Deer In The Headlights!!!

All these years of driving through the mountains - in all seasons - and all the near wildlife misses  ended on Tuesday evening @ 5:45 pm.  Only two minutes from home, an adult female deer appeared in my headlights.  I swerved to the other lane to avoid a head on impact but she jumped towards my truck and crunched the passenger side rear dually fender.

I was about 300 yards from a stop sign and my speed was at, or about, 30-35 kilometres/hour (about 20 - 22 mph) when the deer 'hit and run'.  As one fella stated, I did not even benefit from a freezer full of deer meat.  LOL  That poor deer ran off with a major headache though!

Her head hit the fender where the hole is.

I engaged my four way flashers, got out of the truck to examine the damage in the dark of night, walked around looking for a dead deer but that was not to be.  She ran off.  Dogs were barking madly in neighbouring acreages.  After a good walk around, I drove the few minutes to our house then got the camera to capture a few photos.

The fiberglass fender will be replaced.

After filing a claim with our insurance company, I went online to check out a few auto body shops near us.  Yesterday, I drove to a couple of these auto body repair facilities and settled on a second generation, family run, facility with a solid Better Business Bureau reputation.

Our insurance company was quick to provide a claim number and, within minutes, the shop had ordered a new dually fender, new 4X4 sticker and other accessories it needs to complete the job.  Late yesterday afternoon, the manager called to say the parts would all arrive within 10 business days.  I was OK with that.  The parts would be shipped via ground transportation v. air freight.  I surmise that the insurance company was looking for the cheapest shipping costs.  The fact that our truck is drivable - and that we aren't RVing south within the next couple of weeks - negates the urge to rush.

I came so close to missing the deer.  Had she not jumped at my truck, all would have been fine.   I was on my way back from Ginette, Trevor and Easton's home; only about 12 minutes from our home.

I have to echo the sentiment of our neighbours on the fact that there are large numbers of deer in the area this year.  We see them everywhere. 

Easton just arrived for the day and for an overnight with Jeanette and I.

It is Ginette and Trevor's wedding anniversary this weekend.  They have plans to do some Christmas shopping, take in a theatrical play in Vancouver, enjoy dinner out and simply enjoy some time together - sans enfant (French for 'without child').  So, we're looking after Easton. Yea!

Here he is in his favourite jumping chair....and with some fun toys to throw on the floor.

He is at the age where it is a lot of fun to play with toys....drop them on the floor for us to pick up....then repeat the process over and over again.  That's fun for him!  OK, it's fun for us too......!

That sums up the past few days here in RV Voyageur land.

(It occurred to me that some blog readers may wonder why 'voyageur' is spelled the way it is on our blog address.  It has the 'u' after the 'e'. That is the French spelling for voyager.....but better defines our love for travel).

Thanks for dropping by.