IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. -- it sounds like a tall tale coming from a woman so tiny.
"It's hard to explain, what you went through," said Alice Stewart, an 80-year-old who has lived a life full of adventure.
She spent years living in the Philippines while her husband served for the U.S. Air Force and decades in local politics as an Iredell County commissioner. She even survived a heart attack.
It's safe to say there isn't much that scares Stewart -- except what she says she saw outside of her home a few days ago. The traumatic incident happened near her carport in her front yard, the same yard she's worked in nearly every day for 43 years.
Even though Stewart was shaken from the incident, she's shared her story despite having serious thoughts about keeping it private.
"All of these older people in this neighborhood are not like me; they haven't had all these life experiences, and you don't want to put the fear of God in them," she said.
It happened Friday, June 8, around 5 p.m. Stewart had just finished setting some flowers on the ground and needed a drink of water. When she rounded the carport to go through her side door, she said she ran into something that nearly knocked her down.
"When I opened my eyes, to see what I hit, it was a bear! I screamed and screamed and screamed and I just went to pieces," exclaimed Stewart.
She's relived the episode a thousand times.
"Wham, right around here is where I hit the bear," she gestured.
This is the first time she'd seen a bear. In the past, Stewart has had problems with coyotes and raccoons.
"I shot at one in the carport one time. I have .22 rifle with a scope on it," she proudly said.
However, in this bear incident, Stewart wasn't packing heat. Fortunately, she made it inside safely after running into the bear.
"I think I scared him with all that screaming," she said.
Realizing she was stuck inside with no idea where the bear was, she called her neighbor, only to find out he had seen the bear, too.
Stewart has now made herself notes at every exit of her home, serving as a reminder to be more careful.
"I had not the foggiest thought of seeing a bear at my house, much less, running squaring into him," she said.