Yosemite, Part 3--Bears!

After a fruitless quest to see a bear on our last western vacation, our dream was finally fulfilled--many times over! If you want to see bears, don't go to Yellowstone, go to Yosemite, Kings Canyon, or Sequoia. Their favorite hangout is the apple orchard near Curry Village (the cabins where we stayed). We first saw a bear cub jumping out of the road in Sequoia. Then when we drove into the parking lot at Yosemite after dark, we saw a bunch of rangers yelling and shining lights at a bear to scare it away. There were two more bears up in the trees, we learned. Later some of us saw more bears in the parking lot, down the aisle from our cabin, in the apple trees (see photo), and along the trail to Vernal Falls. These bears were not far away, either--we were standing right under the tree looking at this one. Jason saw 7 altogether. (More wildlife photos later.)