Mud Creek was named for the land-management practices of the 1800’s. At that time the prevailing viewpoint was to bring in a hundreds of cows and let them wallow where they would. By the middle of summer when the grass is dried up and the days hot the only cool place was in shade of giant cottonwoods, and very prickly hawthorne trees growing along remaining trickle of a stream. Fast forward two hundred years – we have fenced out the cattle, the riparian vegetation is coming back, but the name remains. Mud Creek hosts an elk calving ground and bear habitat. It’s always exciting to walk this area and see who’s around. Last week we walked Mud Creek which is still flowing, albeit at a lower level than a month ago. As we walked further downstream, we came across a very distinctive bear print.