Wednesday, July 05, 2017

There's a BEAR in the Camp

I used to think driving in San Antonio was the last, great, legal adrenalin rush.....and then we moved to Alaska. We did not see ANY bears, in the wild, while here for those 3 years. We DID go camping and hiking! Of course, we had 8 kids with us...lots of bear warning humans are on the way. We have been here three weeks and this is our 4th sighting. All this while going about our NORMAL day and not looking for them at all. 

With recent bear maulings on base, I realized I shouldn't go hiking the trails alone. I was thinking today, I would just walk around the campground and that should be fine......and then Nolan was looking out the window.....he thought he saw a Black Lab in our campsite. 

No....."There's a bear by the picnic table." 

We grabbed cameras and crowded around the windows. 

The bear moved and we rushed out to follow.  He wasn't very big. Turns out he's a yearling. There is a sow around with a couple of cubs, a yearling and a 2 year old or two. Um - whew. 
Taking out the garbage has a new zing to it
He's heading for the shower house 
He continued to walk the loop - back to our loop. He seemed to be looking for something to eat.....


It frustrates me. There are signs EVERYWHERE and still someone left a can of Apple Pie filling at their site. They must have been making campfire desserts.  This is not good! He is not worried at all about people and as he grows this could cause problems for him and for the humans who surprise him. 

Today, he was just a cute reminder to go buy some bear spray!  Either that, or stay in the RV forever and ever......he also gave us insight into Yuuki's odd whining at the door. 

I commented he and his family presence in the area does add a bit of excitement to making s'mores.  That's all the family needed.

"Doing s'mores might be a bear."

"I couldn't bear the thought of not doing s'mores."

"I wonder if s'mores are actually a bear necessity of life."

"I can't bear the idea of losing my s'mores."

These two spent an hour, or so, prepping their fishing kits....fun times ahead.