Land of Ursa Major

We were in the land of moviemakers; western moviemakers, that is.  That part of Utah is famous as the background of many western movies.  The sun had fallen behind the horizon, and still we searched for our elusive campground.  We were on our first coast-to-coast camping trip and were misplaced, disoriented, and dare I use the word..."lost"?  We turned around and traversed the unimproved road back to the highway. As navigator, I checked our maps again.  I was convinced that we had offended someone at Yahoo Maps, and the internet giant had cursed us.

An hour later we did find the campground. There was no park ranger, but our campsite has our name stapled to the sign with the number thirty-four on it. That matched with the reservation confirmation in our travel folder.  The campsite was relatively flat.  The were no trees, just some waist high shrubs on the rocky soil.  We began pulling our camping equipment from the trunk of the Toyota in the waning light. I wouldn't be cooking supper.  It was late,  so we had some sausage, cheese, bread, fruit, and those little boxes of juice like the kids drink. The tent went up quickly with cots and sleeping bags inside, before we sat down at the table for our supper. Normally, after arriving at our campsite, we can set up camp and sit down to a hot meal within thirty minutes. I think that's pretty fast for two senior citizens. Tonight we were dining under a shelter.  It had three open sides, unlike the one on the Mexican border which was open on all sides. "What is that cupboard attached to the wall there?" I asked my travel companion.

"Oh, that's the bear box," she said.

"Bear box?"

"Yeah.  They noted that on the website. You put your food in there to protect it from the bears," she answered matter-of-factly. She had researched our trips online and made reservations where possible.

"Let's turn in," she said and added, "It'll be a long day tomorrow."

"Okay, but I still have to run the extension cord for my CPAP machine," I said, reminding her that I had to sleep with the machine because of my severe sleep apnea.  I pulled the fifty food orange electrical cord from the trunk of the car and began looking for the power outlet at the campsite. Normally they are mounted on a short post about one foot off the ground.  I could not find it. By now it was a moonless night, and I had my headlamp on. Claudette was helping me search.  We checked inside the shelter with no luck. So...the solution was simple; I would sleep in the car.  I can sleep in the sitting position if I must; sleep apnea doesn't affect me in the sitting position. We said our "good nights" and each retired for the night. I had slept in the car before.  It's not my favorite position, but I've managed.

But, I wasn't sleepy.  I kept thinking about being in bear country. It was not so long ago that while camping at Lake Tahoe we had a near bear encounter. It was right after the big forest fires in that area, and much of the wildlife had lost their native habitat and were venturing into villages and towns in search of food. We were camped in an RV campground for a few days.  One night we were awakened by the sound of metal clashing.  A bear had gotten into some food left under the canopy of a motorhome. It was less that twenty yards away. Awakened campers made a lot of noise banging together pots and pans to drive the bear away. My travel partner decided to keep the car keys close at hand. She could press the panic button and set off the car's alarm system if a bear got close.

I was sure she had her keys in the tent now, but what about me?  Oh well, I needed to get some sleep.  Maybe I could dream about chasing that pretty girl down the beach again.  I've been chasing her fifteen years in my dreams and haven't caught her yet! I just needed to relax. I've tried counting things to fall asleep.  It's never worked.  Counting backwards.  Nope.  I still can't believe this is bear country.  Gotta sleep.  There are YouTube videos about bears.  They recognize  food containers and will open them up. I've heard they can tear a car door off when provoked.  I don't know if I believe all that.  But, what if?  I was sure we had locked all food in the bear box.  Hadn't we?  I'm sure we did.  I'm feeling very tired.  Should be easy to go to sleep.  What was that noise?  Maybe I imagined it. If I hear it again I'll know it's real.  

I needed to go to the bathroom. I put on my headlamp and got out of the car.  The restroom was about a hundred yards away.  It was surprisingly light out. The sky was blanketed with millions of stars.  There were no clouds or urban haze to deter the star light.  It was marvelous.  I was soon back in the car after heeding nature's call.

And now...to sleep. I'm tired.  I must relax.  As I looked out on the landscape I saw movement behind a shrub about ten yards away.  I watched.  Maybe I'm imagining things.  Gotta forget about bears.  What was that movie with Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin? They were in Alaska, and one of the people was killed by a bear.  I wonder if bears here grow that big.  Probably not, everything is bigger in Alaska! But there are bears here.  Gotta sleep.  Nothing moved behind that shrub!  I think my eyelids are getting heavy.  99...98...97...96...95... I see the  girl in the black bikini on the beach...

"Tony! Wake up! We've got to get moving!" Claudette says as she bangs on the the car window. "How did you sleep?"

"Just great!" I lied.

We were having a quick breakfast of instant oatmeal with juice and coffee when I banged my knee into something with a sharp edge under the table.  I had discovered the electrical outlet we had searched for the night before.

With breakfast finished and camp broken, we were about to leave when the park ranger stopped  by.
"How's it going?" asked the young man in thee olive  drab uniform.

"Great!," we said in unison.

"Seen any bears?"

We looked at each other and shook our heads.

"Well, be careful," he said as he got back into his truck and drove away.

"Bears, hah!", my travel buddy said, "I bet that there's not one within a hundred miles."