HUGE BEAR Tries Getting Into My Van... Solo Van Life 

Couple of notes- Yes, obviously I should have closed the door. The trail up the road wasn’t more than 50 yards to another campsite I wanted to peak at. I spend 80% of my days in national forest and have nothing but respect for the wildlife and their area. Mistakes happen. And to the people mad about Cassie going into McDonald’s, you’re barking up the wrong tree lol. Cassie didn’t hurt a thing sitting beside me for 1 minute while waiting for a coffee, same as a service dog would have. I don’t care about a McDonald’s workers opinion the same as I wouldn’t care about a government workers, millionaire, hobo, or your opinion. (No disrespect to a McDonald’s worker, I just don’t give a ___ about anyone’s opinion :) I know right from wrong and in MY opinion, Cassie didn’t hurt a thing being in McDonald’s lol. If a dog going into one of the dirtiest food establishments is something that triggers you, it’s better off you aren’t watching our future videos lol

The bear wanted those Ritz!! Lol I don't blame em!

Please don’t stress about posting videos etc. Enjoy the crap out of your adventure and your travel pal. We can wait. Love the bear timing! Lucky lucky lucky. ❤

"Cassie!" Sigh "I shoulda brought that in." Cassie low key nods 🤣🤣🤣 My scariest wildlife encounter was me sitting on our picnic table behind our cottage on Manitoulin Island (Ontario, Canada). My dad had warned me there was a black bear in the area but sometimes you just need to go outside. Dark night, me chilling until I got this feeling that I wasn't really alone. Nope. That curious bear was much more quiet than I would have guessed and was about ten feet away from me and we made eye contact. I stood up and said "Go away!" in a whisper yell and power walked directly back into the cottage. In the morning we saw that the bear had pulled pieces off our garbage shed looking for tasty leftovers sometime while we slept.

Try keeping the treat inside your fist so she can just smell it and not get it and then give it to her when you’re done walking. The whole point of heel is to stay next to you, not just come up next to you and be done. That’s why she runs off because she thinks that she did what you wanted. Hope it helps!

Wanted to share with everyone that I have purchased 2 of Dan's tees. The tan "Play Outside" and the black Dan's Logo tees and I must say I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the shirts. Sometimes shirts can be really thin and get clingy when you wear them, however, Dan's are nice and heavy weight and hang well off the body when you wear them. (maybe we will see sweatshirts in the future! hint hint for Dan) - - - Just wanted to toss that out there for those looking to purchase the new merch!

I was walking my 2 Huskies and a coyote came right up to us, within 6 ft. My girls were freakin' so he turned and ran. I was so mad I didn't get it on video. That was in AZ. I live in FL now. Now I deal with snakes alot...😲🐶🐶

I guess that's to be expected with the doors open. They don't like barking dogs so maybe cassie barking is a good thing. Thanks for posting

I helped a tarantula cross the road in California. while using a pullout to let people pass and noticed it about to cross and couldn't let it get ran over due to how big it was. Super neat experience. It was easily as big as my hand so about 7.5"-8". Massive Bear, elk, and moose sightings are super cool, but that was different.

I think my wildlife adventure as a child out does anything I’ve had as an adult. I was in about the fifth grade my family and I lived out on a Homestead in the outskirts of Fairbanks Alaska, while my father was in the army at Fort Wainwright, my brother, and I had to take the school bus and the school and we like to meet our friends halfway up to the bus stop and our walk together. One morning during the winter it was dark as usual, and someone in our group saw what they thought was a large dog and we all laughing and playing as usual and all of a sudden this huge mama moose jumps out of the edge of the woods onto the road that we were walk a dog because we were too close to her baby that we thought was a dog. We call as a collective group started running like we were try it out for the Olympics. We ran into a neighbors yard and up on his porch and mama gave up but we had to run at least a half a block to get to the nearest neighbor scary scary scary. From that day on all the mamas took turns collecting all the kids and sitting at the school bus, waiting for the bus to arrive and being at the bus stop in the afternoon and dropping all of us at our homes.

