River bear finds a home

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My dad and I wanted to go camping. After days of planning, we decided to camp out on the riverbank behind our house. I set up the tent, sleeping bags and some other gear so that we would be ready.

About 10:30 or 11 p.m. that night we went to the campsite to settle in. Just before looking at the back of our eyelids, my dad said, “Wake me up if you hear a bear or a wampus cat or something.” Man, was that one long night. It got down to about 55-60 degrees and the dew fell on us. You never fully realize how cold it is until you go to sleep with no heat.

I woke up cold that morning, walked down to the river and wouldn’t you know it. There was a dag gum bear caught in debris smack dab in the middle of the river. The real strange part about it: the bear was stuffed. Who would want to get rid of a stuffed bear?

So I went back to the house to grab a rope so my dad could lasso him. We got him to the bank, and I cleaned all the leaves and mud from his fur. We hung him up in the garage. We tried to find the bear’s rightful owner because we thought he might have been stolen.

From this camping trip, I learned two things:

1. Never go camping without your gun, because you never know what you are going to run into.
2. Sleep in your own bed when you get the chance. It’s a lot safer and warmer.

Michael Wade
Pikeville
Tri-County EMC

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