When we left Our Fuzz, he was out there in the New Jersey Woods...
Alone!
Well... Let's hope so!
His Sweetie helped set up the tent, and then cut a trail for her hotel. Then The Fuzz finished setting up camp.
He would be here for the next few days.
But there was a complication.
There were a lot of these kind of notices posted around the campground.
The Fuzz had not counted on this!
And it was a little disquieting.
The Fuzz has had some unpleasant experience with bears while camping back in the North Carolina mountains.
He did not enjoy this.
But this was New Jersey for cat's sake!
They have bears here?
All the warnings said to lock your food up in your car.
What car?
His Sweetie had the car at the hotel.
Why did she have the car? There were no bears there!
Well there was nothing to do for it now.
He could at least hang the stuff in a tree. That is supposed to help... right?
The grub was in a plastic tub and cooler, neither of which qualified as the "air tight" container recommended on all the postings.
And he had no suitable sack.
But there was the bag the tent was packed in!
So he packed that full of what ever he could, and hung it from a nearby tree.
He couldn't do much with the cooler but tie it shut. That might keep any raccoons out, but not bears of course.
There were some scented candles in the gear tub, so he tied them on the cooler hoping the stink would not be something preferred by bears.
Then he had some dinner, washed up really good, and settled in for the night, hoping for the best.
Then about 01:00, he was wakened by a loud crash.
His first thought was that the bears were raiding the campground dumpster.
Undoubtedly he would be next.
But that sound was instantly followed by loud BOOM, and a flash of light!
Bears don't do that, do they?
Then all was dark and quiet again.
Of course by now The Fuzz was wide awake.
He got up and started banging pots (which is supposed to scare off bears (although The Fuzz has always had some doubts about that) and lit all the lanterns.
He sat up for a good hour waiting...
and waiting.
But nothing more ever happened.
In the morning, one of the caretakers came through. He was a bit curious about The Fuzz being there with no car and all.
In the course of the conversation he mentioned the road being closed. It seemed that there had been a wreck, about 01:00 that morning. Some drunk had run off the road and knocked down a power pole.
Then The Fuzz realized that the Boom and flash were consistent with a transformer blowing up.
He was just glad there were no bears!
But that sound was instantly followed by loud BOOM, and a flash of light!
Bears don't do that, do they?
Then all was dark and quiet again.
Of course by now The Fuzz was wide awake.
He got up and started banging pots (which is supposed to scare off bears (although The Fuzz has always had some doubts about that) and lit all the lanterns.
He sat up for a good hour waiting...
and waiting.
But nothing more ever happened.
In the morning, one of the caretakers came through. He was a bit curious about The Fuzz being there with no car and all.
In the course of the conversation he mentioned the road being closed. It seemed that there had been a wreck, about 01:00 that morning. Some drunk had run off the road and knocked down a power pole.
Then The Fuzz realized that the Boom and flash were consistent with a transformer blowing up.
He was just glad there were no bears!
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