Holy smokes!!! That bear freaked me out. So glad you, Cassie and the van are okay. I have 2 sons 25 and my older son was 28 when he passed away 2 years ago Aug 8th. Watching you helps, your videos are a comfort to me. Be safe. Blessings

Enjoyed the video Dan, thanks as always. Try making a "CH" sound whenever you want Cassie to pay attention to you. I don't know if "CH" is the best way to spell/describe the sound, but it's the beginning of how you prounounce the word "Chattanooga". Just the "Ch" part of it, but accented heavily. I'm making the sound now as I type and my dog thinks she's done something wrong :) It's just a simple sound to make that dogs hear really well, but doesn't bother other people in the area (unlike a loud whistle or yelling). You'll be amazed how loud you can make the "CH" sound appear to your dog, while also not bothering anyone in the vicinity. Whenever you need to apply a correction, add the "CH" sound and she'll get used to that being a command that you just want her to stop what she's doing at the moment and look to you for more direction. Per request: Hand feeding leftover chicken to skunks at a campsite with my family when I was a kid. Cheers, Sev PS - As far as the bear encounter goes, I'm glad you're being safe! 2AR is definitely prudent. Don't want to be reading about you and Cassie being mauled in the news :)

Cassie is becoming more and more YOUR dog! She really is looking to you as the head of her pack, for what she needs to and should do! [Bad, Dan!! Leaving trash out where Cassie can get to it! Bad, Dan!!] I purchased one of your t-shirts, and I love it! They are really well-made shirts! Since you don't yet have lady-cut t-shirts, I purchased an XL to wear as a night shirt! I am not yet able to put a review on your Etsy site because last I looked, it said my shirt was yet to ship!??? Dan, you are freaking lucky as hell that bear didn't crawl into your van and tear it up big time!! I'm so happy you've been able to get some of the new equipment you were hoping to get. My Android phone does have the "Join" button. I live right smack in the middle of a college town. One evening I had taken my toy poodle out front for her last chance to potty for the night when I noticed a doe coming towards me from between mine and my neighbors' homes! My dog was busy, so she didn't initially notice we had a visitor. When I could, I grabbed up my dog we went up to quietly stand on my front porch. After the doe, came several more, next thing I knew, there was entire herd of deer hanging out in my front yard! It was wonderful to watch! My dog was a bit scared of the giant and weird looking and smelling "dogs" in our yard, so she didn't make a peep!! I've lived in this house for decades, and that one time was the only time I saw a herd of deer in my front yard! It has to be a good mile to mile and a half of neighborhoods between my house and the nearest good area for deer to call home! Every time I peek out my front I wonder if I will ever see that again at home!

Another fun but scary encounter. Im glad you and Cassie are both safe

Guess you gotta close up the van more often! Lol Happy he walked away!

I love your videos. You have quickly become one of my favorites on RU-vid!

❤❤❤❤❤ Your channel continues to grow and I think by the end of the year if you do 2 videos a week. I bet you're gonna be up to 10K subscribers. You can do it and we can all help.

It is cool even if you post everyday. I love watching the videos. I don't care if same area. Please keep it up. I rather have something to watch than nothing at all.

In the future . . KEEP THE DOORS CLOSED . . you normally don't leave them open, do you ? You're right, that could have been a disaster !!! I really haven't had any encounters with wildlife much . . looking forward to Sunday's video !!! ( BD Steve )

Wow! A bear up close & personal. The double rainbow was beautiful. Your breakfast taco looked good.

Well, hopefully, that'll teach you to never go away from your van and leave the door open. He could have tour the hell out of the inside of that van.

Cassie is such a good dog. That was a nice area!!!

Dan, I loved the video. From the nice windshield wipers to asking for a wild animal encounter. You and Cass are great. PLEASE, ignore the jerks, no-it-alls, wanna be park rangers and obviously, there's even some wild life experts commenting on this video. If you had a smart @$$ or condescending comment about how Dan does things, I hope you at least hit the like button before you left !! This is why I like animals better than most humans. Tell you about my wild animal encounters (one was with a bear and one was with a Bengal tiger) after I cool off from all these mean people. One more reason I like animals more than most humans. Big kisses for Cassie and hugs for you both. ❌️🐾❤️

Oh my gosh, very fun filled video. The rainbows 🌈😲 gorgeous. Haha about the windshield wipers.🤣 Poor Cassie gets very sad being in the van, without you.😭 That bear, I gasped when it came around the corner. It had a cute little swag as it walked away.😬 I was thrilled seeing whales while on an Alaska cruise. Thanks for the shout-out. Stay safe.😊

Great video....the bear encounter was scary. About 25 years ago my friend and I ran out of gas and we were walking down a country road with a gas can and I heard this running sound and looked back to see a Buffalo running towards us....I screamed run and we both started booking it. The only thing that saved us was it was a Buffalo farm and they had an electric fence. Never been so scared in my life.

