90. Grizzly Bear

            

            An animal that captivates me in this country of ours is the grizzly bear. They aren’t so easy to find anymore, at least not here in the contiguous 48 states. In fact, I have never seen one in the wild anywhere but in Alaska. We were on a tour bus in Denali National Park and when we got to a spot where there were some grizzlies roaming near the road, the driver pulled over to let us observe the bears. The bears were every bit as curious as we, the tourists on the bus were, because two of them came over, stood on their hind paws, put the front on the bus and peered into the windows. They even playfully shook the bus. (Hungrily shook the bus?) None of us were overly alarmed as the driver had already told us that it was a distinct possibility that they would do just that. So we tourists took our time gazing at the bears that also took their time gazing at us, then they got tired or bored of us and wandered away. The bus driver then drove us on toward Denali peak.

            I have never seen grizzly bears anywhere in this part of the country, though I know they are still around in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. I’ve heard stories of grizzly encounters at Priest Lake, Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park, but it was never my experience. I’m glad they’re still around and that human encroachment upon their territory has not yet fully overcome them. In fact, I hope it never does. I like having places of intense beauty around with intense animals that can easily destroy me with a single wave of their paw. I also like the idea of never meeting one on a hike because I’m more enamored of the idea than the reality. My tourist bus encounter in Alaska was enough to convince me of the power of a grizzly bear and that’s fine by me. But I’m still quite happy knowing that I live in a country, and better yet, a part of that country, that is still wild enough to have grizzly bears roaming free. That’s part of being American that brings me a sense of pride and helps me keep negative thoughts at bay.