Grandfather Mountain :: One

August 25th is the anniversary of our marriage. I really can't believe it has already been three years since we said I do! We wanted to do something together on our anniversary this year but schedules wouldn't allow any sort of out-of-town trip. So, we decided to take a day trip up to nearby Grandfather Mountain.



The weather was beautiful. About 72 degrees all day! It did not help ease my undying desire to move to the mountains. Didn't help at all, I tell ya.



On the mountain, they have a little animal refuge/zoo. Which is where we saw these bears. But if you'd like you can pretend we stumbled upon them while hiking in the woods...



I sort of love bears. Well, in all honesty, I sort of love all animals.

But there is something about a few species of bears (including black bears seen here and sun bears not seen here) that I really love. I don't know what it is about them... probably their sweet little faces. Don't get me wrong, I have a very healthy respect for the creatures and would reeeaaally prefer to not meet them in the wild. Not that I think they are people-eaters or out to get humans.... but, like I said, I just have a healthy respect for their abilities.



Their abilities are quite frightening, actually. You can't out run them. You can't out climb them. You can't out swim them. So.... our human capabilities do not compare well in a match up. Think about it. They run, swim, and climb. What would you do? Growing up we used to take an annual trip to northern Wisconsin. My youngster self was pretty terrified that I would walk outside and come face-to-face with a wild black bear. We were taught what to do if that happened but I was always afraid of the worst that could happen. I think I watched too many movies.



I'm really not sure how I went from "this is our anniversary trip" to "humans are not much of a match against a bear" but..... here we are. Maybe next time I'll be able to stay on topic. Either that or we'll discuss what to do if attacked by an alligator