The Bear's Lair

I took this last October at my parent's place in Pagosa Springs.

​Last week was the kind of week where I am under the illusion of youth. I think I can work a bursting-at-the-seams massage schedule, prepare my place for houseguests, run and teach Essentrics and strength-train - and do it all on very little sleep.

My parents, daughter and her boyfriend were visiting for the weekend to celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday (yay!). Squeezing four other people into my small living space was requiring a lot of organization and creativity. By Thursday night I was sleep-deprived and looney-tunes, hanging artwork in Charlotte’s room while watching the video on how to install those darn new-fangled picture hangers and standing on a memory foam mattress trying to use the tiny level to ensure the art was hung straight. (It isn’t.)

A noise caught my attention. It was dark out, and I thought maybe one of the family that I rent my place from was on the driveway. I walked to the hall and out of the corner of my eye saw movement. I looked toward the kitchen. One part of my brain computed “Bear!!! Big, Large, Huge Bear!!!!” while another part computed “but we are inside!” and it wasn’t until the startled bear was running back out the sliding screen door it had walked through that the two parts of my brain came together and I started screaming. I remembered that you should scare the bear off so I yelled “get outta here.” Pretty sure the bear called back over its shoulder, “I’m already outta here, crazy lady.”

Once I got up the courage I slammed the sliding glass door shut and locked it. The screen was pulled off the frame probably as the bear walked right through it. I’m guessing the bear didn’t even see the screen, just opportunity.

A kitchen inspection yielded nothing unusual - nothing taken, no damage - no muddy paw print or bad smell. It hit me how lucky I was.

In an effort to vent my freakout adrenalin, I texted some friends and wandered around my  apartment pretending to get stuff done. I decided some chocolate would help. I walked out to the kitchen counter and that’s when I discovered it. My bag of Ghirardelli chocolate chips was gone! That rascal! Good thing I had a back-up bag. I snarfed down chocolate chips and eventually my anxiety ebbed a bit. I had a lot more work that night to do, so by the time I went to bed I was too exhausted to be kept awake by scary bear dreams.

The next morning I checked, and just outside my sliding door, in the grass off my deck, was the empty chocolate chip bag. That bear must’ve sat right there eating the chocolate chips, like it was enjoying popcorn at the movies, watching me run around my house freaking out. Sheer entertainment. I hope the bear enjoyed itself. 

*****
I was really so fortunate. The bear could have refused to leave or have been aggressive towards me. 
We have a higher incidence of bear activity this summer due to dry conditions in the higher country. Bears are smart and looking for food. Keeping car doors locked and car windows rolled up all the way, locking house doors and windows as well are crucial. If my sliding door had been closed and locked that night the bear wouldn’t have had its Ghirardelli fix. 

Please see this Steamboat Radio article for more info on bear activity and how we can help keep bears and ourselves safe.