Moose Catchers

Living in Alaska has obviously affected many aspects in our lives.  Getting ourselves or anything else in or out of the village requires an airplane or boat and is always dependent on the weather.  I still live in the middle of no where, but am now in a town setting and have to get used to having kids playing outside my windows and neighbors next door.  One thing I didn't expect to be affected, however, was driving.  We clearly don't have a lot of opportunities to drive living where we do.  The village is only about 1 mile square so there's not a lot of need for driving in the ranger and we only fly out about once a month so we don't drive the truck very much either.  My already short attention span combined with my decreased time dealing with traffic have resulted in a very serious impatience in the driver's seat.  I find myself having to do things like stop when signs tell me to when no traffic is coming - how unnecessary!  If there are cars coming, I must wait for the never ending procession to get past before I can get on my way - how time consuming! 

These inconveniences are not the only change living in Alaska has made, however.  Given their temperaments when harassed, they must be approached with caution when investigating the back of your pickup hoping to find some tasty goodies - as happened yesterday morning.  Given their size, moose are a serious danger on Alaska's highways (unless you drive a Volkswagon bug, in which case you can drive under them - no joke, it's happened).  As a species, they love God's creation and want to experience it to the fullest.  That's what I assume, anyway, seeing how slowly they take to amble across the highway.  One would think their height would make them easier to see on the highway, but the opposite is true when they are close.  Their skinny little chicken legs are the only thing low enough to contrast against the highway, while their bodies are too high and blend into the background of the forest.  Thus we find ourselves referring to vehicles in front of us on the highway as "moose catchers".  Should a moose decide to explore the world across the highway, we have a built in buffer separating us while they meander across the highway.