M is for a humongous dark beast that terrorized me.

M is for Moose

Many people come up North and then want to go farther North to see moose. They return and show me pictures and I think, maybe I should go see moose, I mean they’re not that far away.

But no more.

A couple years ago, on a normal day like any other, I slipped into my running clothes and sneakers, ready for my daily run. I stretched and did some jumping jacks #notreallybecauseIcan’tdojumpingjacksanymoreafterhavingthreekids.   #momsunderstand

I breathed in the crisp fall air, looking forward to crunching through the dead leaves on the dirt roads behind my house.

While I ran, I did the normal eccentric things I do while running. I talked to myself. I reworked queries in my head, searching for that perfect first hooky line. I talked myself into or out of thinking my writing sucks. I jumped at the squirrels running around in the brush. #i’mjumpylikethat    #i’vehaddeersrunacrosstheroad

But this one day, I stopped halfway and stretched, looked up and saw a moose about 50 yards away. I thought it was pretty cool, so I continued to study him. Until he started clip clopping toward me.

In that one second, my heart leapt from my chest and I swear I left it in the road. With terror racing through my veins and, me, breaking out in a sweat – and not because I was running – I jogged up the road toward home.

I peeked back over my shoulder to see if he was following me. This huge, dark-colored beast had his eyes trained on me and not because I looked cute in my running clothes.  #freakingout

And I started sprinting.

I soon realized I couldn’t outrun a beast with legs as tall as my house. #seriously #nothyperbole

I took a quick right into someone’s driveway and sprinted into the garage, ready to bang on their windows and cry for sanctuary.

The moose stopped where I turned right. He sniffed the air, first left, then right; and then turned left.   #ididn’trunforaweek  #whenididrunihadfasttimes

So, do you want to come up North and take pictures of the pretty moose?

33 Responses to M is for a humongous dark beast that terrorized me.

  1. Sheri Larsen April 15, 2011 at 10:23 am #

    Oh my…so sorry. I think he liked you. lol No really. Not funny. I could really see it. We have moose up here, too. I’ve never ran into one of foot, but we have in a vehicle. They are stinking huge. Amazing!

  2. Kris April 15, 2011 at 10:57 am #

    Yikes! Great story. I think he probably did think you looked cute in your running duds. #I’mnotkidding 🙂

  3. Katie Ganshert April 15, 2011 at 10:59 am #

    That was hilarious. I could totally picture the whole thing. I got chased by a hippo once. Those things are terrifying. I was on the Kenya/Tanzania border. We were on a safari. The guy told us we could get out. Frightening concept when you’ve just seen lions dragging around zebras and cheetas munching on wildebeast. But we got out. Went down to the river. And a hippo got very territorial. Scariest moment of my life.

    • Laura April 15, 2011 at 11:07 am #

      I never realized how big they really were until one was chasing me. A hippo? Wow. Scary.

  4. Creepy Query Girl April 15, 2011 at 11:51 am #

    holy crap! chased by a moose? LOL THey are pretty frickin huge. I wouldn’t wanna hit one with my car. Itd be like hitting a tree.

  5. Susan Kaye Quinn April 15, 2011 at 12:30 pm #

    OMG hilarious! #sorry #shouldbemoresympathetic My dad trained us early on to bang pots to scare away the bears, if we happened to stumble on them along the trails. #notgoodforMoose #IthinkIdwetmypants

  6. Stina Lindenblatt April 15, 2011 at 1:02 pm #

    I don’t have to go up north. Young ones wander into our neighborhood all the time. 😉

    I do the same mindless things when I run. That’s how I solve plot problems. That’s when the solutions often come to me. 😀

  7. Giggle, Laugh, Cry April 15, 2011 at 1:09 pm #

    I’ve awarded you the “Versatile Blogger” award. Come on over to my blog and grab your award!
    http://gigglelaughcry.blogspot.com/2011/04/award-award.html

  8. Lydia K April 15, 2011 at 1:33 pm #

    Ha ha, maybe he just wanted to be your friend!

    I haven’t seen moose but I’ve been thrilled at seeing turkeys in Nebraska. One tried to break into my basement last week. Fun times!

  9. Michael Di Gesu April 15, 2011 at 1:47 pm #

    Wow,

    Scary, but at least you got a terrific story out of the experience.

  10. anne gallagher April 15, 2011 at 1:57 pm #

    I know they’re #hugeandscary but I think I would have just stood there and watched him. I mean it’s not like he can or wants to eat you. Maybe he was out for a jog and wanted a running partner for the day.

    • Laura April 15, 2011 at 2:20 pm #

      That was the problem – I did sit and watch him because at first it was pretty amazing. But I’d heard stories of moose not always being gentle. so, yeah, that’s why I ran. 🙂

  11. Alicia Gregoire April 15, 2011 at 2:53 pm #

    I’m laughing at this because I think I would’ve done the same thing!

