A Beary Scary Cemetery

Sandy is on the hunt for more maple leaves today... which takes him to the old cemetery.

There are some old headstones and some sunken areas with no headstones... but Sandy is focused on finding leaves!! He doesn't really notice that the sun is going down and it is getting darker.

With some coaxing, Mama fluffs up the maple leaves into a big pile around Sandy... and even adds some more as he giggles in the middle of the pile!

That was fun!! Too bad Jerry and Ben aren't here to take part in the fun! Wait a minute... who is that off in the distance??

It's a doll! Sandy stands stock still... a mish-mash of horror movie bits floating through his head. Sandy doesn't watch horror movies (nor does Mama)... but there are some names that float to the surface... something about a scary doll named Chucky who rides around in car named Christine with a dog named Cujo... or something. Sandy has already seen Cujo's footprints (he thinks) so... this must be the Chucky doll.

Mmmm... does she look scary or not?? She does have a teddy bear in her arms... is he a victim?? A hostage in her diabolical plot to lure another bear closer?? The little bear does look kind of friendly though...

Sandy dithers between (a) running screaming in the other direction, (b) climbing up Mama's leg and hiding in her backpack so that she can run screaming in the other direction (faster than a little bear) or (c) gathering his courage together and going up to say "hello"...

Sandy settles on going up to say "hello". He has been in a few cemeteries before and has never met a doll before (maybe Sullivan has - as he has visited way more cemeteries than Sandy). After a few awkward moments and some foot shuffling on Sandy's part, he flat out asks her what she and the little bear are doing in a cemetery all by themselves!

Well, it seems that they are guarding the grave of a young girl named Evelyn who died at the age of 5, in 1930. Sandy can't quite count that far back but Mama says this little girl died before Gramma was even born (which means that is a beary long time ago!). Someone must still remember her though and has left a doll and a bear to keep her company. Which is beary sad and touching... but not beary scary!

Finally... some Maple Leaves

Sandy has been hearing lots from Jerry and Ben about how Canada is so lucky with the season of Fall because it  has all of those wonderfully coloured maple trees! Sandy has been on the hunt for maple trees at home but hasn't found a single one! But... Gramma's place is different... voila!

Maple trees!!! One that is still green... but the other one... ooohh...

 The other one is breath-taking...

Sandy feels like he is sitting in the midst of a fire... the colours are so intense... flaming reds and yellows and oranges!

He almost feels like he should be the Fall Sears Catalogue... modeling the new line of puffy winter coats!

 He could be a model... don't you think? He would have to work on his pout and this walkway strut... since smiling and toddling are probably not acceptable!

 And more leaves...

And some more... just because Sandy has been colour-starved in flat land!

They look so awesome against the blue sky!

A Foggy Morning

Sandy is enroute to Gramma's place which means a few stops along the way. This morning, he woke up to fog... thick, peasoup fog! Everything looks just a little more spooky than normal. The fog does not, however, stop a certain little bear from seeking out adventure... noooo... this is Sandy after all! So it is off to the river... because there might be some cool pictures down there.

There's not much to see of the river, other than the shore and some amorphous grey fog which blends very nicely with the water.

There are even some yellow leaves herel... which is beary nice, since back home most of them are all brown and on the ground.

It is beary quiet down by the river... one can almost hear a little bear breathe... And the bridge just seems to vanish into the mist.

It is very odd to see the fog and the water merging into one. Sandy begins to wonder what might be lurking in the mist... gulp!

Of course he gets distracted by some of the beauty down by the river (he is easily distracted after all)... and stops to take some reflection pictures...

But while he is standing there... he sees something else on the shore... hmmm...

That is an awfully big paw print!

A huge paw print in fact! This could be from a wolf... or a...a... a...  horror movie dog! Ooohhh... all this talk of Halloween and costumes and stuff has Sandy's imagination going full steam. This could be the track of... Cujo!! And just at that moment, from the fog comes a piercing cry... sort of like a squeaky gate creaking open... and...

Sandy is out of here!! As fast as his little legs can take him! Foggy mornings are a little scary for a bear with a wild imagination!

(it was just an eagle crying in the mist... but Sandy doesn't know that!)

Mount Robson

Another must-see stop on Sandy's dash through the Rockies is Mount Robson... the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies (over 15,000 feet!). But Mount Robson only has 11 cloud-free days in a year, so getting a good picture of it is a challenge. Mind you, Sandy is somewhat of a lucky charm because most times he is in the truck... the mountain is clear!

