission by Ray Lankford of Shoshone County Idaho…Look for more of Ray’s music on his website “Ray Lankford Music and Writing”)

Thank you for listening.

Episode 2 SHOW NOTES

Aircraft And Bush Pilots In Alaska

https://www.businessinsider.com/why-alaska-bush-pilots-are-essential-in-the-state-2022-1?op=1

https://dot.alaska.gov/stwdav/

https://bush-air.com/bushflying-intro.htm

https://nationalaviation.org/our-enshrinees/wien-noel/

https://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/deadly-myth-alaskan-bush-pilot

https://www.historynet.com/flying-on-the-edge-alaskas-legendary-bush-pilots/?f

Alaska State Troopers (Blueshirts) https://dps.alaska.gov/AST/History

Alaska Wildlife Troopers (AWT. Brownshirts) https://en.everybodywiki.com/Alaska_Wildlife_Troopers

AWT – Roadkill Program https://dps.alaska.gov/AWT/Roadkill