Allow me to briefly preface this story with a couple small facts. First, as a family we absolutely love camping and the outdoors! We go as often as we can. Despite this love of the outdoors, I have always had a deep, irrational, and persistent fear of bears, mountain lions, and wolves. I've never had an encounter with any of these animals. My love of camping and hiking really helps me overcome these fears, but it does make sleeping at night in the tent difficult for me. Second, Everleigh was on continuous feeds over the summer, which means that her feeding pump constantly pumped tiny amounts of food into her belly with no breaks. She was on the pump at all times. This meant that we would have to break one of the cardinal rules of camping-no food or scented items in the tent. It can attract animals. Her formula, though hardly fragrant, does have a distinct odor. Third, we knew that keeping Everleigh on the pump at night while camping would be risky, but we had been camping earlier in the summer and had no trouble. So, we said a special prayer asking for protection, felt like everything would be alright, and went on our way.
We didn't have a reservation, but decided the night before that we wanted to go camping one more time before school started and the weather cooled off. Nate drove up and down the canyons early Friday morning seeing if there were any available campsites. Unfortunately, he came home and told us all the campgrounds were full. An hour later, Nate got a call from the Spruces Campgrounds in Big Cottonwood Canyon-someone had cancelled their reservation and, if we could get there in an hour, it was ours! We threw everything in the car and drove up the canyon just in time to claim our campsite. It was just beautiful! The site was large, shaded by pine trees, and bordered by a small creek and the wooded mountain side. From the west side of the site, there was majestic view looking onto the mountains and farther into the canyon. We pitched our tent along the creek bed (probably should have thought that through, animals like to come and drink from the creek at night) and started getting a fire and dinner ready.
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| Asleep, around the campfire, after a tasty dinner |
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| The view of the canyon from our campsite |
At about 6:00pm, two moose came to the creek to drink, a Mother and her yearling calf. They stayed on the opposite side of the creek, but seemed very comfortable despite our presence. This is highly unusual behavior for a mother moose, they are usually highly protective of their calves and would not be so close and comfortable around people. We thought that after the moose enjoyed a drink from the creek, they would be on their way back onto the mountainside. But they stayed until dark and showed no signs of leaving. People from all over the campground came by our campsite and asked if they could come in, just for a moment, with their families so they could see the moose. The commotion lasted until nightfall when the moose were no longer as visible. Again, we believed that now the moose would leave and make their beds in the woods nearby. When we had finished roasting marshmallows, we looked around and no longer saw them. Believing the moose had moved on, we prepared for bed and cleaned up the campsite. Nate's sister, Leah, and I made a trip to the restrooms. On our way down the path, Leah shined her light into the lightly wooded path ahead, and we saw two sets of eyes and froze. It was the two moose, bedded down not 50 feet away from our campsite, lightly camouflaged by the nearby brush. Again, they showed no signs of agitation and made no effort to leave their spot. Leah and I cautiously headed back to the campsite and joked about how funny it would be to have moose for neighbors.
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| The view of the moose from our tent in the early evening |
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| Grandpa getting a little bit too close for a photo :) |
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| The canyon was beautiful! |
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| Momma watching her yearling bull calf |
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| Another photo from the tent |
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| We later named them Wilma and Steve, the protector moose |
Well, at 2:00am Nate and I awoke to the sound of a horrific scream somewhere deeper in the canyon, followed by the howling and calling of a coyote pack-a fresh kill. It was terrifying! They were close by, but not in the campgrounds. Nate went back to sleep, but I couldn't-my imagination was getting the best of me and I was having a hard time shaking it off. That's when I noticed it-the wall of the tent was moving, being nuzzled by something on the other side. The intruder seemed interested in a particular object that was leaning against the tent wall-Everleigh's food pump bag. Then I heard a low, guttural growl. Oh crap. I couldn't move for a moment-I was petrified. Then, I very slowly moved Everleigh to the center of the tent, between Nate and myself. I woke Nate and whispered to him that something was outside. He listened for a moment, then, armed with a Maglite and hunting knife, decided to go outside and see what was going on. I prayed for our family and cradled the baby in terror.
Nate came back into the tent a few moments later, laughing, and said with a smile on his face, "Its just the moose, they are sleeping next to the tent! I knew I punched something hard, but I thought it was a dream!"
Apparently the Mother moose had been laying with her back against the tent wall, and Nate had been cuddling with her through the tent wall for the most of the night. The nudging? The yearling calf, attracted to the scent of milk, had been investigating the baby's pump bag in hopes of getting a treat. In great relief, we fell asleep again, surrounded by our "Guard Moose". Everleigh, naturally, slept through the entire experience. When Nate woke up at 6:30am to get the fire started, the moose had moved to the edge of the campsite to graze. When Everleigh and I woke up at 7:30am, the moose had moved up the mountain side, just barely still in sight. In 15 minutes, they were gone and didn't come back. We spent the entire morning laughing and reminiscing about the past night's events. We still refer to this experience as, "A visit from Evey's guard moose" or "that one time Nate spooned a wild moose." Ahh, good times! The camping trip really rejuvenated us after a really rough spring and somehow, helped us laugh again and gave us one of many opportunities for joy and happiness to renter our lives.
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| Nate says good morning to our moose "I don't always play with wild animals, but when I do-I spoon wild moose. I am, the most interesting dad in the world" |
The moral of the story? Be careful what you pray for, because you just might get it. God sent Jonah a whale, and he sent us.....a moose family. We prayed for protection from wild animals, and indeed no predators in the area would have dared attacks us while surrounded by a mother moose and her calf. I have had people tell me they think this is a tall tale, and really if someone else had told me this story I may not have believed them. But it really happened, and while it was a neat experience, I doubt it will ever happen again. I'm not sure I want it to. :)
Thanks for keeping up with the Knightons!
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