  12. Lisa Green April 15, 2011 at 3:23 pm #

    My dad is from Minnesota and he has quite a moose story too. I’ll have to throw one of those guys in a book someday…

  13. Jenny Lundquist April 15, 2011 at 4:01 pm #

    I grew up in the concrete jungle of Southern California. So yeah, a moose would’ve totally freaked me out. Who am I kidding? Stray dogs freak me out. Great post Laura. And fyi, #thismomunderstands

    • Laura April 15, 2011 at 4:11 pm #

      I have yet to here a moose story that wasn’t scary! Unless they were far away in a field and a person saw them while driving by.

  14. Donna Weaver April 15, 2011 at 4:11 pm #

    Umm … good thinking to run to the garage. Yikes!

  15. Sherrie Petersen April 15, 2011 at 4:36 pm #

    Oh, that’s hilarious! Though not for you 🙂

  16. Patti Nielson April 15, 2011 at 4:49 pm #

    Everything seems cute until it’s chasing you down the street.

  17. Laura Josephsen April 15, 2011 at 5:03 pm #

    O_O I would have been running like crazy, too.

    We have moose at our zoo, which of course means they’re safely behind a fence. They are ginormous. I wouldn’t want to run across one in my car–I’ve heard horror stories about accidents involving cars and moose.

  18. Kelly Polark April 15, 2011 at 5:44 pm #

    THat is exciting and scary at the same time!
    When I walk up north at my dad’s cabin, I am so afraid because there are black bears. My sister encountered one on a walk, and luckily she turned and walked the other way and it didn’t follow!

  19. Laura Marcella April 15, 2011 at 7:12 pm #

    LOL, oh Laura! This reminds me of the summer I went camping with my parents and my aunt and uncle. I was 15, had a new boyfriend, and naturally wasn’t too pleased they were making me go. So I ran a lot to work off my irritation (plus my track/XC coach would’ve killed me if he knew I hadn’t run at all for 2 weeks) and one day I saw a freaking bear in the woods beside the trail, yeesh! I’m pretty sure the bear was unfazed by my appearance…but I didn’t stick around to find out. I only wish that day was my cross country race because I would’ve set a still-standing world record time, haha!

    I’ve seen moose, when my family and I camped in Maine. But it was from the safety of our minivan. Very cool animals! But I wouldn’t want to meet one face-to-face, lol.

  20. Ghenet Myrthil April 15, 2011 at 7:29 pm #

    That’s so scary! Glad you made it home alive. It must have been terrible at the time but it makes for a great story!

  21. Shelli April 15, 2011 at 9:39 pm #

    Hilarious! Glad you’re safe — it makes it so much more funny.

    #momswiththreekidsgetenoughexercisealready
    and
    #yeahiunderstand

  22. MG Higgins April 15, 2011 at 9:51 pm #

    So funny! And scary! And no, I don’t want to go up north and see moose. #notanymoreanyway

  23. Patti Mallett April 15, 2011 at 10:39 pm #

    This whole story is soooooooo funny. Man do I feel good from all the laughter that just shook my innards. You tell a really entertaining freaky-scary story. The comments great, too. (Who gets chased by a hippo??) I’ve heard that Moose can be mean! You’re pretty brave to continue running. Do you have a rifle strapped on?? #imjustsaying

  24. MG Higgins April 15, 2011 at 11:43 pm #

    Laura, I’m over here checking out how you respond to comments (based on my post today). I like how you handle this! Very nice. I’m curious–does WordPress let you respond underneath a particular commenter (versus the way Blogger always places your response at the end, like any other comment)?

  25. Lynda R Young April 16, 2011 at 12:47 am #

    wow, there’s a story for your grandchildren. I’d be terrified too although I’ve never seen one in real life.

  26. Botanist April 16, 2011 at 12:56 am #

    What an amazing story, Laura. Good to talk about from a safe distance and elapsed time I guess. I don’t think we have moose on Vancouver Island, but I’ve heard they can be very aggressive. An animal can still make a mess of you even if it doesn’t want to eat you!

  27. Maria Toth April 16, 2011 at 7:34 am #

    Hilarious and scary at the same time! What writers will do in the name of research! 🙂

    My encounter with a moose was in high school when a girl named “The Moose” wanted to use my head as a basketball.

  28. Hilary April 16, 2011 at 9:12 am #

    Hi Laura .. not so funny .. and if they are known to ‘attack’ I can see why you wanted to disappear quickly. I’d love to see one one day – but preferably not have it chase me … hope you can get your running shoes on again and enjoy the woods behind your house ..

    Good story though … Hilary

  29. Dawn April 16, 2011 at 12:59 pm #

    I love the humor you throw into the posts by adding “#” Comments.

    I’ve never had the urge to run (with or without moose). :0)

    I loved that story and I’m glad you were safe. My only run in with a big animal is when I was a kid. A cow chased me and a friend through a field. Talk about scared!

  30. Margo April 18, 2011 at 1:49 pm #

    #momsunderstand

    Oh yeah!

    We have mountain lions, wolves, black bears and grizzly bears in Wyoming.

    Nobody believes the facts: the most injuries are caused encounters with moose, not large predators.

    Until they meet a moose.

    I’d have #fasterrunningtimes too.

    #nohyperbole about those legs!

Leave a Reply