BEAR!

There I was, minding my own business on a Saturday night. Something caught my eye outside, so I looked. At first, I thought it was my dog Xena because it was big and black. I quickly realized that this creature was much larger than Xena and that Xena was where she usually is -- asleep at my feet. BEAR! It walked up to the window and I grabbed the camera:

Okay, the picture is blurry, but my hands were shaking a bit. I've lived in Alaska for over 11 years and this is the very first bear I've seen.

Rick tapped on the window and spooked the little guy. He ambled away, taking one last look back at us:

After he was gone (how can I ever be sure he's really gone?) I went outside and took a photo of his wet paw prints on the deck: What an exciting night in Chugiak, Alaska!