The writer gets a shot — taken from the deck of the family’s cabin — of the black bear that broke into his minivan and pulled out food for her two cubs. (John Biemer/Chicago Tribune )
Bears -- fake and real -- come with the scenery in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The cabin where the author and his family stayed, up the mountainside from Gatlinburg, Tenn., the gateway to the Smokies. ( John Biemer/Chicago Tribune )
The author’s son, Charlie, poses for a picture outside a store in downtown Gatlinburg. The bear theme is everywhere in the Smokies. ( John Biemer/Chicago Tribune )
A sign on the deck of the Gatlinburg, Tenn., cabin. ( John Biemer/Chicago Tribune )
With fake bears in the background, a real black bear and two cubs raid an unsecured trash container by the side of the road in the hills of Gatlinburg, Tenn. ( Joanne Biemer/Chicago Tribune )
