Bear World

UGH! I just typed a LONG report on our trip to Bear World this weekend, and the computer ate it… So here we go again…(dang blogger!)

When we lived in Rexburg there was this place called "Bear World" that was literally about 2 miles from our house. We laughed about it most of the time – it was a zoo like atmosphere set up for people to drive through and get to see bears. It is called "Yellowstone Bear World" – and was advertised as some people's only opportunity to see a bear on their Yellowstone vacations.

We never took the chance to visit, but when we were up there this weekend we thought maybe Gabe would enjoy seeing the bears.

You drive through the park (with your windows rolled up) and the bears and other animals can come right up to your cars. There are grizzly bears, moose, elk, black bears, wolves, etc. They even have an albino elk – which they said are super rare – about 1 in 6 million! I think my favorites were the grizzly bears – they were so pretty. Anyway, it was fun to watch the bears wander around, eat, sleep, and check out the visitors.

Then after we drove through the park we got to see my favorite part – the baby bear cubs. (In fact, Gabe kept calling it "CUB WORLD"). There were 6 new babies this year and they were precious! They kept pouncing on each other, wrestle, chew on everything they could find, and even seemed like they preformed for those who were watching. I wanted to reach over the divider and take one of them home with me – they were SO cute!

They also had a petting zoo set up. It was small – but Gabe enjoyed the animals, and even pet a deer. They had a moose by the petting zoo, and Gabe said, "Look Mom – the moose is eating a pancake! Oh, no wait – the moose is eating a MUFFIN!" (If you've read the books "If you give a moose a muffin" or "If you give a pig a pancake" – you know what he's talking about) – we cracked up!

Then we rode some of the little carnival rides they had set up. Gabe enjoyed the roller-coaster, train, and other rides that were just his size. We all enjoyed the weather – it was really a very pretty day.

It's interesting how sometimes you miss out on the things that are right under your nose. We are glad that we went back and checked out Bear World – even if it was years after we lived there.