Manna from Heaven

Campsite etiquette  dictates not leaving food out but every year the list of things to keep tucked away gets longer and longer. It's easier to remember that about the only thing you can leave unattended at your Campsite are your camp chairs and even they are on the endangered list.

This is all done of course for the protection of bears. "A fed bear is a dead bear" is camping mantra as bears that learn to associate humans with happy tummies are bears apt to get into serious (as in 3 strikes and they shoot you) trouble.

Sophie and I know all this but occasionally we make a mistake. Last night we pulled into the campground in Dawson Creek (even the names of the towns are starting to harken of the far north) aptly named Mile Zero because  Dawson Creek is the start of the Alaska Highway. The campground is actually in town so this morning when my wife Sophie got up before me to head to the showers ahead of the crowd she left our food bag out in plain sight thinking no bears were nearby. Technically it wasn't "unattended" as it was being watched very carefully by yours truly and two reliable Siberia huskies sleeping most soundly in the camper.

Upon Sophie's return she discovered our food bag had been torn asunder with several delectables now missing including one bag of Grape Nuts cereal. Grape Nuts as you might know is rather high in fiber so the nefarious beast that took it was at least eating a nutritious breakfast.

All in a panic we quickly secured the errant foodstuffs before sitting down to our own healthy breakfast of oatmeal and strawberries. Keeping our eyes peeled for any urine neighbors we did spy a very fat raven circling overhead. Hmm, could this perchance be our food robber?

We'll never know for sure as we never did see an actual bear and I don't have any proof that it was in fact Mr. Raven that had absconded with the Grape Nuts. If it was Mr. Raven be forewarned if you ever visit the Mile Zero campground to keep an eye to the sky because as well fed as this Raven appeared to be you never know what kind of manna from heaven may fall.