Close Encounters

Within 15 minutes of entering Glacier Park, a family of bears greeted us by the roadside. Only a few yards from our vehicle, a mama and baby bear feasted on grasses and bulbs. As more visitors stopped to gawk, the baby bear got spooked and scurried up a tree. Ensuring her cub's safety, the mother grunted warnings as she climbed a log to put distance between her family and the roadside. From our vehicle, it was a spectacular sight. However, I would not want to be caught between an angry mother and her cub.

In the afternoon, we hiked several miles along St. Mary's Lake to a series of water falls that raged from the snowmelt. Because of the earlier bear encounter, dad asked every 15 minutes, "What do we do if we see a bear?". Josh and I assured him that he just needed to sprint in the other direction. We hatched this plan much earlier. Aware of our speed advantage, we shamelessly decided to throw him under the "bear bus". We also hid a bottle of Tabasco in dad's pocket, as a courtesy to the bear... just in case he liked spicy food... or thought dad was mexican. Ever since we've been calling him papa picante. In this picture you can see dad relenting to our ill-conceived patricidal plans. I think he's saying, "Here bear. Good bear."



Fortunately for dad, we encountered no more bears. Towards the end of our hike, we all got a little nervous. We were out during twilight hours, which is a time for heightened animal activity, and the windy path had many blind corners. After one switchback, I came face-to-face with a young elk. The bewildered look on his face was probably because I kept calling him a deer. He was just trying to figure out who this knucklehead with the camera was. Although it is unlikely that we were ever in danger, all animals are wild and shouldn't be approached. Fight or flight!

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Location:Glacier National Park