It finally happened...I came real close to a bear encounter today not far from where I live. I seen him about 150 feet away from me, then he was sneaking around in the woods. I got on a road that was right close and beat it back to the truck...scared the crap out of me...ended my day, needless to say.
I'm happy he didn't end up wearing a Mike Mac skin cap on his furry little head:-) .
Don
While driving around in New Mexico and Colorado a few days ago we saw several highway signs indicating the potential for bears being nearby. Perhaps you should send a letter to the organization responsible for the road where you saw the bear suggesting they erect such a warning sign. Just like the deer crossing signs around here, the bear will know where to cross the road once a bear-crossing sign is installed.
BTW, we saw no bears anywhere, sign or no sign. Mrs. Cow was very disappointed. I was relieved.
> It finally happened...I came real close to a bear encounter today not far from where I live. I seen him about 150 feet away from me, then he was sneaking around in the woods. I got on a road that was right close and beat it back to the truck...scared the crap out of me...ended my day, needless to say.
Me and Andy J and Ryan Versteeq shared this on facebook this evening... Talk about having some solid brass cajones... The video might not load right away, apparently Happy Place was updating their site... but wait for it, it's worth it.
http://happyplace.someecards.com/bears/some-guy-chilled-with-an-alaskan-brown-bear-and-did-not-get-eaten/
Who do you think would have reached the rifle first? Cameraman or the bear?
Back in the old days with 3 man crew, I'd carry a .22 cal pistol just in case I had to shoot the party chief in the knee cap.:-P
Pablo B-)
> It finally happened...I came real close to a bear encounter
It seems that the bears in your part of the world are Black Bears. We used to run into them every...freaking....day on Vancouver Island. Nothing ever happened. They don't eat meat, ordinarily, so they don't hunt you. Usually only a problem if you stumble into their personal space. It never stopped freaking me out, though.
Grizzly will hunt you if there aren't enough alternative sources around. But if there are plenty of salmon in the river they prefer them to you. There are no grizzly on Vancouver Island. Alaska Brown Bears are close relatives to the Grizzly.
Polar bears eat meat, period, and you are soft on the outside, crunchy in the middle, just they way they like it. If you ever are working up north carry a large gun. You notice in Daryl's Alaska videos there is an ever present shotgun.
This time of year I'm always packing for grizzlies. Blackies are no big deal, but grizzlies are hunting down moose calves right now and if you stumble on a bear defending it's kill, he's going descend on you like a ton of bricks from a great height.
Saw this recently on FB. Close encounter with a biologist on the McNeil River. It's pretty cool how nonchalant this brown bear is when he plops himself down right next to this biologist.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
> Saw this recently on FB. Close encounter with a biologist on the McNeil River.
Notice the last 2 seconds of the video, the camera swings around and reveals more than a more dozen bears within a few hundred feet.
>... Perhaps you should send a letter to the organization responsible for the road where you saw the bear suggesting they erect such a warning sign.
He should have them put the bear crossing sign somewhere else so the bears will cross there, instead, and Mike can finish his survey work in peace.;-)
I've been there. Place is crawling with bears after fish this time of year. Fish and Wildlife Service makes you go through a half hour orientation. Bear etiquette 101. No firearms allowed. One of the coolest sights I've ever seen was watching these bears snap up salmon jumping the falls. Had a 600 lb. sow saunter past me close enough I could have reached out and stroked her. I was puckered up good. When I'm out surveying in their territory, I save the last bullet for myself.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
> While driving around in New Mexico and Colorado a few days ago we saw several highway signs indicating the potential for bears being nearby. Perhaps you should send a letter to the organization responsible for the road where you saw the bear suggesting they erect such a warning sign. Just like the deer crossing signs around here, the bear will know where to cross the road once a bear-crossing sign is installed.
>
> BTW, we saw no bears anywhere, sign or no sign. Mrs. Cow was very disappointed. I was relieved.
If you would of stopped in Raton and waited till dusk, you could of seen plenty of bears. They are doing lots of dumpster diving lately.
As a matter of fact
We spent last Thursday evening and night in Raton. Having never been there, we spent an hour or two simply driving around looking at whatever there was to see in the big city. We were on the road that goes west past the north side of the high school and the south side of the Catholic cemetery when we noticed the road warning sign with pictures of four critters prone to occupy the driving lanes. As I recall there was a big cat, a bear, an elk and maybe a deer. That sort of gets your attention.
