7-28 If I were a bear...

If I were a bear I would choose to live here at Beaver Creek NFS campground and I’d fish in the creeks and Quake Lake. I’d eat berries in the mountains. I’d roll in the wildflowers and I’d lie on my back at night and look at the gazillion stars and the Milky Way.

I hear there are some pretty smart bears who have already figured this out. I always check when we move into a campground in bear country to see if any have been seen recently. Dogs can be an attractant and often we walk after dark. The host here said not to worry as the grizzly sow and her two cubs hadn’t been seen for two weeks. They were probably hanging out in the meadow below so don’t go bopping down the trailhead to the meadow with the dogs. We follow advice.



This is one of the most beautiful places we've stayed in our travels. We’re on the top of a hill surrounded by mountains in all directions. The wildflowers are amazing. The aspen are gorgeous. The night skies are breathtaking as there’s no light for miles and best of all there’s no one near us.

There are three loops but they are well separated and each offers different scenery. There are beautiful lily ponds in loop A, beautiful mountain view sites in Loop B, and beautiful forest sites in Loop C with views of Quake Lake.


There is an assistant camp host staying down the hill from us. Interesting folks – retired teachers from Wisconsin who have been coming to this place for over 15 years. They love to fly fish and the Madison River at $3 Bridge, 6 miles west, is one of the best stretches of “pocket water” in the country according to the Montana fishermen we’ve met. They have always tent camped and are staying here 2.5 months this summer in their tent. He packs a little heat in case the grizzlies visit but has never had occasion to use it. They’re thinking of buying a small RV. Not such a bad idea, I think, given the wildlife in the area. Every morning they head for $3 Bridge. Tonight we had a taste of barbequed elk with them. Not bad, but a little gamey compared to the yak steak we tasted with Nancy and Gil and the moose steak we had when camping on the Shoshone. I’ve decided that most everything except pork tastes like chicken or beef. Rattlesnake tastes like chicken so I’m told. The yak tasted just like my little beef tenderloin, and the moose tasted the same. So I think I’ll just stick to chicken and beef!

Ron’s off to fish $3 Bridge tomorrow. It’s time for some good catching!