Bears, Bears, Bears!

Yesterday, we saw a bear. Not a real bear, but a large stuffed bear on it hind legs, selling for $34,000. Although I appreciated the bears strength and beauty, it did make me rethink my plan of simply poking a bear in the eye if it chose to attack me. Standing close to 10 feet tall, I will now instead first get on Sophia’s shoulders, and then poke it in the eyes.
I have always been terrified of bears, and I was aware prior to the trip that we might encounter them, but now the possibility seems all too real. When we arrived in Yellowstone yesterday afternoon, we were given a plethora of reading material, each flyer describing more horrendous things that could happen to us. “Don’t go near the geyser basin, you WILL be scorched to death!” “Don’t approach the bison, many visitors have already been gored this year!” “Don’t leave ANY odor in your tent, grizzly bears WILL attack!”
Most of the bear advice seemed easy to follow. If they come close, back away and don’t run. If they charge, play dead. Although it would be terrifying, I figured that if the situation should occur, I could do these things. However, the next paragraph was particularly troubling. Sometimes a grizzly will spot something they like and decide to stalk it. In this case, they have chosen you as their prey. The only option: FIGHT BACK! This is where my eye poking will come in handy.
Last night we had our first night in the tent, out in the wild. As I tried to sleep, all of these images were mulling around in my head. Every band was my neighbor being swallowed whole. Every rustle was my potential “Stalker”. Naturally, I didn’t sleep.