Another great video, with only the “bear” essentials! LOL! I say stay there as long as you want. What’s the rush with that beautiful, always changing background!? Oh, and one word… Seatbelt. 🤓 That’s all! I’m not gonna nag or anything. I have a tie for best wild encounters. 1) Seeing a Great Gray Owl about 20 feet away on a tree stump while I’m in a canoe in the middle of a marsh, in the woods of MN. 2) Finding myself surrounded by sea turtles while in the water off Oahu, Hawaii. There’s more, but I already talk too much! Be well, Dan & Cassie! Thanks again! 🤟😎❤️🌈☮️🐻🧸

Another awesome video Dan. Hope yourself and Cassie are well. Ive been in a hut sleeping and heard Tassie Devils arguing over something in the middle of the night. They have the scariest sounding noises. We're going to the Tassie Zoo tomorrow and my daughter is having an encounter with a Caracal (i think that's how you spell it). Keep up the fantastic work Dan. You should be very proud of everything you're doing 😊

Thanks again for the shoutout Dan - and as I said in chat, a squirrel running up my leg when I was kid! Missed you in the live chat today!

Walking my 2 dogs by a river, bush around us. Great Dane & a Spanish Mastiff - big dogs. No leashes. I had bought a book & was trying to read as I walked. Thought my Great Dane, who was black, was walking beside me - looked up - it was a small black bear, running as fast as it could because my dogs were chasing it! They did not catch bear. No one harmed. Enjoying your van life vids. I think RU-vid vids available everywhere? I can get on iPhone or iPad. Cheers,

Wow! That bear! Great video! Maybe some new wipers. 🤷🏻‍♀️😂Stay safe Dan and Cassie! ❤

Hey Dan,Whicked that was a very cool Thursday vlog,so not really a wild life encounter but I live semi rural so quite often you see an drive through farmers moving there herds of cattle down the roads moving them to new pastures. What a good dog cassie is she totally had your back with that bear encounter,was nice to hear you'd taken a couple of days off to hang with your mate an go to a conert,making time for yourself is so important 🙂🤗

Woah that bear! And the bedtime snuggle was so cute. Cassie is amazing.

Dogs love carrots and they are good for them. The great as treats too. Baby carrots are easy to store and great for the lil girl.

My close encounter I walk out of my camper one evening and there sat a huge black bear on my deck just chillin but of course I about shit my pants 😳🤦🏼‍♂️

One of my favorite wildlife encounters was seeing an albino baby porcupine while walking my dogs in my rural neighborhood!

Loved it! Rainbows were stunning! Bear oh my! Pet sweet Cassie! Thanks for sharing! Stay safe! 🙏💛🌻

While asking Cassie to heal, I would reccomend using a realease command like "O.K" or "Break" and reward her after she is released. Starting with short durations of heel and slowly making them longer. Hope that helps!🙂

I’m not sure that I’m going to make it tonight Dan. I’m having a bit of an illness flair up, so no late nights for me, (live is at 11pm UK ) but will watch and give thumbs up asap. Sending hugs to Cassie and a pat on the head to you! Ha ha!

1:30 Cassie is such an obedient girl. 13:17 would have scared me to death! I'm glad the bear went on his merry way.

Bears can smell a thing of chapstick from miles away. He smelled every bit of food you had in that van, and was ready to help himself b4 you yelled hey bear. This is the very reason why hikers either make use of bear boxes or hang any/all items he can smell and want (chapstick) in a tree overnight. Please Please carry some form of defense with you at all times. ALL TIMES, it should even be within quick reach when you are in the van. God bless, stay safe. 🙏🙏❤️❤️

I am quickly falling in love with Colorado! It just seems to have everything I love. It’s just beautiful. Glad you are prepared for bear. I’m weird in that I’m afraid of them but just love seeing them. McDonalds is doing more damage to people’s health than Cassie could do in a thousand lifetimes.

The moment Cassie's head is oh so perfectly nuzzled under your nose. The SWEETEST thing I've seen all day. My craziest wildlife moment...I regularly run into little critters at night when I'm taking my trash out or smoking a cig while on the phone...kittens, racoons, opossums, snakes!

Great video Dan. I'm so glad this is going well for you because I love it when you post a new video. That bear would have torn up your house for sure! So thankful it didn't get inside. Have you priced windshield wipers lately? OUCH!!! It'll cost you a left you-know-what. Stay safe!

whoa! Bear so close! Glad he decided to leave. .

That was up close with wildlife! And yes he would have been in the van if you hadn’t caught site of him. Cassie is such a good girl. We have amazing encounters on our boat with spinner dolphins and whales but last year we had a whale breach less than 50’ off our bow. They’re 30’+ so it was jarring. Just a little too close for comfort. All you can do is cut the engines and pray. Lol 🌺

I’ll throw my very humble 2 cents in. When I took obedience class we kept on a very short leash while on heel command. Keep training to 5 minutes, 4-5 times a day. When done with each session “release” your dog, praise and have fun. Business is business when training. She is so very smart and capable. We humans are the ones that need training to be able to show our fur babies what we want. BE consistent. Hope that helps.

