Heading West: The Drive & The Moose
When my ex went on her way, I could see it broke him. Then work asked me to move to Washington, and once they said he could come to the office, I was all in. Another epic road trip, until a moose came full throttle out of the evergreens with Stud chasing behind it. At about seven years old, I thought I would lose him.
Just Stud and I
When Stud was seven going on eight, my ex decided this wasn’t the life she wanted. She went on her way, and I could see it broke him. I can take a lot of pain, but seeing him sad hurt me the most. Stud was a wolf, a pack animal. That probably explains his intelligence, and why he didn’t trust people. When a wolf loses one of its pack, the whole pack hurts for a long time. There is clear evidence they feel sorrow. They will go back to where the death happened and howl. There was nothing I could do about it.
The company I worked for asked me a few times to relocate. One place they asked about was Texas and the other was Japan. Both were not ideal for Stud, so I declined. I love Japan, but neither was ideal for a husky, or a wolf mix. One is hot as fuck, and in the other I would have been at work 18 hours a day. When work asked me to move to Washington. Washington has good weather, and it’s a great place to explore. I asked if they would let me bring him into the office and they said yes. Case closed. It was sad leaving family, but I was broken, Stud was bored, and here was the opportunity. We had already explored every inch of where we were. I could tell he was bored because I would take him places and he would turn around, or just wasn’t that excited anymore. Starting over in the mountains called our names. Still, I would not have moved if they told me he couldn’t come to the office. To this day I thank the people who made that possible. Well behaved dogs should be allowed most places, and Stud was exceptionally well behaved, better behaved than most kids and, for that matter, a decent amount of adults. So it was just Stud and me, moving across the country.
Road Trip
I packed the car full, said goodbye, and Stud and I went on our way. Another epic road trip! We checked out so much as we drove across the country in my grandpa’s Buick. Our first stop was Madison, WI. I stopped at the capitol and got cheese curds and beer cheese soup, yummy. Yes, Stud swallowed a few. We continued to our next stop, Mt. Rushmore. We hit some pretty cool trails in Black Hills National Park, then went to Bighorn National Forest, where we saw tons of wildlife. Next up was Yellowstone. I always heard people talking about how Yellowstone was incredible. I always kind of doubted it or was just like yeah sure. Now I understand.
Second Near Death Experience
They don’t allow dogs in most national parks, so I found a trail that started outside of Yellowstone and went inside, “dogs allowed,” it said on the trailhead. We were having a peachy walk, trying to figure out where the trail was as the grass was overgrown. I noticed a ton of poop from different animals. Common to see deer shit here and there, but this was excessive. Bear shit, moose shit, idk all sorts of shit and all over the place. I already knew and kept telling him to stay close. I could also tell he knew, his wild side was starting to show. Listening less and being more active than usual.
Walking with Stud has always been my favorite, no matter the place. It lets my mind wander. I know now that it was immensely therapeutic. I knew he was happy, and it always made me happy. Whatever I had going on in life, a walk with him always made all my problems dissolve. The most challenging life problems were when he was by my side and he made most problems solvable or at least less stressful.
My mind wandered a little too far, and he was about 50-75 feet in front of me. He was behind some evergreens. I could see the the trees shaking near the bottom. I yelled, “STUD, leave the rabbits alone.”
That is when a moose came full throttle out of the opening of the tall evergreens, charging directly toward me like I had beef with him. I was in disbelief, it was the most enormous creature I had seen at this distance. We can say, ummmm, the complete fucking opposite of a rabbit. I froze. What felt like forever was only a split second. It was disturbingly close and approaching at a rapid speed. Should I stand my ground? All of this rushed through my head like lightning. I looked around, and there were no trees. Of course I walk thousands of miles and there are always trees, but now in this instance there wasn’t. The giant was coming fast directly towards me, Stud chasing behind it. We have all been there. Time slows down, nerves are racing, feels like you cannot control the situation, but you already know the outcome.
There were two options. Stand there or run like I was going to die. Option 2 kicked in without consciously thinking. I sprinted as fast as I could towards a stump, and just as I dove behind it, I could feel the air from the giant as it turned in direction. Moose move quickly, but they do not have the best coordination. I knew this combination was bad for Stud since he would chase it foreeeever. As Stud kept chasing after it, I got up and tried to tackle him, but he was too fast. I was yelling with such anger. “STOP STUD, STOP.” I knew there was a fast moving river and then a road. He was driven by prey.
Whenever something ran, he went into kill mode. At about seven years old, I thought I would lose my best friend. I screamed for 10-20 mins before I started to lose my voice. He came back 40 minutes later and looked like absolute death. I have never seen him so ragged in my life. He was all wet, his fur was all over the place, his collar was hanging down, he had a slight limp, and he was entirely out of breath. I was so happy to see him. I said, “Ohh hey, little guy, you almost got both of us killed.”
He would run away when he was younger, and I would yell at him when he came back. Then I was walking with someone, and they were always nice when their dog returned. I asked what gives. They asked me, “Would you want to return if you knew you would be punished?”
During the trip I half planned and half winged it. Finally found a camp site outside Yellowstone. Got out of the car to setup the tent and the last thing I expected when opening the door was snow and freezing temperatures. I was not use to this type of temperature fluctuation. I froze my ass off that night. Couldn’t sleep most of the night from being so cold. No one told me a sleeping bag rating was based off, you will live, but it won’t be comfortable. Think I had a 30 degree bag and it was probably 20-25 out. Stud was just starting to shed his winter coat so he was fine. Since 98% was still intact.
Glacier, Then Home
From Yellowstone we went north to Glacier National Park. What another mind blowing place. We camped just outside the park for a couple of days. Exploring different trails outside the park then going into the park. Again looking back there is something interesting that happens when you spend that much time with just yourself and a pup. Makes you really understand yourself. No hikes in the park since they do not allow dogs on trails, but it was still beautiful to drive through it. I suggest going when the snow is melting or it’s been raining for a few days. The water flowing through there makes it look magical.
Then we crossed into Washington and went to Coeur d’Alene and Spokan. Both beautiful places. Spent a day there exploring and enjoying the scenery. Last stop was just outside Seattle, the Alpine Lakes region, which we would soon call home. What a absolutely gorgeous place.
More from the Road
