Well, actually JUST bears! Before heading up the trail yesterday at Pueblo Mountain Park, Ranger Dave and Ranger John warned us there could be some wildlife in the woods...namely bears. Many of the youth thought the rangers were only kidding around. We carried our lunch and drink coolers part way up the trail and then decided to leave them in a shady spot where we all would meet for lunch in a couple of hours (the groups split in two and headed in different directions at this point). The rangers didn't feel we'd have any issues with the bears since we'd be close by and probably making enough noise to keep the bears away. They were wrong! As you can see from the picture of our lunch cooler, the bear simply clawed the cooler open and helped himself to parts of three different lunches. We were lucky we came back when we did, because he was just getting started on his all-you-can-eat mission tripper lunch buffet when we came back down the trails and spooked him.
Jake decided to mark his lunch differently today to let the bears know to stay away. Now parents, don't you worry - we never actually were in danger nor did we see the bear.
Along with pictures, t-shirts, notes from prayer buddies, and devotional books, I believe the cooler above will provide ample memories and stories to be told on future mission trips for years to come!
Wes
I loved that cooler! Oh, the memories! We bought it in Steubenville and this was it's tenth year of service. It is scarred for life!
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Let's see, you were warned by a park ranger, and Wes has lived in and visited Colorado for years, and you STILL left a cooler full of food unattended?!? I'm glad God is with you!
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