Official Web Site for Charlie Bear - The True American Bear Home / My Story / Books n Stuff / Fan Club / Adventures / Fundraising / Friends / Contact "We have a choice to explore our own neighborhoods or far away shores or mountains with our hearts wide open or rush through life with our hearts shut tight." Your Friend, Charlie "I'm still always amazed when the child in us frees up others to laugh, hope and share. How does Charlie Bear do that?" Judy Deckert Bellview, Iowa Share Charlie Bear's Travel Adventures at: Teddy Roosevelt Memorial Lake Itasca Mississippi River Tom Sawyer's Fence St. Louis Arch Wyatt Earp's Home Town John Wayne's Birthplace Mitchell Corn Palace Wall Drug Bear Country USA Mount Rushmore Crazy Horse Mountain Original Road Kill Cafe Grand Tetons Yellowstone National Park Grand Canyon Reno & Lake Tahoe San Francisco Oakville Grocery Napa Valley and Charlie's Birthplace and much more! Fan Club coming soon! TRUE TALES of Travel, Discovery, Adventure and Learning for Young and Old -- Hi, I'm your friend, Charlie. I travel to many places in the United States of America and share laughter and joy with the grrreat humans I meet along the way. I write about my experiences in interactive Journal Books. I hope the stories lift your spirits and make you laugh from deep within. Charlie Bear's Journal Books are filled with humor and love and tell of my true travel adventures in the USA. My books are complemented by really cool photographs created by my travel pal Lynn Bogert Dykstra. She is a nationally recognized special events photographer and founder of FOCUSED IMAGES Photography, Inc. A BORN IN AMERICA BEAR I am a 100 percent True American Bear, born in Norwalk, Ohio. My plush brown fur is from Wisconsin, my lovable insides from North Carolina and my five feet of tall pine "bones" are from the Midwest. I was born to travel! My mission in life is to help you: Explore the USA with your heart wide open Discover what's grrreat in the world around us Share your adventures with family and friends Awaken warm fuzzy feelings Learn how to laugh from deep within It's that simple! My true and fun stories include little life lessons for humans. I set an example for you to embrace your lives with hearts wide open, share joy and laughter with family and friends and help make the world a grrreater place - for even just a moment in time. TRAVEL WITH YOUR HEART WIDE OPEN I encourage you to plan your own adventure with family and friends and to seek out what's grrreat in America. With my "Friend of Charlie Bear" Travel Kit you receive my interactive Journal Books, a little Charlie to help you explore and other neat stuff. The books have special pages for you to keep track of your own adventures. When you return home, I hope you'll share your story and picture with me. Please e-mail me at charlie@charliebear.com. JOIN CHARLIE'S FAN CLUB My spontaneous experiences create lifetime memories with new friends. These friends become Members of "Charlie Bear's Grrreat Adventure® Club." You can be a member, too! CHARLIE BEAR'S GRRREAT ADVENTURE® Phone: 703-435-3456 / FAX: 703-435-3470 e-mail: charlie@charliebear.com / www.charliebear.com Web Design by Joan Holman Productions / www.holman.com PLEASE REMEMBER. . . I'm Charlie, a kind and gentle bear who was raised with humans. ALL BEARS ARE NOT LIKE ME. Bears who are raised in the woods look at humans a little differently than I do. If you see a real live bear who bends at the waist or can run really well - and happens to be in the same area you are; be sure to keep your distance. Many bears don't understand that humans are really okay and just want to be their friends. And, most likely, I won't be there to talk Bear language and help you out. Bears can get scared and protective of their own spaces. I've seen it happen with humans, too. Someday, they may understand you. Don't push it; just give them their space and don't get in their way. On the other hand, I am kind and gentle and I am not afraid to look for grreat things throughout my travels in the USA. I hope we'll meet some day and I can be your friend. CHARLIE BEAR'S GRRREAT ADVENTURE ® is a Registered Trademark and a creation of FOCUSED IMAGES Photography, Inc.'s founder, Lynn Bogert Dykstra. Copyright 2004 FOCUSED IMAGES Photography, Inc. All rights Reserved. No part of this web site - text or photographs - may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical for any reason, without written permission from FOCUSED IMAGES Photography, Inc. (other than printing pages, in their original form, for the sole purpose of sharing Charlie's story with your family and friends.) For permission to copy for other reasons, please contact us at charlie@charliebear.com. Charlie is a kind and gentle bear who works hard to meet your requests; but bear in mind, he has friends in high places watching out for him. Illegal reproduction of his work will result in you hearing from those friends. Thanks, in advance, for your grrreat honesty.