BEAR IN AREA

We spend the night back on the mainland at a fairly crowded campground near Squamish, a climbing and mountain biking mecca. Just a few kilometers north of the ferry along the sea-to-sky highway (the name says it all). No clouds, wind coming from the Pacific, and a wonderful evening atmosphere. There is a lot of traffic, but we still find a nice spot for dinner at Porteau Cove Provincial Park. It seems like all of Vancouver is here, enjoying barbecues and good cheer. We sit rather quietly at one of the picnic tables, looking out at the magnificent wide fjord landscape with its tall, partially snow-covered mountains, trying to somehow get back to that 'other' world. A roaring pickup truck brings us back to the here and now, and we continue on, checking in at the campsite. There are warning signs about bears everywhere; they have been spotted in the campground. Oh well, we’ll be very careful and cautiously optimistic that we might see one... right, Peter... You'd better sleep; after all, black bears are hardly seen in the dark.... Anja needs to use the restroom in the middle of the night. Escort? Oh well, there's a restroom in the camper too....