"they said there were bears..."

So, we're in the mountains...in the cabin...in the woods. I'm not much of an outdoorsy-type gal. OK, I'm really not. But, to my husband's credit, he is trying to create some interest for nature for our kids. He promised them hiking and tubing down the river and bears...yes. Bears. Luckily, the city of Helen offers a semi-indoor place to go look at bears and other fellas typically found outdoors that you wouldn't really stop to admire so much if you were "lucky" enough to meet them in their habitat.

The kids were excited to see the bear footprints leading up to the doors...


See...this bear I am fine with. He probably isn't as happy as he once was but he has created a great photo opportunity for tourists...what a gift.


This is another one of those lovely bears that give you the idea of the scale of the animal without the panic.


This guy, on the other hand, was the REAL DEAL! Yes, that is my almost 4 year old mere inches away from this real non-stuffed brown bear. You can feed the bears bread and apples and this guy loves when he sees people so he climbs up on his climby-type bar thing and gets nose to nose with whoever has the grub. No, I didn't take this picture. Daddy did. Mommy was a wee bit panicked and was getting my boy to back up...bars were between them and I'm sure he couldn't have actually gotten a nibble but...I am a Mommy. I mean, I want to meet Matt Lauer as much as the next girl but I'm not getting the Today Show this way...