black bear waddle

Soo as we promised ourselves, we've been hiking more.  Over the weekend, we headed over to the mainland for a change in scenery: the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, where we hiked 14.5 miles on a gravel road (I'm telling you...the options are limited in these parts!).  Anyway, it was quiet and beautiful and great, and it toughened up my feet a bit, I think.  It was a gorgeous day and we didn't hear any gunfire, and really only saw a few cars roll through. 

Believe it or not, this area (mainland Outer Banks/Dare County) has the largest concentration of black bears on the East Coast.  We were really disappointed that we didn't see any bears while hiking, but we saw plenty of bear scat and tracks.  We decided to drive the route after we had hiked it, to confirm our mileage and have one last look for a bear.  Well whatya know, we saw two fatty bears who appear to have been eating well this winter!

Here's a glimpse of this big 'ole cutie waddling around and munching out...enjoy!