Encounters...Not This Time

Last month I did make it out to the great outdoors but unlike last summer, no thrills to report. We did, however, see a moose. (view short video...you need windows media) We also saw some deer.

We preceded to our favorite camping area near Cody, Wyoming. From Cody, we traveled the Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway, which follows the North Fork of the Shoshone River through the scenic Wapiti Valley and ends at the East entrance to Yellowstone Park. The Wapiti Valley is abundant with elk, bear, deer and other wildlife as well as magnificent rock formations.

We arrived at Three Mile Campground, which lies 3 miles from the park, late morning. I met the campground host shortly afterwards and received the "bear warning". Hearing about bears in and around this area wasn't big news to me. I've always said that if you want to see a bear, you're sure to see one outside of Yellowstone. Well, not this time for us.

I was disappointed that the bears all seemed to have vanished. I guess that's normal considering they aren't going to stick around just so I can take their picture. There was a sow and two cubs in the area and for some they were lucky to see them cross the road right in front of their enormous RV which had to screech to a halt.

Last summer we were greeted with several sightings which made this trips nighttime sleeping confusing. No noises that awaken a person in fright thinking a bear is sniffing at the door wanting the smores that were still stuck to our mouths.

The weather didn't help us out. End of June and we're all snuggled in winter coats waiting for the snow to fall. If the wind wasn't blowing, it was raining. If it wasn't raining, we had sleet. This made cooking outdoors rather difficult but I still managed to cook up my usual breakfast grub of blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs.

All in all it was still nice to get away and boy did that furnace feel good at night! Except for the night that the battery went dead. Even at home I don't like going out in the dark because of skunks that live in our neighborhood. Can you imagine going outside with no moonlight, pitch dark, and trying to plug the camper into the pickup just to charge the battery for 30 minutes? I couldn't exactly turn on the generator at 2 in the morning. And then having to trek to the outside bathrooms not knowing what is hiding behind every tree which to me looks like a big bad bear? I probably woke some people up by flashing my flashlight in every nook and cranny. This is what I consider a total blackout.

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