Youth Conference and The BEAR!!

Last week was a very busy week. I returned from my business trip to Reno just in time to head up to JR Properties up by Mt. Pleasant for our Book of Mormon Youth Conference. We had a wonderful time. Great activities, great food, and a little, well, not so little visitor. The conference started out great. We all met at 7:00 AM at the church. It was all decorated like Jerusalem. The kids were given coin purses and coins to use to buy their breakfast as well as play games and do crafts. At about 9:00 AM we left for the wilderness. The food committee and the tent setting up committee were already there. We arrived and found a 140 pound pig roasting over a spit. It looked and smelled awesome. We played games and had activities all throughout the day and then partook of the roasted pig. It was tasty. We went on a Tree of Life night hike, and made it to bed around midnight. They next day we awoke to a yummy oatmeal breakfast and another day full of activities. Dutch oven chicken and potatoes were on the menu for dinner. It was great. We sent the kids all to bed around 10:00 PM. At about 12:30 AM we woke all of the kids up by playing earthquake sounds and shaking their tents. They all came to a central area where a figure representing Christ came. It was a very powerful event. We all went to bed after 2:00 AM. We woke the next morning to reports of a bear sighting from the food committee. They are a bunch of hams, so we didn't believe them at first, but then we saw the tracks. We ate, cleaned up camp, and sent all of the kids on their way home. Just as the last few cars were leaving, one of the leaders came and told us there was some stuff left on the pavilion tables and they saw the bear. We drove up to the pavilion and WE SAW THE BEAR! He was just walking around the tables when he saw us. We were lucky to get some great photos. Our hearts were pounding, and in hindsight, we were lucky he did not come towards us. Here is a link to the video Coralee filmed. and here is a link to the KSL article about his capture and release! I guess roasting a pig was NOT the best idea! We were truly blessed that nobody was hurt. I hope this cute little guy stays out of trouble.