Guess youll have to shut your doors when you go for a walk. Yall stay safe. ❤

Great video as always! My too close for comfort encounter was having a mountain lion walk up to about 6 feet from me then just turn and calmly go the other way. Must have been my lucky day and I will never forget his eyes!

I expect you to encounter an alien creature next! 😳

Lesson learned. Don't leave the door open when the van is unattended.😅

OMG I thought I was bad about replacing windshield wiper blades! LOL

Your videos are real good, don’t worry about traveling. Atleast not until you get all the beautiful scenery from where you are. When I seen you walking away from the open van first thought I had was a animal is getting in there. Can’t leave it open like that and walk away. Seen bears trying to get into someone’s camper for food. Luckily they where gone and a bunch of people got the bears to go. Cassie is doing good with her obedience (ob). Try to get her to stop and sit in heel. That is when you can reward her without her running off. Think you need new wiper blades😂. Enjoyed the video thanks for sharing. ❤

I always double lock my doors because I’m terrified a bear will pull the door handles. I immediately panicked seeing you left the door open.

😂duuuuude!!!..Ted was gonna munch on your tater salad😂..good video lil bro..and trust me..I'm ah true woodsman so I appreciate your "security" system being with you when your away from the van..that's the smartest thing you do and I'm glad to see it👍🏽 and the video was awesome..just film what you want when you want..stay happy doing it..dont ruin the fun for your self to please us👍🏽 and why travel when every day there you get a different view... phffft I'd stay there too..save money your still van living and you know the area..so yeah..id stay there or around there too👍🏽 keep it up bub..your doing great man!💪🏾

Another great vid. Beautiful scenery, y wud you want to leave. Loved the bear, the rainbow & Cassie is a joy to watch, so obvious she just loves you so much.❤ Im not sure if this counts as a close encounter with wildlife. During summer (in Perth west aust) i would go to the local dog beach almost every day. Two tiger sharks were sighted at the dog beach and the neighbouring public beach on a regular basis. Didnt stop anyone from swimming i mean what are the chances, waist deep in crystal clear water , plenty of time to get out, right? On a very HOT day my dog and i were swimming , not deep and i noticed a dark shape swim by. I got out of the water unsure if was my imagination. A man came up to me who was flying his drone & said the Tiger shark had swam right past us. The shark ended up being given the name of Trevor. Never hurt anyone .,..yet.,.,. Not quite as amazing as a beautiful wild Bear. Btw cassie on a t shirt would be very cute?

Elk surrounding my car in a parking lot in Rocky Mountain National Park. Also, thousands of tarantulas crossing the highway in northern Texas. It was mating season, lol! It was really strange but cool! Stay safe!

I had a family of foxes (including kits) living under my porch. They were adorable

Great Video that bear was big. Love the Cassie girl......

We had put a pot of stew in the fire pit in the coals and a bear took it, we found it down the road, but the lid was stuck on it so we still had dinner.

Cassie is such a good dog. I was noticing that in several video's , just how well behaved she is. You scored with her. The bear could have been napping right where you parked. You got lucky there.

We were in Ruidoso NM and there was a big moose just standing right in the middle of the street in the middle of town. He looked rather proud of himself for disrupting traffic!

My most exciting wild life encounter was when I lived in Hawaii. I was walking way out on a lava flow with very deep ocean water on my right. Suddenly an enormous Killer Whale leapt out of the water seemed to suspend itself in the air, arched itself back into the ocean and left me standing there with my mouth open. It was about 15 feet away from me. I’ve seen Grizzlies and moose in Alaska but this took my breath away.

Maybe next time you'll close your doors when you leave. .😊

Great video. Glad you had Cassie on a leash. Wild life adventure I had was as a Teen in the Appalachian Mountains Ramp (kind of a cross between a green onion and garlic) digging. Black Bear came out of nowhere on the mountain. Didn't do anything, but my dad had something special for him if need be.

Beautiful rainbows. Beautiful scenery! That was a big bear!

Wqatching the Bighorn Sheep in a park in Boulder City just a few miles out from Las Vegas . As always great video. So glad you keep Cassie on the leash. She wanted to play with that bear real bad. Stay safe.

I was camping in Big Bear with my ex and her family and when I took the trash out, there was a baby bear like 10 feet away from me. I was not scared of the baby bear, however where baby bear is mommy is close by so I did not want her to run after me for being to close to her baby. . . . . PS, why don't you have one of your Dan"s Off The Grid sticker on the back of your van. Free marketing!

