I SAW A BEAR!!!

After giving the play-by-play yesterday, I didn’t think it was fair to continue writing about Saturday afternoon and Sunday. The rest of the weekend went something like this: I SAW A BEAR(!!!). And, of course, I don’t have the photograph to prove it… because when I’m out there living in the here-and-now, I’m not always seeking evidence for my blog. But I promise you, there at mile marker 47 in Shenandoah National Park on Saturday around 2:17 pm, I saw a black bear with my own two eyes. It’s not that I haven’t seen a bear outside of a zoo before. Oh, I have. It’s half the reason I’m so fond of Montana: They have bears. And bear jams. So, I have seen bears before. In Yellowstone National Park. On the other side of the country. I had not, until Saturday, August 17, 2013, seen them in my own backyard. So, again, life changing: I saw a black bear. In my own backyard. And was part of a bear jam. Albeit, an East Coast bear jam.

Following that high, Boyfriend and I hiked to Rock Spring Cabin (because the triathlon definitely wasn’t enough exercise for one day). At this point, I proceeded to nap. And then read (i.e., move as minimally as possible). The remainder of the afternoon/evening was just sort of relaxed away. It helped that there was a nice enough view from the cabin. And a fire.

The rain started around midnight, though we were long asleep before then. It continued to wake me several times throughout the night – bringing back memories of the Lesotho days, when each and every rain drop could be heard pounding against my thatch roof, even in rains that weren’t that heavy. This particular case of volume probably would have been more enjoyable, if I hadn’t been so exhausted. But we were real lazy Sunday morning – serving breakfast after 11:00 am – to make up for the choppy night sleep. The rain – or rather, the lack of rain gear – prevented us from doing any hiking (besides the trek back to the car). So we took off around 1:00 pm, bound for Washington, DC… stopping for chocolate milk and ice cream along the way.