In every book written there are parts that just don’t seem to fit and must be left out. In the movie industry the editing occurs on “the cutting room floor.” Often it has been associated with tears and heartbreak as the creator of the work sees these priceless tidbits fall to the waste pile. For an author, this scrap pile, formerly discarded and forgotten, can be resurrected and put into the Blog category!
Be sure to check back occasionally to read about some new and interesting things that can be found on the chopping block of Coastal Secrets!
Did you know that in Yosemite National Park the Rangers issue citations and warnings on parked cars? On our last trip to Yosemite we found a warning notice on our car for something other than a parking violation. It was for having a small tub of Wet Ones on the console between the two front seats in our mini-van. The United States Department of the Interior, National Park Division, issued a “Warning Notice” that stated that we had either food, ice chests, trash, cans and bottles, or items with an odor like soap, toothpaste, sunscreen, etc. in our car.
Our particular warning notice, that looks much like a ticket, had written in the violation line, “Wet Ones.” The paragraph at the bottom was the most alarming. This is what is said:
“Improper food storage is a violation of Title 36 Code of Federal Regulations. You may receive a citation or your property may be impounded, or both. Bears may damage vehicles even when food is properly stored.”
Our violation citation warning was issued at 1:45 am!
Thankfully we got a warning and our car was not impounded! Apparently there has been a problem with bears breaking into parked cars when they look in and see ice chests (even if empty) because by experience, they know what goodies are usually found in the coolers. And since their sense of smell is super sensitive they can smell soap, toothpaste, sunscreen, and yes, Wet Ones!
Did you know that a dog’s sense of smell is about 100 times greater than a human’s? But a bear’s sense of smell is said to be over 2,000 times greater than humans. It has been reported that a bear can smell something downwind up to 20 miles away.
One more tidbit – – now there is a product on the market that is like a plastic Zip-lock bag for food storage that is 100% odor-proof. They are sold in camping and outdoor stores. They advertise that they are 17,000 times more odor-proof than the normal Zip-lock bag. Next time we go camping, I think I’ll stock up on these LOKSack baggies!