I was gifted with a great night’s sleep last night. My eyes pried themselves open at 6:15 this morning and my drawing is moving ahead. Three quarters of the background is nearly complete. I’m thinking of the lower left area as my escape route. I will start on the Griz tomorrow. When you work on a Grizzly, having an escape route is important. 

I may go to the Denver Zoo and draw in front of the Grizzly Bear Habitat. It would be fitting. The Denver Zoo was the first zoo to create natural habitat for its animals way back in 1918. The Grizzly was the first animal to be confined in a space without bars. Now such natural spaces are the norm and cages with bars seem unnecessarily cruel. The Denver Zoo continues to lead in its humane treatment of animals. 

When I saw the Grizzly in the Grand Tetons, I had been told about some wolves feeding on an elk carcass near the Cuttingham Cabin.   I was really looking for the wolves. When I found the elk, it had been stripped by the wolves. Little was left of the front shoulder and its ribs reached skyward with shredded meat beckoning to the vultures perched in the near tree. A magpie was sitting on one of the ribs snatching its evening meal from red bones.  The thought of a Grizzly in the neighborhood didn’t cross my mind. I approached the dead elk and took some photos of the carcass complete with a vulture and a magpie.

When I had finished taking the pictures I was thinking about walking through the willows to get back to the jeep. The route through the willows would have been a short cut to the road. 

However, my memory kicked in about a local hike on the Beaver Brook trail with my dog, Storm. We were jogging down a trail that was bordered by a stream that fed a large stand of willows. There was a strong odor that upset Storm. He came close to me and growled at the brush. Just a few feet further down the trail was a pile of bear scat and a couple of perfect bear tracks complete with claw marks. While it was clear that Storm knew that a bear was in the brush I had no clue. The Beaver Brooke bear was most likely a small black bear. I have often wished that my nose was as sensitive as a German Sheppard.

This memory caused me to suddenly feel that the longer route back to the jeep was preferable. A short while later the 850 pound female Grizzly strolled out of the willows. 

My advice is to have an escape route and trust your intuition. I’ll bet you have some advice for me.