Elk in the produce section!

Troy, Montana. There were also moose and a few white tail deer. Bizzare.

It's a busy day at the library so this is a short post. We've passed through the Idaho Panhandle and into Northeastern Washington in the last week and are taking a break in Kettle Falls, where they have a great organic grocery store.

About that bear in Priest River. It was two thirty on the morning and I couldn't fall asleep. There was a crashing in the brush outside, but the rainfly on the tent blocked me from seeing anything. A set of heavy footfalls started coming toward us and I was instantly terrified. Each muted thump sounded like it had hundreds of pounds behind it. I imagined many awful outcomes. The footsteps stopped. The very sharp profile of a black bear face appeared in the moonlight, two feet above my head. Even more awful outcomes flashed through my head. It felt like this went on forever, but it was probably less that thirty seconds. The face and footfalls went away, but I was paralyzed for a while longer. I woke Andrea but she was sleeping with earplugs and missed the whole thing. My dreams were haunted with bears for the rest of the night.

Ok, gotta go. Over and out.