On Wednesday the boys went fishing on Lake Tahoe. They caught their limit on trout and came proudly home with their catch.
We debated on taking to the restaurant in town that offered to cook their catch or just cooking it ourselves at our campsite. Cooking it ourselves won, but not by a large margin...Brian was particularly skeptical. I even tried to get online and research it but the wifi wasn't cooperating. My mother-in-law assured Brian that she knew what to do. He remained unconvinced, I think, but she forged ahead.
Everyone was peacefully settled around the campsite. My niece and nephew were playing washers. Brian was cooking the trout on the grill. My mother-in-law was supervising. My father-in-law wasn't home from work yet. My brother-in-law was lounging in a chair under the canopy by the trailer and I was in the trailer with the dogs making a salad for dinner.
Now, I'm sure you know by now my dogs are named Badger...and BEAR. And in a place where it's possible for one to see an actual bear, having a dog with the same name can be inconvenient.
Like Wednesday evening. As I said, we were all peacefully doing our thing when suddenly I heard my brother-in-law, Eric saying, "Bear, Bear, Bear!" Each time with more volume and fervor. Well, I knew my dog was with me in the kitchen. So he wasn't talking to him or about him. There could be only one other explanation.
An actual BEAR. I went running out the door. And sure 'nough. There was a young bear, maybe 2 years old ambling through the camp. He was moving pretty fast and we were all so surprised, pleased, and enchanted that we didn't have time to grab a camera and get pictures of him. Mr. Bear didn't stop for chitchat or photo ops. Just kept moving. We watched him for about 3-5 minutes before he was gone.
It was by far the coolest thing that has happened in a long time in my camping experience. Poor Eric finally recovered, a little indignant that no one realized that he was NOT talking about the dog. I assured him that I knew the entire time.
We disinfected the picnic table, etc and got rid of all the trout evidence to make sure we didn't have a repeat performance from Mr.Bear since Eric and my nephew Riley were sleeping in a tent. Even so, Eric said it was a bit of tense night for the first few hours until he was just too tired to care anymore.
And I was sure I was bear-repellent...well, reinforces for me that I shall not be tent camping any time soon...
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