An unwelcome visitor crashed the anniversary celebration of a Folsom, California, couple and their family Tuesday, leaving their minivan wrecked beyond repair.It’s a summer vacation wildlife encounter Irik Edens captured on video at the Bass Lake campground and posted to social media.“I noticed there was something moving in the car,” Edens explained. “It’s like, ‘Wait a minute, all the kids are down there. Who’s in the car?’ Then I see the silhouette of the bear in the back window, and it’s like, ‘Holy cow! There’s a bear in our car!’”The bear that ventured into their van – which was unlocked for convenience while the family was camping – required some human help to get out.A California Highway Patrol officer flagged down by Irik, along with a park ranger, can be seen on video smashing out the van’s windows before the bear busts free.Edens said the family was playing nearby along the lakeside – unaware the bear had moseyed inside the minivan where they stored their food.The syrup used on the family’s morning pancakes proved to be irresistible to the creature, Edens said.“I think he spent most of his time licking up syrup and trying to get out,” Edens said. “He was trapped in there and probably started freaking out and trying to get out. Started tearing the place apart.”Barely inside the van for long, the bear did a fair share of damage. All the family’s campout food and other bare necessities are now a total loss.“Beyond all the damage he did with his claws, just destroying the car, he also defecated and urinated in the car, and so it stinks in there,” Edens said.The camping trip to Bass Lake is an annual adventure for the Edens family, who celebrate their anniversary with their six children in tow.“It’s an anniversary for the books,” Irik’s wife, Mellissa Edens, said of their 13th wedding anniversary vacation. “We will always remember this one.”The bear break-in forced the Edens family to cut their trip short by a few days and they are now home in Folsom – working with their insurance company on getting a replacement minivan.They said they are grateful for the help of the California Highway Patrol, which donated child safety seats to the Edens’s four children who need them.Although they’re not in a hurry, the couple said this trip might just require a “re-do.”“We are very happy together,” said Irik Edens. “We love being together, and we’ll always do something.’”The couple shared that even in times like this when they find themselves needing to grin and bear it, they always find a way through.“We don’t let things like this mess things up for us,” Irik Edens said.
An unwelcome visitor crashed the anniversary celebration of a Folsom, California, couple and their family Tuesday, leaving their minivan wrecked beyond repair.
It’s a summer vacation wildlife encounter Irik Edens captured on video at the Bass Lake campground and posted to social media.
“I noticed there was something moving in the car,” Edens explained. “It’s like, ‘Wait a minute, all the kids are down there. Who’s in the car?’ Then I see the silhouette of the bear in the back window, and it’s like, ‘Holy cow! There’s a bear in our car!’”
The bear that ventured into their van – which was unlocked for convenience while the family was camping – required some human help to get out.
A California Highway Patrol officer flagged down by Irik, along with a park ranger, can be seen on video smashing out the van’s windows before the bear busts free.
Edens said the family was playing nearby along the lakeside – unaware the bear had moseyed inside the minivan where they stored their food.
The syrup used on the family’s morning pancakes proved to be irresistible to the creature, Edens said.
“I think he spent most of his time licking up syrup and trying to get out,” Edens said. “He was trapped in there and probably started freaking out and trying to get out. Started tearing the place apart.”
Barely inside the van for long, the bear did a fair share of damage. All the family’s campout food and other bare necessities are now a total loss.
“Beyond all the damage he did with his claws, just destroying the car, he also defecated and urinated in the car, and so it stinks in there,” Edens said.
The camping trip to Bass Lake is an annual adventure for the Edens family, who celebrate their anniversary with their six children in tow.
“It’s an anniversary for the books,” Irik’s wife, Mellissa Edens, said of their 13th wedding anniversary vacation. “We will always remember this one.”
The bear break-in forced the Edens family to cut their trip short by a few days and they are now home in Folsom – working with their insurance company on getting a replacement minivan.
They said they are grateful for the help of the California Highway Patrol, which donated child safety seats to the Edens’s four children who need them.
Although they’re not in a hurry, the couple said this trip might just require a “re-do.”
“We are very happy together,” said Irik Edens. “We love being together, and we’ll always do something.’”
The couple shared that even in times like this when they find themselves needing to grin and bear it, they always find a way through.
“We don’t let things like this mess things up for us,” Irik Edens said.
