It was dark as we drove home last night. Winding down the country road to our home, classic 70's music on the radio, Bex suddenly exclaimed, "What was THAT!?"
"What?"
Deadly serious: "I think I saw a bear by the side of the road."
"WHAT??"
I asked questions about what she'd seen and where as I looked for a safe place to turn around. We *had* to check this out. As we drove, I told her about the two bear sightings in Sonoma County that I knew of - both at places we'd been to recently: Occidental Art and Ecology Center, and St. Dorothy's Rest and Retreat.
As we approached the area she'd seen the animal, we saw a dark shadow on the side of the road. It was big. It was bigger than a coyote, black as night, barely visible in the gloom, and I was beginning to think that she was right!
She cautioned me not to get too close as I slowed the car, making sure that no one was coming (absolutely NO ONE was on the road at that hour). I turned the headlights toward the creature, and it squarely faced the car.
I said, "What? It's a pig!"
We have wild pigs in the area, so not too shocking, but this was BIG. Uncertain, I continued to slowly inch the car closer, as Bex urgently told me not to. "It will ram the car, Mom!"
"It's a boar! Wow - that's the biggest boar ..."
Huh?
The animal turned slightly and I could see that it was neither a bear, nor a wild pig, nor even a wild boar pig, but a dog.
I turned the car back onto the road, as we began to laugh hysterically, both from the relief that this wasn't a dangerous wild animal, but also at how silly we both felt! As the adrenaline subsided and we turned the car back around to head home, we discussed how absolutely massive that dog was. I wish it'd been lighter outside so we could have seen it more closely to figure out the breed.
So - that was our "bear" adventure. Maybe we'll see one, but hopefully not too close to home. Whether we ever do or not, we have a funny story to relive and retell for many years to come!
