Bears!

So on our hikes in the Smoky Mountains we got to see some bears! Twenty years ago while there we didn't see any, but this time we must have seen bears some 5-6 times, including around our hotel! We saw some adults, juveniles, and a few cubs, too. Some pictures:

Here's one looking right at the camera.

(If you click on the picture and zoom in, you'll see it better.)

A cub climbing a tree. We looked but didn't see mama around anywhere.

Here's the one who prowled around our hotel one evening. Pretty big!

Not all the trash cans were bear proof!

Finally, here's a video of two cubs walking across a log. (Click on the full screen option for the best view.) We actually saw mama bear first and were watching her when the cubs came along! Even though you can't see mama in the video, she's in the foreground, under the plants. When watched for a while, but once mama decided enough was enough and started walking towards us, we decided enough was enough and continued on our hike!

But all in all, not only good hiking, but what good fortune to see so many bears, too!

Hiking

One of the things we did on vacation was hike. Always good to get outdoors in the fresh air and see the wonders of creation and nature. We spent a fews days in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and then at our newest National Park, New River Gorge. Some pics . . .

We hiked to some waterfalls . . .

Even got to go behind one.

We hiked into crevasses.

At our nation's newest National Park in West Virginia.

The view from the top . . .

and the view from the bottom!

Yes, we hiked all the way to the bottom! That was the easy part. It was going back up that was tough! Here's how it look on the "Map My Walk" app:

Tomorrow: Bears!

Back in the Saddle . . . Kind of

I'm back from vacation and now the task of catching up with everything from the past two weeks as well as jumping into the normal schedule! I'll post on our vacation over the next week or so (he said hopefully!), but in the meantime, one picture to get you going . . .

What shall I preach this Sunday? :-)

A Little R&R

I'm leaving for some R&R today - much needed! I know I left you hanging with my last post . . . I promise I'll get that up when I get back! I just didn't have time for the blog trying to get everything done before leaving. I've got other stuff to post, too. So see you in a bit!