Thursday, October 4, 2018

Bambi


Seems I defy the odds, at least in Colorado.


Not so much in Wyoming. Seem to average one a year. My co-driver and I have both hit deer near MM 73 I-25 just South of Wheatland, WY and on Highway 20 between Guernsey, WY and Fort Laramie, WY. So far I’ve never hit a pronghorn.

Other critters can be a hazard. A few years ago my sister and I drove to Tulsa for an aunt’s 100th birthday. Rented a Ford Fusion and, thankfully, got the full meal deal insurance. Hit a huge raccoon near Fort Morgan, CO. We drove through the night and somewhere in Oklahoma my sister hit a big jack rabbit.

My sister, being an insurance adjuster, said around $3k damage to the Fusion.

No caribou in Colorado I’m aware of but we do have bighorn sheep. You see them frequently along I-70 near Georgetown but they seem smart enough to stay off the highway.  Highway 114 between Saguache and Gunnison has a herd roaming the area as does the Rocky Mountain National Park area, Estes Park over to Highway 14 around Glen Echo.

Though rare, people do hit bears in Colorado.

Being an old fart, have an old fart bear story. Summer of 1971 I was driving to Missoula, MT from Salmon, ID and came upon a pickup with a camper jammed into the ditch and embankment on the right side of the two lane road. The driver was waiving from his open window so I stopped. He had a bear pinned under the truck just under his door. He couldn’t get out without the bear reaching him and wanted me to shoot the bear. Said he had a rifle in the camper.

Instead, I used my handyman high lift jack to lift the truck off the bear. The bear scooted across the road and disappeared down the hill.  Too bad we couldn’t understand the bear’s vocalizations. Probably used some strong bear obscenities.

My father taught my sister and I that you hit the animal, not try to swerve and lose control.

Loose livestock is another hazard. Recently a loose horse was hit by one pickup in the eastbound lane and sent flying into the westbound lane where another pickup hit it. Early morning hour near Lucerne, CO.

Stay safe out there!

9 comments:

LL said...

Though it wouldn't do much to stop a horse or a large elk, the bumper on my Toyota FJ (ARB) has a history of saves against deer.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Lots of pickup truck drivers have aftermarket bumpers that are "hell for stout". My sister's F-150 has one that might shed an elk.

Coffeypot said...

Even a dog can do big dollar damage to today's front end tin and plastic. I know from experience.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

I'm looking in salvage yards for ex police push bars for my Taurus.

Ami said...

My little bumper commuter car, the Yaris, tangled with a raccoon on my way to my morning shift about four years ago. Did almost two thousand dollars worth of damage. It *was* a large coon. Every time I drove past what remained, it got smaller.

Be careful out there.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Some of my relatives in the South have remarked on hogs on the road.

LSP said...

I hit a deer on the Deer Foot Trail in Calgary. Messed up the vehicle big time and I'm still taken aback, to this day.

jon spencer said...

You miss the animal and go into the ditch, your ticket will probably read something about "too fast for conditions" or "careless driving".
You brake in a straight line and hit the animal and its the animals fault.
Of course if you swerve a little and break a deers neck, its still the deers fault and your freezer is full.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Go into the ditch and a ticket is the least of you problems.

LSP
Too bizarre.