State Park Sweetness: I Love You CA Bear

A certain state-hugging ursine fellow is making cameos around the state.

STATE SYMBOL SHOUT-OUT: If you've ever participated in Flat Stanley, or something similar to the paper, globe-trotting boy that every school kid knows as well as her or his favorite cartoon, then you know the fun of seeing something that's easy to pack show up in a remote or faraway place. It is a unifying thing, in short, and when a particular Flat Stanley has made the rounds, the community that participated is pretty dang chuffed. With that come-together spirit in mind, and a spirited love for nature and protecting our wild places, the people behind the California State Parks are marking the parks' 150th anniversary with one very sweet project: The I Love You CA Bear. Yep, there's a furry fellow hugging our state and he's showing up in all the parks. He's made recent appearances at Hearst Castle, Huntington State Beach, and Sonoma State Historic Park via fans who've printed out the bear from the official web site. Are you and the family journeying to a state park this summer? Feel like printing out our venerable animal ambassador and snapping a few photos for Instagram or another social media corner of the web?

THEN RAISE A HAPPY ROAR... and print out your bear here. You may want to print out two, one for the front of the fridge, given that the illustration may raise some Golden State pride. And if you aren't traveling to a park in the next month or two, but want to see all the places the bear is making a colorful cameo, you can follow along on Facebook. Where will the I Love You CA Bear pop up next? Wherever there's a park that needs our love, our commitment to its future, and, yep, a little whimsy. That's all the state parks, right? We'll raise a roar to that.

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