Last week, I covered the regional volleyball tournament about 60 miles away, in Baraga. The semifinal match was Tuesday, and the finals were on Thursday. We also had a big snowstorm last week. That arrived early Wednesday morning. By the time I hit the road on Thursday afternoon, the roads were bare, and the trees were beautiful ...
Then, on Friday, my younger son and I hopped in the car and drove east about 250 miles to St. Ignace for the football quarterfinal game. We hoped to arrive in time to get photos of the Mackinac Bridge by daylight. We almost made it ...
(Handheld photos, at about 1/4th of a second exposure. Try holding a camera steady for 1/4th of a second with a cold, stiff wind blowing in your face.)
Our team lost that night, and that ends their season. For the first time since 2004, they will not play in the state semifinals or finals.
For me, that's wonderful news: It means I won't have to concern myself with the complexities of covering high school football championship games at Detroit's Ford Field next week. I will be busy enough, taking my wife and younger son down to suburban Detroit to visit my older son's fiancee's family for the first time--we are having Thanksgiving dinner together. We will be down there for two or three days--exact plans have not been set.
That's the really long trip I alluded to earlier. Then there was last Friday's drive to St. Ignace and then the trip my wife and I made this Tuesday to Manistique for the high school volleyball state quarterfinals.
At stake was a trip to the state semifinals and finals in Battle Creek. And the girls won, defeating a team that eliminated them two of the last three years. They are going downstate, while I drove home after the match. It's 500+ miles to Battle Creek. About as far away as Detroit, which will be my destination next week.
That's a lot of miles on the car in a short time. As for weather, we'll hope for the best. I-75, the main north-south route through the Lower Peninsula, often is snow-covered this time of year. I'm hoping for the best.
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Whether the weather is fair or foul, I need to be especially alert when driving this time of year, because the deer are moving around. It's their mating season. During mating season, deer have as much traffic sense as an especially impulsive kindergartener. They've got other things on their minds.
Two weeks ago, during the district volleyball tournament, my wife went with me to a playoff match in Iron Mountain. She likes to ride along with me and do a little shopping while we're down there. An extra pair of eyes scanning the roadsides at night is always welcome.
We saw no deer as we drove east during the afternoon, while it was still light. But plenty were lurking along the road on the way back west, long after sunset. As usual, we took Wisconsin Highway 70, which is mostly wooded and partly national forest land. There seemed to be deer all over the place.
Two incidents deserve special mention. First, I came upon a deer running along the road's shoulder--parallel to the road. It didn't take too much imagination to see it veering out into my car's path. I edged over into the other lane. Fortunately, the deer didn't swerve. We both came out of it OK.
After that, I turned my brights on and slowed down a little. A few minutes later--zoom!--another deer dashed right in front of my headlights, from left to right. If it had crossed one second later, it would have been a close encounter of the worst kind. Fortunately, the deer had timed it right. I hit my brakes, but I never would have stopped in time.
After that, I drove even slower the rest of the way home. Long-time readers know my history. This is the most recent one, about a year ago ...
I know it's going to happen sooner or later with the new car. So let's let it be later, OK?
Two days later, I was driving west for more volleyball. Again, I drove home in darkness. This time, I was alone. Seventy miles, mostly past swamps and forest land. So how many deer did I see? Not a one! Which goes to show ... there's just no telling.
During my trips to Baraga last week, I passed a reminder that there are larger creatures lurking in the woods of the western Upper Peninsula ...
The sign is there for a good reason. Here is what I saw in that same area during the summer of 2010 ...
Imagine the kind of damage something like this could do! An adult deer weighs about 150 pounds. A moose can top 1,000 pounds.
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A few years ago I talked to my insurance agent about car-deer collisions, and he passed along some good advice: If you see a deer in your path, you can hit your brakes. But whatever you do, don't turn the steering wheel! Don't veer for deer!
If you swerve the car, a lot of things can happen, and all of them are bad. You could lose control. You could skid. You could go into the ditch. Or even into the trees. (One basic fact about trees: They don't bend.) You could also swerve into the path of another car. Or someone out walking his dog.
All of us love animals and will do whatever we can to avoid hurting one. But have some common sense behind the wheel. The loss of one deer isn't going to matter much in the whole scheme of things--there are plenty of deer. But there is only one of you. You are unique, and your health is irreplaceable. Take care of yourself!
Besides, the insurance agent told me, if you hit a deer, it's considered an "act of God," and it doesn't affect your rates. If you avoid the deer but hit, say, a guardrail or a mailbox or go into the ditch, you have no evidence that it was because of a deer. Nothing proves that you weren't guilty of careless or inattentive driving. Even if they don't fine you, your insurance rates will zoom up.
The unlucky deer is the evidence you need.
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