I've been saving this story for quite some time. It's really much better told in person but I thought it would be fun to share here as well. I'm not sure my storytelling abilities really do it justice but it's a good story - enjoy!
A few weeks ago, Over Mother's Day weekend, Chris and I went on our first camping trip of the season. In truth, it has been several years since we've been camping but our gear is still in good shape and we were both eager to have another go at it. We arrived at St. Croix State Park on Saturday morning and set up camp.
We spent the day soaking up the fresh air, hiking, exploring the park, sitting by the campfire, making s'mores and star gazing.
When the fire went out we crawled into our tent, bundled up and spent the next 8 hours trying to stay warm enough to sleep - did I mention it was a bit chilly? I think it was down in the lower 20's overnight and while our tent is actually designed for freezing temperatures we discovered that we aren't! Chris had a harder time sleeping than I did and got up very early to try to warm himself by the fire. By the time I woke up around 8:00 he was exhausted and headed back into the tent - falling asleep almost immediately.
I proceeded to tinker around the campsite - quite enjoying myself. I kept the fire going, made hot chocolate, prayed and read my Bible. At one point, while I was sitting by the campfire reading my Bible, I heard a rustling - not unlike other rustlings I had heard throughout the morning. I looked up expecting to see a bird or a squirrel. But no - the rustling I heard was not a bird or a squirrel - It was a BEAR! A BIG, BLACK BEAR! It was no more than 25 feet from me and it was looking straight at me!
What happened next demonstrates, once again, my complete lack of survival skills. I leapt up from my camp chair - still staring at the bear - and headed for the tent. My sudden movement apparently startled the bear because at this point he moved back a bit. With my Bible still in my hand, my finger holding my place, I tried without success to get into the tent on my own. Poor Chris was woken up abruptly by my somewhat distressed voice saying "Honey, I need to get into the tent. Quickly! I can't get the zipper. Hurry! I'll tell you what's going on as soon as I get in the tent. I need to get in the tent. NOW!".
Finally in the safety of the tent I told Chris that there was a BEAR at our campsite. Since Chris actually has some survival instincts he realized immediately that, in fact, the tent was not a safe place to be and that we both needed to calmly get out and assess the situation. OK. While Chris put on his shoes I got out of the tent and sure enough - the bear was still there - farther away now but still looking right at us. I ran to the car where Chris soon joined me.
We are both in the car. Hallelujah! The LORD has delivered us from the bear! Now we can drive away to safety. Or not. The keys are still in the tent. OK. We will scare the bear. Surely the car horn will scare him away. Or not. I'm watching the bear and he is definitely heading toward our campsite - not away. Chris bravely leaves the car to go get the car keys. Or not. No, he is not getting the car keys so we can drive away to safety. He is standing outside watching the bear. I am looking away - I do not want to watch the bear eat my husband while I sit helpless in the car. And then I hear three loud claps. And I look and the bear is running away. Far, far away. Now I am safe. Now I can breathe again. Now we can pack up and get out of this campground as quickly as possible!
Epilogue
I did not have the presence of mind to - as my friend Jing-Jing would say - "go paparazzi" on the bear when he was actually at the campsite. So I did the next best thing and took a picture of where the bear was standing from the place that I was sitting so you could all see how frighteningly close he was.
I know - I should have had Chris stand in for the bear. I guess you'll just have to trust me on this one - he was close - too close.
5 comments:
Oh my! Well told Jessy.
The bear was not going to EAT Chris, at most just push him around and take a bite. Bears eat berries, not meat!!! LOL
I don't think that I would've done it any differently than you. Scary!!! Thank goodness for our big strong,(if somewhat inappropriately curious) husbands!
hahaha, I read this outloud to Non and we laughed. you are a great story teller!
this story is a good example of why i have never had a serious inclination to go camping, although i might briefly consider it if i could stay in a hotel on wheels like michael and julias.
Hilarious story. Michele read it to me while I was laying on her chair wondering if I had the strength to go to bed. We laughed out loud. Good stuff. This is why we camp at busy parks in the height of camping season. Safety in numbers.
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