Tracks in the mud

A dear family friend who lives in the southwestern part of the state was up here for a visit and asked if I would like to go along on a ride up to Sheridan Creek above Dubois.  I'm always up for a ride in the mountains; every trip offers something new and beautiful.  My friend wanted to visit the area where her folks' ashes had been scattered and lay out some flowers as a Memorial Day tribute. 

Nearby is this towering tree, with this exposed root system (below).  How does it survive?

After enjoying the peace and beauty in this campground area, we started walking around, first down to the creek.  The water was rushing and pretty muddy in color; the main stream is in the background, and the overflow is in the foreground.

Then, we walked toward the road and planned to walk to the bridge - another nice place to snap photos.

As we were about to step on to the road, I noticed something pretty obvious... fresh tracks that were not from a moose, an elk, or a deer.  No sirreeeee!

We both thought these tracks looked particularly FRESH.  Soooo, how about a few pictures?  And, perhaps NOT continue on to the bridge, just in case momma griz and the cub are interested in lunch...or have had a bad morning...

After walking back to the car, we decided it would be safe to DRIVE up the road, wondering if we'd see the bears.  But we didn't.  All that we saw were more tracks in the mud.  Just for comparison, take a look at my size 10's compared to momma bear's paw print.