But when I saw Bear in the Area signs plastered all over the hotel, I had some second thoughts. I came up with a perfect plan. First I drove around the lake to see if I could find the bear. At least I would like to get some pictures. But I never found a bear. But I did want to go for a run so I drove down the road to my second favorite place to run, a little side road. As soon as I parked, along came a security vehicle. That was my signal to quickly leave. I couldn't drive down to the pond sign until after 6 because they are running a pilot car for 7 miles that includes that area. So I found a little pullout and parked the car. Still not sure if the bear might be nearby, I just ran short out and back loops along the road until I had reached 5 miles. My calves were hurting a lot and I was feeling unusually tired, but managed to complete the 5 miles. I guess that means tomorrow needs to be a rest day.
After I ran, I continued on down the road and reached a flagger. It was almost 6 so figured I wouldn't have much of a wait. The pilot car arrived and after only about 1/4 mile he flagged me on by. But then I got to mile 20 of the pipeline and came to a second flagger. This was the same one who told me they quit at 6 pm. By now it was 6:15 so I figured they were just finishing up. But then the pilot car came along. I asked the flagger if they were quitting for the night and she said they were working late tonight. So of course, I didn't have enough time to wait for flaggers and pilot cars for some undetermined amount of time. I turned around and drove back to Deadhorse. I guess the sign will have to wait for another day when they don't need to work overtime. I was disappointed that after driving all the way down there I didn't see any wildlife. But it was still nice to get out of the hotel and enjoy the 60 degree temperature and sunshine.
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