Stories From The Road: King of The Mountain

Driving can be wearisome after hours of doing it pass by and you begin to wonder if you are making progress? One time I was coming from Laredo Texas with a load of empty beer bottles from Mexico going to the Bay Area in California. I had done this trip several times and wanted to go a different way up to Interstate 10 this time. I had the time so I took the slow way or off the interstate route. Instead of going up to San Antonio I went west on State Road 83 to SR 90 to SR 285 and found I-10 in Fort Stockton. I had not been this way before and I like to explore new ways once in a while for a change of scenery. This route was dotted with small towns along it and it kept me awake better and had different scenery than the faster interstate highway. I usually have to get in my miles before I stop and it was no exception this time. Maybe a quick bathroom stop if there was a place to park my rig along these two lane roads, but that would be it. There was not much of anything out this way except dry prairie land and a few trees and passerby's to look at once in a while and the few small towns.

I had been driving for a few hours and as I turned to go north on SR 285 it did not take long to find my first steep mountain with a grade of 5 or 6%. When I got towards the top of this grade I saw a big elk following his mate across the road. As his mate went to the side of the road he stood there in the middle of it and watched my 2006 Peterbuilt convention cab get closer to him. This elk waited on me to get to him and stood in my lane or the fast lane of the two lanes going uphill of the three lane road that I was on. I did not see any one coming traffic going down the hill so I decided to move over into oncoming traffic lane to get out of the way of this obstinate beast. This elk would not move and kept starring at my truck as I approached him. I believe he was almost as tall as the hood of my conventional cab truck or over 6 feet and weighed several hundred pounds I guessed. The last thing I wanted to do was to hit this big guy or have him charge my truck and be stuck out in the middle of this desolate mountain with this elk.

I found out that this elk was very protective of his mate when I was parallel with him. He lowered his head and took a swipe of my right front tire and fender with his large antlers, eight point or larger I think. I did not hear anything different so I passed him slowly about twenty-five miles per hour. I decided I would check things out at the top of this grade and be clear of this huge beast before I ever got out of my cab. When my trailer passed him he did not try to take a swipe at it and instead went walking off towards his mate. When I got to the top of this mountain grade I stopped and checked things out to see if there was any damage I would have to contend with or get repaired.

My fender had a new crease in the center of it and some blood stains too. I could see the several marks on my tire but he did not penetrate the sidewall of it. The elk was king of that mountain which I planned to never see again if I could help it. I learned that the interstate is the best place to be in that rural part of Texas.