Driving back towards Jasper, Canada, my wife and I were pretty buoyed up by the beauty of Lake Maligne’s clear blue water and the towering peaks surrounding it. But the icing on the cake was yet to come. Suddenly there was movement by the side of the road. I slowed down to get a better view and there it was. A black bear cub was minding its own business as it munched on shrubs. Then, as if on cue, Mother Bear came storming out of the trees and began to rub her back on a nearby tree.  What a sight – scary yet elemental at the same time. We had seen elk, moose, chipmunks, birds of prey and even a lone coyote during our trip through the Rockies but this was the closest we would likely ever get to a bear and her cub, and it was magnificent.
