Easter – He is Risen! – My first bear track!

First thing this morning Leviticus is saying hello to the elk outside the window.

Ready for Easter Sunday service.

I go to the Gardiner Community Center to drop off my cut up fruit. The doors are locked? I then go to the church and find all the doors locked. I dug out my last church program and found that service is at the Mammoth Chapel again. I head that way. So much for being early. Now I am hoping I will not be late. I have to park a good length away. I make it just in time, but I have to sit in the back. It was a good service. Jeff talked about it being April Fools Day and how some people feel this way about the resurrection of Jesus. He used a lot of location and history to talk about the truth of the resurrection. After service we went to the lower Mammoth Community Center. The food was great and they sent me home with a bag of ham.

I go home and change into hiking clothes. Off for a hike on the old Gardiner road.

The pronghorn antelope are coming out more.

The hike is giving a different view of my work area. It looks cool from up top.

This is Daryl and my other brother Daryl.

This looks like someone’s home. I found another like it near by.

The view is really nice. No one else around and very silent.

Until I saw my first bear track!

I thought this was big. Later I spoke with a Ranger and he said this was a smaller Black Bear.

Check out the claws!

I have my bear spray and I have my bear bell. Before seeing the track these gave me confidence. After the track not so much. The bell really started seeming like a bad thing. Since I was alone I started thinking that the bell wasn’t something that would help the bear move along. I really started thinking that the bell was really a dinner bell. I think this is telling the bear that dinner is here. Many times I look over my shoulder on the way back.

Going downhill in the deep snow was harder. I fell a number of times as one leg went into the snow to my knee unexpectedly.  One time I went into the snow halfway between my knee and hip. This was a little hard to get out of.

On the way down I saw some bluebirds. They were very vivid and beautiful.

Back at the house the elk were there to welcome me home.