Madera Canyon Day Six

(back blip #7)

I turned my ankle yesterday so I drove to the viewing area.  I wasn't there 5 minutes when this very large black bear (I know she’s brown colored!) with her three cubs - one was out of frame showed up for a drink. This was my first encounter with bears in the wild.  I was ready to start making a LOT of noise had they headed towards me rather than away when they left  the area. Bears have done a lot of damage to the property this year, from destroying feeders to destroying fences. The drought has forced them much further down the mountain for food and water. Hopefully, for us and them, the monsoon, which has gotten off to a decent start will allow them to head to higher ground.  It was a pretty amazing experience.

We had a wicked storm tonight (Saturday).  I thought it was bad up here until I found out how bad it really was in Green Valley and Tucson.  There was a lot of damage and a haboob even rolled across Tucson. I was glad to miss all of that.