“You are going to wake the whole campground up! What are you doing?”
I yell out the window of our Chevy van that we recently converted into a camper.
My husband’s voice came from inside the van and told me that I had in fact woke him up with my yelling at him to not wake everyone up.
Confused, I sat up while reaching for my cell phone/flashlight and wondered what on Earth could be causing such a ruckus outside. My husband must have been thinking the same thing and said “it’s just a ‘possum or a raccoon”.
We camp a lot and keep all of our supplies very organized by having 3 main areas; a box for all of our cooking/eating utensils, a box with all of the non-perishable foods, and of course the cooler. (A Wal Mart version of the Yeti that we LOVE!) The critter outside was choosing to toss around the box that housed our buns, bread, and whatever canned goods we had found in our kitchen counter.
My attempt to shine my flashlight out the back window at all of the commotion was met with a beautiful glare that only took away any night vision I had and left me momentarily blinded. The light and commotion now taking place inside our van did NOT deter the critter as is usually the case when we catch a raccoon trying to get into our stash of peanut butter.
After a bit more tossing around of the box the critter outside had managed to get it pushed just up under the window where I was laying and I saw it!! This was no raccoon. This was no ‘Possum. This was no squirrel. This was not any creature we had ever encountered in all our years of camping. There just 3 feet down was a paw of a black bear.
I yelled again. This time my husband puts on his glasses and is fully prepared to tell me to calm down that the possum wouldn’t hurt anything. But instead of his reassurance of it not being a bear he had the same questions I did… “what the heck”. Neither of us wanted Yogi to steal our picnic basket as this would only entice him to come back for more and while he was quite exciting, I don’t mind boring camping trips too much. Sure we had plenty of food to share, but I am a true believer that the wildlife needs to stay wild, and besides… what if he gets the marshmallows and we can’t have smores!
We decided to turn the van around so that we could see what he was doing, and hopefully scare away our new friend with our headlights. He was in fact not at all frightened by the sound of the van, or the lights. The horn did send him running up the hill and my husband saw that as an opportunity. “I am going to run out there and get the box”. Usually when my husband makes a decision about something he will not be persuaded otherwise. So, I had to pull out the big guns. “You will NOT! He can run back down that hill just as fast as he ran up. He can pounce on you and there is nothing I can do about it but sit here and shield our son’s eyes while the black bear eats his Daddy.”
So, yes. I played dirty. I used the kids. But, I don’t much care. When there is a black bear that is looking for a meal I will not sit quietly and let my husband see just how hungry ole bear is.
Here is the truth… while my husband had cranked the van and was turning it around I was googling black bears… and it turns out according to my Google PhD Black bears are in fact very dangerous animals. So, how do I know this bear is dangerous… because Google told me, and Google knows far more about black bears than I do!
I called the park number to report our bear sighting. I’m not sure if our friendly security guard was already in his truck and half way to us or if the nervousness of me telling him “I’ve got two kids in here” had him running to save the woman in site 11 from her impending panic attack.
When the park ranger arrived with his massive flash light that practically made it daylight outside, he began yelling at the bear to get back in the woods.
I was shocked at his nonchalant attitude towards this massive creature that I was sure was about to maul us all. Mr. Park Ranger picked up a stick, whacked it on a tree and the bear ran up into the woods. My husband got our box of food and put it in the bear proof metal box.
Mr. Park Ranger told us this was not his first interaction with this particular bear. Mr. Bear is a year old and has always lived here and much like his grandson is just a bit mischievous and just needs reminding how to behave. Well, I have some experience with mischievous kids and I will take them any day to a wild bear that is hungry… like motherhood, I choose my battles. For instance, we were all more scared of the sleeping 4 year old getting awakened than we were of the black bear. At least we don’t have to tend to any breakdowns from a tired bear the next day, the sleeping 4 YO must remain asleep as she herself is a force to be reckoned with.
The next day it was all the talk of the park, and you can bet I didn’t have to tell my kids to stay close so I could see them.
We had an amazing stay at Unicoi State Park in Helen. If you are planning an adventure there, put all of your food in one of the metal containers provided throughout the park if you can’t leave them in your camper or vehicle.
More great places to go camping:
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