So much of our lives is focused on ‘what’s’ down the road, ‘where’ we’re headed, ‘what tasks’ await us… A point where ‘things’ are that we are supposed to do, see, or discover. Curiously, comparatively little of our lives is spent savoring the journey between those points… dealing with the unexpected, seeing beautiful things never mentioned in travel magazines or bragged about at group social events. Indeed, our lives are often defined by the extraordinary things in them, while not much attention is paid to all that lies between those highlights… the bulk of our lives, actually!
At the moment, we (our girl and I) are wandering around… not entirely aimlessly, though, because there is a reason for the general zigs and zags and curious routing involved… We are doing what we often must do… avoiding unpleasant weather, while remaining mobile. Yep, a spate of rain is said to be bearing down on this area, so I’m searching for a hole-up locale suitable for hunkering down a night or two and letting it all pass. I could have chosen to stay put for several nights, but… heck, we’d just rather be out yonder moseying along, so… Sometimes, even I must do a little planning!!!
Not much stunning scenery, although it all is beautiful and well worth seeing. No anticipated encounters with curious characters, yet plenty of random, brief encounters that bring a smile to our faces for years to come. Occasionally, we have something pop-up, that is most memorable and gives us pause… like a close call that scares the poop out of us! I had one of those, too, just yesterday morning…
We were on our way from southwestern Wyoming to Oregon by way of northern Wyoming and western Nebraska. No, one doesn’t have to have a complete mastery of geography to readily see we are not on the most direct or shortest route! However, anyone familiar with the weather forecast and having an aversion to riding a scooter in rain and high winds… well, our route would begin to seem rather logical, even desirable!
We stopped that evening to spend the night in the kind of place I really enjoy. Glendo, WY, a tiny hamlet that probably received a ‘Sa-lute’ on a ‘Hee-Haw’ show back in the day, as the population there is only 205, according to the sign as one enters town. It does have a decent motel and nearby café, though, and absolutely no traffic at all! A quiet, peaceful evening followed.
No big rush the next day, so we took our time with departure. There were some clouds building way off to the southwest, though, the direction inclement weather was to be brewing for us later in the day. OK, saddle-up and head-out...
Just under five miles later, after leisurely getting up on the super slab and approaching highway speeds, a doe suddenly appeared coming into my lane from the right-of-way! Yep, ALI and I had an impactful introduction to a ‘deerly’ beloved woodland creature! Where the heck did she come from?! I never saw her until she was on the pavement! She timidly, hesitatingly stopped and started, then continued on into the left lane headed for the median. I’d been breaking hard since she had first been spotted, but everything was happening so fast, I was unable to bring us to a complete stop… and then…
She suddenly reversed course and headed back towards the direction she’d come! OMG!!! I realized we were going to have our courses intersect, and there would likely not be a happy ending to that story! BAM!!! She ran smack into ALI’s front left, then gave my left knee a good wallop. ALI shuddered and staggered just a bit, but then she straightened right up and we continued on! My mind was still catching up with events, things were happening so fast, but I did a quick assessment… We’re still moving, the engine is still purring, no warning lights have come on, no smells or fluid leaks… WOW! I think we’ve survived!!!
I have no idea how far we might have traveled since the impact, but it was likely only a few hundred yards when I thought to check the mirror to see if she was lying in the road… I didn’t see her! I didn’t go back, so I have no idea if she perished or not… I was pretty sure neither ALI nor I had, though, so I whispered a prayer of thanks and decided to take the next exit to do a damage assessment…
After stopping, I found the windshield cracked at the bottom-left, and a wee piece broken off. The Corbin Light Bar was loose (one of the bolts that hold it on to the fork had been stripped out) and the left turn signal had been broken off and was dangling by its wires. The left spotlight was not ‘lighting’ and the light assembly housing had been sprung open. That was it! No animal blood on our girl, her radiator appeared in good shape, no leaks of any sort, and nothing else appeared out of order! Indeed, I said another prayer of thanks!!! Even though my knee did smart noticeably, it was little more than a good bang, so I wasn’t worried about it…
That was my very first actual large critter encounter; although, there have been many near misses and close calls over the years. I never take things for granted, and I do try to watch carefully, but… Things can just happen, and they occur so suddenly… Not much to be done, as nearly all actions are the result of habit, reflex and luck, because there is no time to think and plan a course of action. Had we been able to stop, this could have been avoided. Had we braked just a bit more, we might have struck her in the ribcage instead of her striking our flank… and that could have been fatal for all concerned! I’m just happy to be here and still on our way… to wherever…
DDT
Epilogue: Surprisingly, there were no ‘laundry issues’ as a result of this. My knee has continued to improve, there has been no swelling, and it is hardly noticeable now. I did make a few ‘adjustments’ so no damaged parts would fall-off until repairs can be made… one of these days…
A couple of boo-boos…
Improvisations and adjustments…