 There it is!! Ooooh....

Yes, another prefect day for pictures! The mountain rises 9800 feet along this south face (from surrounding terrain to summit...) beary impressive!

Sandy wonders if maybe one day he will get a chance to climb Mount Robson... but that is unlikely! Only 10% of climbers to Mount Robson succeed in getting to the top. Bad weather is apparently a problem! Plus... Sandy is not really a back-packer type of bear... unless he rides inside a backpack of course!

Ice Snow Crystals

Of course, no road trip through the Rockies would be complete without a stop at the Icefields...

And it is a gorgeous day for it too... bright blue sky... sun shining... and something reflecting the sun and blinding Sandy. What is that??? It looks like a pond but... not quite...

Ahhhh!!! It's a frozen pond!! Sandy remembers ice from last winter... if it's thick enough, little bears can actually walk on it! Sandy tests it out tentatively, sliding one foot out onto the ice and stomping a bit. It seems pretty solid. But there are these white fluffy things on the ice too - what are they? A little bear must investigate (of course!).

Sandy hasn't been on ice for a while so has forgotten that balance can be an issue! With a bit of wobbling and wind-milling of arms, he gets himself secure.

 Look, these things are snow crystals! How cool is that!

They are blades of crystals - beary pretty... but not sure how they formed... and soon they will melt in the sun. Sandy is lucky he saw them when he did

Winter's First Howl...

The excitement surrounding the impending trip to Meh-hee-ko has Sandy all a-flutter. But before that happens, we need to take a trip to visit Gramma... which means a trip through the Rockies! Sandy's an old hand at this trip by now but this time... it was a little different!

 That looks like... fresh snow!!

Yep... definitely fresh snow!! Only a few inches of it but... there it is... and finally, Sandy feels at home again!

 (Picture of a very happy bear!)

 Sandy was so happy that he just rolled in the snow, and waved his arms and legs with excitement... wheeeee!!!!

 And look what he made!! A snow-angel-bear!!  He wonders if maybe Jerry and Ben make snow angels too?

 Sandy was ready to head for the hills and do some more exploring (and make more snow angels) but... this is a road trip so...

One last picture of the snow (to keep Sandy happy for a while) and... it's back in the truck...

A Haunted House... maybe

Last week, Sandy went up to see Grampa and along the way noticed a beary interesting homestead along the highway. Despite much squeaking and stomping of feet on Sandy's part, Mama refused to stop, saying that "we don't have time". But it did look beary cool... so we came back a few days later... just before sunrise.

 Sandy stood outside the gate... peering at the homestead. It looked deserted... overgrown and abandoned. Sandy slipped through the gate and toddled up the driveway...

 Yes, most definitely abandoned. Second gate standing ajar, empty windows gaping in the garage... wind whistling through the bushes...

The barn looks a little scary... with panels missing... and there is a full moon out this morning too. You know what they say about full moons! Who knows what might be lurking in that barn!

 After much coaxing, Sandy gets up enough courage to sit at the door of the bar, after peering inside and making sure that no bats were lurking about.

 It is beary pretty here... but quiet... too quiet sometimes!

 This may have been a chicken coop at some point - but the chickens are long gone.

 Sandy plods through the dead grass and then squeals with terror as he feels something grabbing him by the legs!! It's only a strand of barbed wire but... even that can be dangerous for a little bear who already has pants that are splitting at the seams!

Oh... there is a house here too... it kind of looks cute... from a distance...

 Closer up is a different matter... all the windows and doors are gone.

Sandy gathers up all his courage and walks into the house, little boots scuffling crunching on broken drywall and window bits... Ooohhh... maybe that's far enough!! Sandy takes a peek into the old bathroom and kitchen but nothing (NOTHING) is going to convince him to go upstairs... nooooooo!!! Maybe if Jerry and Ben were here... along with Beanie and Buttons and Hammie and Bob and Sullivan... That group could handle anything!

It's sad when old houses get trashed like this... it would have been a cute place before...

But now, it all looks so woe-be-gone... and someday it will probably be a subdivision!

Sandy found this thing here... which looks like... what?? Can you tell what it is?? First correct guess gets some stickers!

Bye-bye homestead...