1. Bear Stare: He is tired of playing with his friends, so he starts licking the bugs off the car grill, and before you know it, he hops up and looks right at me. At this point, he is politely keeping his claws to himself.
2. Bear Prepare:Now he is thinking about jumping on our hood, and spreads out his paws in preparation. It seems much too easy for him as he springs up…
3. Bear There: …on the hood now, but wait… he is bored and has an itch…
4. Bear Up-in-air: …then without even the tiniest slip, he climbs right up the windshield and onto the roof! So now we can get a good look at him from underneath, through the sunroof. I am in total shock at this point, but Keith is laughing his head off, because he warned me this might happen and told me we should have taken his pickup. However, he admits he was just joking, and did not really think this could happen! Zoe is in the back seat, loving the excitement.
5. Bear Scare! He’s now on top of the car, denting the roof with every step. It seems he may come crashing through the sunroof at any minute, and he is not about to leave until he does his full bear dance. I start driving the car to try and scare him down, then finally, a park ranger comes to our rescue and scares him off with a stick. But he runs down the back of the car, so he can try out our trunk too! There is a giant dent in the middle of the roof, which Zoe pushes back with her foot, but we still have several smaller dents for souvenirs. Zoe says it was the coolest thing ever and well worth it. I’m not so sure, until we get an estimate at the Body Shop to suction those dents out.
Be Aware: If you go to Yellowstone Bear World, do not stop the car. Just keep moving at a slow and steady pace, unless a bear comes near you, in which case, you should get away, QUICKLY! You can drive through the loop as many times as you want (no extra charge) to watch them. Just don’t stop if the bears are anywhere near your car. They will also jump into the back of a pickup, so don’t think that is safe! However, they won’t do as much damage, unless you have your groceries or anything you care about back there. A van is the only way to go, but who knows, they may even be able to climb up a van. They may look big, clumsy and awkward, but don’t let them fool you. They are agile jumpers and master climbers. WOW!
The best part is going into the petting zoo to watch the baby bears play in their area. I think the best time for that is April through July while they are still bottle-feeding the baby bears. YBW (Yellowstone Bear World) has over 40 black bears, so you will definitely see all sizes and personalities. They are used to seeing cars and consider them part of their habitat, so that familiarity makes for an interesting excursion!
