My girlfriend A has been posting some pictures on Facebook of a bear — is it a grizzly? or just a large brown bear? — that has been wandering around in Crested Butte. I had the chance to visit with A last summer, and I can say with some authority that Crested Butte is a little slice of heaven. Small happy hippy town set against the most beautiful of natural settings. It snows like a mo-fo for more months of the year than many folks can stand, but still, it’s amazing.
And now there’s a bear traipsing through the town. Rummaging through refrigerators stored in the the unlocked garages of the Crested Buttians. Climbing trees in front of the homes. Amusing, yes, and yet…
The nervous Nelly side of me can’t help but wonder how this bear thing is going to play itself out. The whole situation reads a little like a Jack London short story or something. But think about it; what are the possible outcomes?
- Bear and townies happily co-exist forever more. Becomes sort of a folksy brand for the town, in the same way that moose wandering through downtown Cicely defined the 90’s TV show Northern Exposure.
- Bear one day decides that “city” living isn’t for him/her and heads back into the woods, and is only occasionally spotted from afar by back country hikers.
- Bear becomes dangerously acclimated to the easy living in town, foraging through the well-stocked pantries of its residents, until one day bear’s bear-like instincts are triggered unexpectedly and he/she takes a swipe at someone. And then what?
I, personally, am rooting for Scenario #2. But in the meanwhile, my message to A and the rest of the townsfolk is this: be safe!
image from: http://www.firstpeople.us/
eleven bee 