Early One Morning on the Road Above Superior

A common cautionary road sign in northern Ontario is the picture of a moose and the caption "Night Danger". Early one morning, Gary and I were just outside of Terrace Bay, going east, into the sun, when we crested a hill and had this confused picture present itself. A semi-trailer also travelling east was pulled over on the side of the road ('our' space), another, travelling in the same direction, was stopped in the middle of the two-lane highway. The sun was just at road level, effectively blinding us (and anyone else travelling east) so we couldn't immediately figure out what was up. The sound of a vehicle approaching from the east could be heard coming upon us out of the sun. The driver of the second truck (the one on the road) was jumping around in the middle of the road, 25 metres ahead of the action. His antics were effective in stopping the 'new player's' advance.

The first truck had hit a good sized moose square on. The moose was dead in the centre of the road, effectively blocking vehicle traffic in both directions. The truck involved in the collision had lost its radiator, lights, and most everything else up front. With three vehicles (and two bicycles) now on the scene, the moose remnants were dragged to the side of the road. It was fortunate during these few minutes that no other easterly travelling (sun blinded) vehicle appeared on the scene. The driver's spouse sleeping in the compartment behind the driver's seat sustained some brusing from the altercation and an ambulance was called.

After a few minutes we continued with our pedalling and normal traffic flow resumed. A look back in my mirror showed the moose lying in state on the righhand highway shoulder.