Seen in Cherokee, North Carolina, on Day 64 of the Voyage of the Tramper. 11/17/2012.
Some cities decorate cows, others crabs (like Baltimore). Cherokee invoked the great spirit of the Bear. This one seemed especially apt to commemorate Memorial Day, when we remember and thank all those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country.
Jane & David
The Voyage of the Tramper 
Thanks for stopping into at my blog. Your sabbatical sounds too alluring. I dream of that kind of dive-into-experience all the time. Could you do it with children? Teenagers? People must, so I wonder how and where.–M
Hi Melissa! People do long trips with children a lot more than I thought before our own trip. They home-school (trailer-school??). This is probably a lot easier than it sounds, based on the wide variety of families this apparently works for. Teenagers? Not so much. Teens, unless they are quite unusual, seem to need their peers more than they need their parents. Well, they think they do!
David and I were able to do our Tramper Voyage partly because my step-son and my daughter are both all grown up. Taking children along would, it seems to me, both complicate and greatly enhance a trip like ours.
– Jane
Interesting. I do prefer the great spirit of the bear though.