Thanks. I had read about black bears in Arkansas being timid around humans and I knew about the trash thing. All our food was in the car locked up (these aren't Yellowstone bears who know how to crack open a window). I left my camp kitchen out on the table, and I did consider whether it would still be there in one piece (it's a suitcase, basically with all the cooking stuff in it). Some of the stuff smells like food, I'm sure. It didn't appear to be touched at all. But I know in my gut that bear was really close--it probably wasn't just the smell that woke me up, a sound, maybe, that I don't remember.

However timid the black bears may be--there have been several incidents of black bears in back yards around here lately, including one in my own town. So I shouldn't get too complacent!

Karen