I bet you learned a valuable lesson, always close your rig up when not in it😊

Sorry I missed your premier. That Bear was wild!! Stay safe Dan and Cassie. X

An extremely large lizard on the beach on St. Maarten, FWI, it was unexpected. Great footage Dan. Each video gets better and better. Glad your snack stash survived the bear's visit. That would have been tragic!

Hi Dan, It’s just after 3am, but I finally made it! And yet another great video from you. I love the area that you are in, it’s so beautiful, Nature really does like to keep you on your toes around your way! I can’t believe how calm you sounded when you saw that bear at the van. Then again maybe he just called by to check out the famous and beautiful Cassie, (the moose chaser )and wanted to hang out with her? 🐻🦮Ha ha! I hope you’re both doing ok and looking after yourself. I’m glad that you managed to take some time out to be with friends and watch a concert. Don’t worry too much about posting videos twice a week, if it’s too much, just post when you can , or maybe do a few shorts and post one of them instead of a full video now and again? You’ve got a lot on right now, so please make sure you look after your mental as well as physical health. On that note, I’m off back to my bed to try and get some more sleep. You have a good day/night/morning and take care 🙂

I luv you and Cassie walks glade you too were safe ❤❤❤

Aaaagggg! I know, I would have been worried about my dog chasing after the bear. He/she was beautiful though!

Hey Dan! Don’t stress about posting, I really enjoy what you show but if it means waiting a week to see you both, we will wait! Cassie is such a good girl 🤍🤍🤍 stay safe! Follow the rainbow! Stay SAFE!! 🐻

That is a close one with that bear- hmmm close done w wildlife breaking up a fight that my dog was having with a raccoon- just brainstorming what about a sticker or tshirt with Cassie on it. Stay safe have fun .

I was about 2 miles away from the closest road hiking a trail in Glacier NP when a momma grizzly with 2 cubs crossed the trail right in front of me. It was amazing!

Omg I would've been scared seeing a bear that close up. How brave are you and Cassie! 😊

Glad you are safe.

Wild horses at the beach

I see many van life travelers leaving doors open, only to find mice inside later

oh wow my most unnerving moment was walking out to see how th temp was dropping and the last time was on the banester on the porch was something that looked like a cross between a cat and a racoon that was not good i backed up into the house and went back inside!!!!!!!!!

Get those wipers replaced. They will ruin your windshield

Hi Dan & Cassie! My dog Lady's reaction to Cassie's mess was priceless. She was like 'oh look! Cassie made a mess!!!' I think she's a wee bit jealous of Cassie lol But we both enjoy her so much. And of course another bear got her going too! So thankful you got back in time!!! That full on double rainbow was STUNNING. Hopefully will catch Premiere on Sunday. Thank you bunches!! Stay safe

I’m so glad t he at bear left! I’ve been watching bear attack videos lately so please please be careful and carry your bear spray with you and easy to grab at all times. They can get to you in 30 seconds. That made me so nervous. Lol

Hey Dan in case nobody has told you that the other animal you saw was a weasel I thought I would let you know

All of that filming and editing pressure sounds like a lot of stress too me, take your time man.

Yikes 😬 🐻 I was walking a trail and came almost face to face with a deer, who just stood there. A little unnerving. I just found your channel and subscribed. Looking forward to more videos.

The big homie was about to hop in the sim rig

Bear knows Ritz is the shitz! Never had an unusual encounter with wildlife.

Awesome video! Bear spray!? I wouldn't go anywhere without it ! Be safe out there.

Idaho springs is a small town and everyone loves you

I agree with the posters below, don't leave your van when the doors are open!!!!! That bear could have cost major bucks in damage. 🤑😒

Hey Dan, I'm from Iowa, I just subscribed. It's good to see an Iowa Boy, living the Van Life. I currently live in Orange County California, but I'll soon join the van life community and do my 'CalExit'. I can't wait to get the hell out of what we call 'Cali-Mexi-Fornia', because it's more like Mexico than America. I moved from Iowa to Orange County in November of 1988. We also call this state, the 'United Socialist State of California. And 'Californistan'.

Great video, we caught a shark fishing in a tinny that was pretty cool experience.

Love your videos.

Another awesome video!!!

It's nice to see you're eating some green leafy vegetables. 😊

Oh Cassie😍

You are lucky. He was a big boy and if he got in your van he would have done some damage.

Look into getting bear spray and something like the umarex T4E pepperball pistol. The handgun is great for self defense against people but is super sketchy if something were attacking cassie and you needed to make a precise shot while they were scruffiling unless your aim is bonkers. Firing a warning shot in the air if its a wild animal works well too.