I Brake For Bears ...

Actually, I come to a full stop for bears!!! This morning just 20 minutes or so out of Shawnee I came sailiing around a mountain curve to find a full grown black bear standing about 100 meters in front of me in the center of the road. It was enough time to use moderate breaking and come to a full stop with an "almost" comfortable distance between me and bear. It was at that moment when I wondered, was it really a good thing that I traded in the old Suzuki which tended to backfire as all Savages do on deceleration (thinking that the bear banger thing was true) or was it a good idea to just quietly sneak up on him so as not to bother him on the quiet but prissy little VStar. I obviously didn't look tasty enough to him this morning because after pondering me for a few moments he wandered to the side of the road. I waited just a bit longer, posied like a cat to run should he make one tiny flinch, but he shuffled into the ditch, at which point I gave him as wide a birth as the road would allow and opened Prissy's throttle as wide as it would go - just call me gone in 60, but not eaten today. And no, I didn't get a picture, my hands were poised and ready for a timely get away - Got to get a helmet cam!!!
That was the exciting part of the day - now for the rest, now that my little heart has stopped racing from all the "fun".
I recommend sleeping in the tent with the fly off in the heat - I had a wonderful sleep and was wakened early by the light of dawn - and I would have gotten off to an early start today, really I would have except for a chance encounter with a new friend. It just so happens that a woman living my life in parallel was camping next to me last night, and it just so happens that she gets up at 4 in the morning (okay, we didn't parallel that part) and makes coffee. She offered me coffee and a chat this morning. I was awake and dressed by 6 - didn't finish packing and hitting the road 'til after 8 after a wonderful chat with Ang from New York (who by the way is the same age as me, has been widowed and has two sons and one grandchild (her's a boy, mine a girl). Many other facets of our lives seem to be the same - small world. Nice to meet you Ang.
Today, just as I suspected going through the mountains was a cool and beautiful ride and I arrived at my campsite early enough to set up the tent,swim, do laundry look at my maps, finally eat that hotdog that I've been craving (??? got to be an outdoor air thing) and now download my pictures and blog.
Not too many pictures today, again. I've come to realize it's all about the ride. It's either too hot and nasty to stop and take pictures or it's just too darn nice to stop and take pictures. But there's always time to stop for icecream!
By the By Cathy - great to have you along for the ride, hold on there might be moose next!
Here's the map folks:

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