By 8:00 a.m. we’re ready to hit the road. A quick stop at the Sand Dunes picnic area for some morning photos of the dunes and we’ll be back on the road heading west. I really would’ve liked more time here at the Great Sand Dunes National Park, but Mother Nature has her own plans.
We continue west on Colorado Highway 160. The scenery does not disappoint. Around each bend and over each hill is a vision to behold. We take our time crossing the Continental Divide and imagine the thrill a trucker must feel when his brakes fail and he/she must utilize one of those ‘run away truck ramps’. Certainly not a thrill I need to experience.
This area of Colorado, between the towns of South Fork and Pagosa Springs, are very popular with folks from Phoenix, Arizona. Funny, as Coloradoans we head to Arizona in the winter and Arizonans head to Colorado in the summer. There are plenty of RV Parks in this area and more public land to explore than one can see in a lifetime.
Al and I are enjoying this slow meandering type of travel. We take in the beauty of our surroundings. Out of the blue, Al swerves quickly to the right then quickly to the left, all the while maintaining total calm and control. All I can say is, “OMG, no”. The vision of blood, guts, and body damage…..damage to the truck AND the deer…..swirl in my mind. I thought for sure one of the females would put her head through the side of the RV. It was not my plan to have a deer head hanging on the interior wall of my RV. We just got the RV repaired from the blown tire and now deer damage?
The actions of my man were quick and appropriate. He missed hitting a Buck or one of his three wives by inches…..no exaggeration. As the male started crossing the road first, Al swerved to the right, then to the left going in between the group of deer. One of the females fell backwards to avoid running head first into the side of the RV. She slowly got back up looking stunned, but ok.
With hearts pounding, Al pulls into a gas station a mere 1/2 mile after the near fatal incident. I’m shaking, my heart is pounding and all I keep saying is, “OMG, you are such a stud. There is no way I could have reacted so well. What a man”. Al is laughing but a little shaken as well.
We fill up with gas and grab a bite to eat in Pagosa Springs. Al comments, “Ah, now that makes sense. It must be hunting season and thus the deer are moving around”. Normally it’s around dusk and dawn when the deer are on the move and the concern for deer in the headlights increases. Middle of the day encounters are much less common.
With nerves back in check, we continue on our journey. The road twists and turns – normal Colorado road conditions. Al is driving conservatively. Somehow during one of these turns, Bear slides head first off the rear seat. His back-end remains on the seat while his head slides under the driver’s seat. Bear makes no attempt to right himself. He does not move. Al finally finds a spot to pull over on this two lane twisty, curvy highway. The guy behind us didn’t like this and let us know by laying on his horn. I politely gave him a one finger wave…..I said politely 🙂
Safely parked on the side of the road, Al opens the rear passenger door and struggles to lift Bear’s 45 pounds out of the awkward position. Why wasn’t Bear moving? Why didn’t he struggle to right himself? OMG, what’s wrong with him? ………. He was sound asleep. Deep in sleep in this contortionist position, Bear was rudely awakened by Al’s struggles to lift him. Still groggy and disoriented, Bear looked at Al with surprise, “Hey, dad….why’d ya wake me? I was dreaming about a French Poodle.”
After getting Bear settled, Al returns to the driver’s seat. He and I look at one another with concern. Bear is over 14 years old (98 in dog years) and takes medication for a heart condition. We both initially thought the dog was dead….he had the big one….the heart attack. We acknowledge each day he’s with us is a gift. All kinds of unpleasant and sad thoughts run through our heads. Thoughts we hesitate to talk about but do, and that’s when I started laughing. Al turns his head and looks out the window to see what I’m laughing about. Out of all the places to pull over, we pull over across the street from a taxidermist.
On that note it’s time to move on….please Lord, no more excitement for today!
Live Laugh RV 
25 responses to “Adventurous Mishaps”
Bear is adorable…Glad you didn’t have to cook venison over the open fire…Travel safe.
