---- BenT Syncro <syncro@GMAIL.COM> wrote:

>
> And on the subject of the Westy as a  hardside camper: I've gotten as
> close to bears as I ever want to be through the TV. I was watching a
> program where this bear tore off the doors in this car to get at food
> stored inside. Last time I checked, Westies and even hardtop Vanagons
> are not much different from regular cars. They have glass windows. The
> bear probably sees a Vanagon like a deli case. Goodies can be viewed
> from outside. Break the glass, then pry door off through the opening.

The program was of bears at Yosemite National Park.  Whatever a hardsided vehicle is, it doesn't qualify as a means of preventing bears from attempting to get food at Yosemite, but evidently does, so far as park rangers are concerned, at some parks.  At Yosemite, it is illegal to leave an unattended vehicle with food inside.   If a campground has a food locker, one is wise to use it (and may be required, legally, to do so).  If there is no food locker, follow whatever instructions the park provides.

David McNeely