Book excerpt: My name is Gear Bear (and for the record, "Gear" rhymes with "Bear"). I am a small, brown bear who has had the opportunity and pleasure of great travel, and these are my stories. I am a very lucky bear for so many reasons. I get to travel just about everywhere my friends and family go-but sometimes they get so excited about being someplace new that they leave me behind, forget me, or lose me. I've even been bearnapped! But no matter what happens, I am always ready for a new adventure. I have a lot of miles under my belt and many stamps in my passport. I've traveled on a canoe down the Wisconsin River-through a nude beach, no less-on the back of a motorcycle to the Sturgis Bike Rally, and on the back of a horse through the Ozark Mountains. I've even had a ghost encounter at a local establishment and a search-and-rescue mission with the help of a US Marshal! I've traveled by plane, train, and automobile, and more. It seems that no matter where I go or what I do, trouble and adventure seem to follow.