Creek Bears

I was doing video of deer by the Great Turf, and saw two tourists looking at something at the Creek's end...it was these two bears, a mama and cub, going through bags of tourists' trash (tomorrow I'll have to go back and see what this trash was...). This was really neat, and a sight I would have missed if I'd made it to Merced in the Bus.

I did video from the Great Turf area, they were pretty far away, a good thing. I didn't want to get close. But I needed a better angle, and went to Lodgepole Point (the little peninsula on the east side of the Creek's end) and set up and got some good video and a couple pics. And then the cub started walking right towards me...with mama bear following...I held my ground till they crossed the Creek...and the little one started up the bank just below me...then pulled up the tripod and gave them their space. I went down to the bank of the Merced, thinking I could get out of the way over the river, just wet feet.. But they didn't come along, they had gone back over the Creek and up the dry second channel of the Merced. I walked out that way, careful not to come up on them, and saw them in some grasses, taking their nap. I thought to get more pics, but thought they might sleep all afternoon, so continued on...water ouzels chasing one another and calling took my attention...then I went back and they were still sleeping. I really wanted to get a good pic...(none were really good, okay, but not special)... especially of the cub sleeping by its mom. So I set up the tripod and waited, and two more tourists came, and of course were curious what I was photographing, so I showed them where they were...and the tourist made enough racket to make mama lift her head. So they got to see her, and were very pleased. And I got a little bit of video. And we left the bears undisturbed, as mama lay back down and went back to sleep. Much later I went back, and two more tourists were there admiring the roots of the lodgepole tree on Lodgepole Point. I got to explain to them that it was lodgepole, and that it was unusual at this altitude...probably more than they wanted to know!! But it's fun to tell people about the Creek. Didn't see the bears again.