The getaway

Holidaze 2008

So we got away at somewhere around the 1600 time after finishing packing all our gear in to trailer and double checking to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything. We arrived in Riding Mountain National Park about 1930. The park is beautiful and upon first glance we were very glad we had chosen to come here.

We get our campsite and are traveling around the bend where our site is located. A guy and what looks to be his son flag our truck down. “Just to let you know,” he says in a hushed tone, “a bear just went across the road.” Oh great, a bear. Nothing freaks me out more when camping than bears, or even just the thought of bears. Images fill my mind about the bear in The Clan of the Cave Bear ripping peoples heads off. I know this is a bit extreme and would probably never happen but the possibility is there, I’m sure! Although when I was younger our family had a couple of experiences with bears up in Loop Creek at the top of Rodgers Pass in BC. One time the bear tried to get into the tent trailer and its snout was coming through the canvas. My Mum was clanging pans together and My Dad took a cast iron frying pan and swung it like a baseball bat. It hit the bear smack on nose – we could hear it yelping as it ran away. So from that time on I have been very afraid of bears.

When Alan and I hear this news about the bear being in such close proximity to us Alan turns and looks at me; my face must have told him a thousand things. He asks, “You going to be ok with this?” It takes me a minute or so to answer as I am mentally weighing out the pros and cons of the situation (my husband deserves a medal for all the mental waiting with me he has to put up with) but finally I say it will be fine. We scope out our site and get things set up and fall into bed exhausted from the expectation and the realization that we are actually on holidays!!!!! Yay!