Saturday, September 1, 2012

Thar's Bars in them thar Mountains...

So much for the western drawl (that's bears... not bars)... Sandy is heading up the Icefields Parkway, between Banff and Jasper and the first sign warns of this...
 Bears are dangerous!! Sandy is a little offended by this sign as he wants all to know that he is most definitely not "dangerous"! And he is most definitely a bear! But then there are wild bears and there are tame bears...
 At a hiking spot there is another sign, warning yet again of bears... it is berry season after all, and the bears are apparently out in full force.
 The sign gives some specific advice regarding bears. Make lots of noise (Sandy will have to practice that). Watch for fresh bear sign (Sandy is good at spotting poop). Slowly back away if you see a bear (Sandy is good at moving slowly). But the second one is interesting - carry bear spray...
 Luckily, Mama does pack bear spray so... we have that one covered as well.
Mind you the bear spray canister is almost as big as a little bear. Sandy isn't sure how to use it... so he will leave that up to Mama. Not knowing how to use bear spray can be dangerous. There's the story of the Asian tourists who bought some bear spray and then used it inappropriately... they used it like you would use mosquito spray. Ouch!
 Anyhow - Sandy saw a bear almost right away - but this one didn't look all that dangerous...
 Nor did this one...
 Or this one...
 With these two, Sandy did feel compelled to climb a tree, but even these bears were no threat.
 And this one looks downright tame... all dressed up in a Mountie outfit. "Please Mr. Mountie Bear, can you tell me where the bears are?"
Ah, finally!!! A real... er... live... er... a wild black bear by the side of the road! (Sandy takes exception to calling it a real bear... or a live bear... implication being of course that Sandy is neither real nor live... shhhh). This bear was very intent on eating soapberries and had no interest in humans (and little bears) gawking out of a car.

5 comments:

  1. Oh gosh!! I think Bob T Bear would be good at making loads of noise. Him and Tango make tons of it when they meet up!!!

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  2. Beautiful bears! Did you see any gigantic pots of honey too??

    Papa laughed because the French is not exactly the correct translation of the English, but close enough he says.

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  3. @Beanie - yes, bears can be beary noisy... especially if they are discussing the latest crop of honey and the merits of fireweed honey over white clover honey!

    @Jerry & Ben - noooo... no pots of honey... not even any bees really! As for the French... I never noticed that - but it does say something different than the English, doesn't it? That actually seems to happen quite a bit up here now that I think about it!

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  4. Yes, "Stay in your vehicle if bears are encountered." vs. "Stay in your vehicle to observe them." Similar, but nonetheless two different sets of directions.

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  5. Maybe English-speakers and French-speakers need different instructions?? Beary perplexing!

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