The last 135 miles of our journey to Raton was quite interesting although I had been on about the east half of it many years ago. We left Boise City, Oklahoma and headed to Kenton before following the Dry Cimarron River valley to Folsom, New Mexico and then over Johnson Mesa to Raton. It was ideal weather for that journey. You couldn't pay me enough to tackle that route when the snow is blowing like it does in that part of the world. One must understand that there is nowhere to spend a nickel along that specific route, let alone have access to any of the comforts of life. Your cell phone is only of use as a paperweight. My wife was definitely impressed with the 17-mile stretch of State highway that is unpaved. They added a bridge somewhere along the way in the past 20 years because I remember driving through flowing water in 1994. Wedding Cake Mesa and Shipwreck Mesa were impressive. That area is where they should have been filming all the Westerns that were popular 55 years ago.
Canyon Road
That road you're talking about has been my 'back door' to Colorado for the last 40 years. My brother and I make a semi-annual treck up there and take that route occasionally. Except there's a 'y' and we turn north before we get to Folsom. The north fork takes you up into Branson, Colorado, across Las Animas County gravel through a wide spot in the road named Trinchera and eventually onto a black top that winds up leading to Trinidad on I-25.
It is peaceful. A 100 miles with maybe only one or two other cars. I do remember the low water crossings. There use to be signs warning drivers to watch the weather. A number of times I've stopped just to enjoy the blank stares of the mule deer..just standing in the middle of the road.
On a clear morning (near Kenton) you can be in Oklahoma, look west and see Capulin in New Mexico, and look NW and see the mountains outside of Trinidad. 3 states from one truck window. I love it.
Have I got a deal for you!
The opportunity of a lifetime awaits you in beautiful downtown Kenton. The world famous Kenton Mercantile is currently closed and for sale. I believe the latest owner bought it on a whim and lives somewhere a whole lot closer to you than to Kenton. That place is a gold mine waiting to happen. The owner before that really worked to make it a happening place but sort of lost his way once his wife died of cancer or some such personal disaster. He even put out a classic calendar with every month being a wonderful picture from the distant past with a bit of a story for each. I bought two of those calendars for something like $20 each. One picture that I remember well showed an industrious fellow who was a new car dealer of sorts many, many years ago. He would buy the best possible horse available, then start out on a ride to Wichita where he would sell the horse, buy a new car with the cash he took with him, drive it back to Kenton and sell it for a huge mark up to someone local.
There may not be many locals to keep it going but there are tons of people year round showing up to scale Black Mesa (the highest point in Oklahoma), check out the dinosaur tracks in the creek, visit the corner monument for Colorado/New Mexico and Oklahoma, visit one of the bed and breakfasts available, wander over from Lake Carl Etling (the only fishing hole for many miles) or simply show up to take in the huge Easter Pageant held nearby with the stage being the rocky cliffs northeast of town. The Kenton Mercantile was a step back into the old West in certain respects, even when it had a gas pump out front.
I briefly considered taking the north fork to Branson and Trinchera but had always wanted to take the full route to Raton just to see if I could do it. Besides, I think Trinchera is some sort of hog disease.;-) Toured the extinct Capulin volcano is either 1991 or 1994. Very interesting.
ahhh...Kenton, Ok
Last time I stopped at the store in Kenton it was being run by a fairly young couple with about seven kids. That would have been probably ten years ago.
Although I'm sure that investment property in Kenton is going like hot cakes I'm gonna have to decline the offer...the drive to work would kill me. Although it is a spectacularly unique little hamlet. As far as I know it's the only place with a trailer as a U.S. Post Office:
And the scenery is fantasic....if you consider a "DO NOT PASS" sign as exciting.:pinch:
Seriously, Kenton has a beauty all its own.
ahhh...Kenton, Ok
That's it. Cheap at twice the price. Check out photo 12 of 50. Looks like they caught you in town. http://www.trulia.com/property/3097642696-101-W-Main-Kenton-OK-73946
Another view, with gas pump.
Black Mesa
Dinosaur tracks in the creek bed
On the news they said somebody was pushing to reintroduce the grizzly bear to Utah. I'm not all that whippy about it. Don't wish to run into one surveying on the mountain (or anywhere).
Fresh drawers (and Grizzlies)
From an actual Warning Sign:
"In light of the rising frequency of human/grizzly bear conflicts, the B.C. Fish and Wildlife Branch is advising hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert for bears while in the field.
We advise that outdoorsmen wear noisy little bells on their clothing so as not to startle bears that aren't expecting them. We also advise outdoorsmen to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear.
It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear poop. Black bear poop is smaller and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear poop is larger and has little bells in it and smells like pepper."
