In far northern New Hampshire, north of the little town of Pittsburg and just a stone's throw from our wonderful Canadian neighbors is a place called Moose Alley.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that the area is loaded with the huge, kind of doofus-looking creatures just trying to get a morning or evening drink of water. And that they are constantly interrupted by camera-toting tourists. Or that they wander slowly across the roads in the darkness, interrupting drivers just trying to get home from work or a day on the nearby Connecticut Lakes.
Everyone here suggests tourists not to drive at night. Moose are huge, so dark brown they blend into the night, and not the quickest of creatures. Their size (up to 1500 pounds) is their main defense, so they don't run from many things-- including cars, trucks, vans. Moose are much taller than deer, so when a small car hits a moose, the impact takes out the moose's legs, and the body comes flying into the car's windshield.
On my first visit to the Alley, I asked a naturalist where to find moose. Look for the signs, I asked? Since most moose in New Hampshire are illiterate, he laughed, they don't pay attention to the signs that say where they should cross.
Instead, he suggested, look for skid marks on the road. They'll show where the moose were once upon a time, and more will probably be back. Look for low spots in the road where salty water will sit from last year's winter.
I once parked on top of a hill and slept in my van, the easier to zoom down to the valley and get early-morning pictures of the moose. About 4 a.m., the van was moving, shaking. I looked up through the dark and saw a moose with its nose pressed tightly against the window, either curious about what was inside, or just trying to lick the salt off my dirty van. Moose drool was smeared all along the side of the car.
An interesting way to start the morning, eh?
Picture taken with a 500mm mirror lens, 1/500 second at f 8 and 640 ISO.
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