Just 'bearly' arrive in Gatlinburg and ...

Looks like it's going to be an interesting week in Gatlinburg. We just arrived about 2 hours ago, got the car unpacked, and got stuff put away. I decided to go outside and take some 'before' pictures of the west side (windows, chimney, etc.), where the work is going to be done this week. As I rounded the corner behind the hot tub deck, I saw something black.

Yep, it was a BEAR! So I ran back inside, called Phyllis, grabbed my camera ... and now you can see what we saw!


He finds some bread and settles down for dinner, while Phyllis watches from a safe distance (up on the deck).


Then he walks behind the deck, toward the driveway.


Wait, here are some biscuits! So he stops and enjoys them.


Then he heads our way - up the steps to our hot tub deck. That's when we decided we should duck inside!


So he ambles up the walk to the driveway, sniffs around the car and heads for the garbage can. But it's bearproof! So he goes off behind the cabin. I wait a few minutes and try again to take my pictures.



But he has come back around. So I hang out on the deck to see where he will go this time.



He wanders around a bit, but eventually gives up and wanders down the path toward the road below us and off to another neighborhood in search of more food. Yes, I finally got my pictures. You'll see them later this week as the 'before' pictures, along with the 'after' (we hope!).

By the way, our guests certainly meant well. But leaving food outside is DANGEROUS! Please don't do it!

We're off to a 'roaring' good start! Keep checking back often. We'll probably be posting every day this week.