About Face

We are parked in the lot in the fanciest hotel in Lake Louise Alberta. We are boiling water for a cup of tea. Unfortunately the gray outside is masking the beautiful scenery all around us. A cup of tea will pass the time before heading out to a camp site.

The thrill for today happened an hour ago when we encountered a mother grizzly and her three cubs. The cubs didn't seem to mind us. They stood in the road more curious than anything else. The mother, however, kept pacing back and forth across the gravel, unsure of how to protect her young against the metallic tin can only yards away. But she didn't have to work too hard at it before we did an about face and headed back down the hill. The grizzly had won the standoff.

Back in town we reported the bear sighting to a warden. He told us we had entered a "bear warning" area. Well that settled that, we would not be sleeping there tonight.