Bearly scary

"It's full of nature and it's very scary to see big predators that don't have a cage to stop them from getting us."

That's how AJ describes our visit to Bear Country.

On our way back from Mount Rushmore, we decided to drive through the wildlife park. Too bad a couple hundred other families decided to do the same. Which meant we had to drive veeeerrrrrrryyy slooowwwwwwwwly. Thank goodness we had a nearly full tank of gas and empty bladders because the 45 minute drive took closer to two hours.

Eventually we even saw bears. And yes, they were amazing to see up close. We were given strict orders, which most other vehicles ignored, to keep windows shut at all times. (In other words, all these photos were shot through the windows. I love our new camera!)

I assume the animals were well fed, because several times we spotted staff members driving amongst the bears on four wheelers, and the bears didn't seem at all interested in them.

But before we got to the section of the park where the bears roamed freely, we had to sit and idle and follow a path around a whole lot of other animals.

There were several varieties of deer and elk.

And one of them pooped in front of us, which remains AJ's favorite part of the tour.

For the most part, the animals seemed bored by our presence. Though the wolves showed enough interest to put on a show for us.

Since we were moving so slowly, we figured it was safe to let the kids take off their seatbelts and move around for better views.

Both kids wanted to keep track of the animals we saw. AJ made Xs on the guide we were given, while Sydney simply made a check mark on a piece of paper each time she saw an animal.

Here are shots of a few other animals we saw:

Once we finally reached the end, we were able to park the minivan van and walk through an area that seemed more like a zoo. It featured baby bears and other smaller critters.

Could it be any cuter? No wonder Smoky Bear was so popular!

Back to the bears, as frustrating as it was to be stuck in a traffic jam in the middle of what's supposed to be a wildlife park, they were very cool to see. It was fascinating to see them and some of the other animals at this time of year when they're in the midst of shedding. This guy looks like his darker roots are showing after a bad bleach job:

AJ agreed that of all the animals, the bears were the best. "My favorite animal was the bear," he told me. "I just liked seeming them. That kind of thing."