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Oh, Al and son wouldn’t mind eating a little venison but not obtaining it that way….lol. Hope all went well for you Tuesday. We’re having some issues with our internet so I’ll check your blog when we head over to Micki D’s for free WiFi.
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Haha! The taxidermist! Very funny.
The runaway ramps are really smart… I’m guessing that happens enough to warrant having them? Good that someone thought of those.
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Yeah, not something we see in IL. My first time across the Rockies was quite the education. When niece from Bartlett came out last summer, by then end of her stay she said she couldn’t wait to get back home to some “normal” roads.
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Those runaway truck ramps always worried me, not because I drive a truck but because I feared one would happen while I was on the road! LOL
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Oh, yeah and you can tell from the photo that those ramps are used. AND pulling the RV, we can feel the weight pushing us on the way down, even though we have trailer brakes and hubby down shifts. So it’s always on my mind. Country sure is pretty though….lol
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You have my EXACT humor and outlook on life! LOL This was a wonderful, heartwarming post from start to finish!
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Thanks, glad you enjoyed. Humor usually helps get us through those ‘interesting’ times. 🙂
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Glad you two plus Bear made it OK through all the adventures! I used to commute about 60 miles across the desert in Utah. There was this one stretch where I swear the deer used to race to get in FRONT of my car. A couple of times I thought they were going to ram into the side. That was some pretty bizarre behavior. I did crash into one in the fog one time (at another spot). It got up and ran off, but left quite a repair bill for my front end.
Meanwhile… y’all stay safe and warm! We’ve been having the first of our real winter storms here. The first few are always fun, but get tiresome after awhile.
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We just finished camping next to folks from OR and we talked about the weather you’re having. Fun times!
You’ve spent your fair share of time on the road. So I’m sure you’ve encountered just about every scenario. Deer encounters too close that we could do without. Pretty to photograph from a safe distance.
Stay warm AND dry 🙂
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Your post made me laugh at the end. Bear sounds like Ginger. She always sleeps in the funkiest positions. Oh well. Glad you guys didn’t crash into the deer. I love the pictures. Looks so beautiful!
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Very pretty country for sure. Our four-legged children sure know how to keep us entertained. Never a dull moment traveling. 🙂
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It is always scary to me whenever traveling in deer country after living in Montana. There was a stretch of road called ‘deer alley’ where it was said that it wasn’t if you would hit a deer but rather when. We were driving home after dark, quite slow, when a deer ran right into my headlights. It was a very small deer and I did not even have the time to break. It did not do much damage to our truck and no RV with us, but sadly the deer did not fair as well. Be safe out there. 🙂
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Scary for sure…..lived in Montana? You sure get around…lol.
Lake Pleasant is down and moving to Cave Creek Saturday. Enjoying sun and warmth but loved Sedona!
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We love Cave Creek as well. Enjoy Ingrid! 🙂
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Any particular hike you prefer or would recommend?
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It’s been a long time since we spent time there so I unfortunately am not the best to ask. Sorry. 😦
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Being on the road can be an adventure all on its own – glad to hear you are safe and do not have the addition of a deer head to your RV. Safe Travels – Happy Tuesday:)
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Thanks for tagging along and have a great Thanksgiving week 🙂
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I love that Bear can sleep through everything even falling off the seat… My dogs even on a 600 km trip, stand all the way and every now and then I get a lick on the ear, just to remind me they’re still there…
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Bear is a super good traveler. First day he’s usually up and down but then he settles in. He really scared us though!
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Here’s sending an extra pat for Bear!
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Thanks…he’s loving this travelin’ thing. New places to snuss….doesn’t get much better 🙂
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Thank goodness you two are fine, Bear is ok and that herd of deer unscathed! No business for that taxidermist – LOL! Humor always helps. :-).
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Yes, better to laugh about the close calls than think about what might have happened. The day in the life of a traveler! But then you know a thing or two about that yourselves.
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