Colorfully reincarnated after its owner decided this “tree got tired of being a tree and died to its treeness,” this creation and its mate are landmarks denoting a certain veterinary clinic. Tell us what you know about the picture snapped by Denver Post reporter Kristen Browning-Blas. Send your anecdotal response via e-mail to ColoradoSunday@denverpost.com. Include a digital photo of yourself and remember to include your hometown in the message. Our favorite answer wins a $50 gas card.
How’d you know
The winners: Tina Oberheide’s second-grade class, Frisco:
Max: “It’s by the Upper Hand haircut place. My mom makes me get my hair cut there.
Steven:The bear statue is on Frisco Main Street. It is in front of a photographer’s shop. I think my dad might work with him.
Meaghan: In the picture, the bear looks sleepy with his fish. It also looks sunny, but it’s been cold and snowy this winter here in Frisco, so now he’s covered up. Maybe he is hibernating.
Garrett: The bear statue is diagonally across from Frisco’s first school house. Now it is a museum.
Carson: The bear is near the Loaf ‘n’ Jug. The bear watches cars come to get gas.
Tim Sabo, Frisco: My good friend Brian Howard created it as a public art commission for developer Rob Phillippe. Brian studied wood carving and learned to make carousel horses. Our band rehearses in the living room of his Frisco cabin, where he keeps a beautiful full size carousel horse that he hasn’t gathered the nerve to sell. If someone would make him a generous offer, maybe he could quit borrowing my bass amplifier.
Keith Randall, Silverthorne: The sleeping bear is in a perfect position for today’s investor, near the Charles Schwab. I have spent many days wishing I could wake that bear!
Miles F. Porter, Frisco: Titled “Stuffed on Sushi,” this bear artwork is nearly 12 feet long and weighs 500 pounds, and serves as a swell ‘put the kid on his back’ photo opportunity for locals and visitors. Brian Howard had the bear poured at the Lands End Sculpture Center Foundry in Paonia.
Taylor Mack, Frisco: This sculpture is lounging around wiht his lunch on Main Street Of The Rockies! I passed by him the other day, and there’s a bit more snow on him than there was in the Post’s pic!
Christine Weber, Denver: I know that bear! He resides on Main Street, Frisco, just a few doors up from Rocky Mountain Coffee Roasters, where its fine bronze sculptor/artist/creator Brian howard also regularly enjoys morning coffee, paper and conversation, and whom I really have enjoyed getting to know over morning coffee. A funny twist: When I learned this summer that he was the artist who made that bear, we realized we had shared a chairlift ride 9 years ago at Breck, long before I got to know him. And the question on the bear’s mind clearly is the dilemma of whether to broil or grill that fish!
Rob Philippe, Frisco: The bear by Brian Howard was commissioned by Robert Philippe, the fellow that has been developing Main Street Frisco for the past 30 years — ME! Thanks for including it in the paper!
Heidi Avery, Frisco: This sleepy bear normally basks in the high altitude sunshine; however, today, it was found covered in snow. The snow did not keep my 2-year-old daughter, Adaline, from climbing on it, with her favorite paper, of course! Hopefully, it did not upset the bear too much. The bear looks like it is well into hibernation, and mighty comfortable, with the snow not bothering it at all.
Karen D. Hager, Lexington, KY: Friends and I have made a trip to Frisco nearly every October for the past 20 years. It is a beautiful place for a fall get-away. This past October, I traveled from Kentucky, where I recently moved, and my friend from Walsenburg and I stopped for a closer look at this bear one evening after dinner. My friend sent me the link to the on-line photo, and asked if I recognized it. I did, immediately! It brings back great memories of our weekend there. We will be back to see the Sleepy Bear in October.
Dennis Diaz, Pueblo West: This bronze bear is located on Main St. in Frisco, Colorado. We saw this bear in Frisco while strolling along enjoying a walk in this beautiful mountain town. My wife and I live in Pueblo West, Colorado. We actually had a bear tear into our pop-up camper in the Salida area several years ago. My wife now thinks staying in a condo is roughing it.
