Actually I did take some shots. Keep in mind it was getting dark in the woods, we were setting up camp when there was a ruckus in the camp. On the other side of us a black bear was making his rounds from one camp to the next. These spots were void of people so the bear visit their campers, looking for coolers. Right across from us he found these:
He knew this drill, he went straight for the coolers. Even thought there were about 20 people nearby watching, he had no fear going about his searching.
He was not too big, as you can see him standing here.
He left this spot, he could not move the coolers. So he went up the street.
Here is the thing, there was a huge gap between that campsite and the next, so he came over to the Bus and our camp. I put the camera down and put the boys in the Bus. He went to our tent and I tried to "BOO" him away. Our cooler was in the dining fly next to the Bus and me, he saw that and went around our stuff. He went to the next campground that "WAS" occupied by four men and four women, they took to the road and the black bear moved in for the kill.
The hapless Coleman cooler didn't have a chance. It was drug into the woods and shook violently, it's contents strewn roughly amongst the trees.. By this time some park maintenance men were on the scene and were trying to BOO the bear back into the woods. The bear, we will call him "Yogi" from here on out, was wary to face the men, and turned to leave his picnic goodies behind.
But Yogi was a hungry bear, hotdogs and raw hamburgers were just feet away, and despite two men pushing him further into the woods, Yogi turned against his pursuers and snatched a zip locked bag of goodies and fled into the depths of the woods with his victory!
The men returned a half an hour later. The people who had lost the cooler and a good friend (Whatever was in the bag I mean) asked the men and myself what the odds of the bear were returning. The Park Maintenance men assured them there was nothing to fear, while I added I bet he would be back since it was an easy place to get food, and he had "left" a lot of it behind. That was enough for the Eight is Enough crew next to us, they bugged out at 10:00PM and left us their extra wood and the story that this same bear had shadowed their camp for three days and they had had enough.
My 13 year old had enough too. My oldest and my youngest were of the thought he was like a stray dog, with the youngest picking up a fishing net and prepared to capture Yogi for a pet. My 13 year old climbed into the pop-top, and we finished putting up the camp. It became apparent he did not like the idea of a bear out there in the dark. He stayed there as we went about the camp tasks with me having the smallest boy next to me at all times.
About an hour later my 13 year old in the pop-top hollers where is the youngest, something is shaking the Bus. I reply he is next to me and there is nothing shaking the Bus. I approach the passenger side where I had all the doors opened, and saw nothing. I noticed the cot in front was still not done, so I went around the drivers side of the Bus.
Stepping around the door I was two feet from Yogi. I had forgot all about the Arby's roast beef sandwich in the bag on the floor board of the Bus from earlier. Apparently Yogi was int eh process of climbing in the drivers door when I walked around and met him personally. That explained the Bus shaking the 13 year old spoke of. Yogi hightailed it to the woods with me behind him once again yelling BOO and waving a flashlight. He hightailed it up the hill, while we decided to bug out ourselves and head for the lodge. I personally was not sure if we should have stayed or not, but we left and came back the next day and picked up the tent and fly.
This is the first time I had ever seen a bear in the wild after camping up here so many years. I did get my 13 year old a book on black bears and a small bear statue to remember our night with Yogi. We did camp the next night but on the islands of Lake Lanier. No bears there but lots of yellow jackets, rain and wind.
Me and the Boys from Unicoi.
