Four Legged Zombies

Ratdog68

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About now, the caribou are arriving in the high arctic, herding up and fattening up on the new growth carpeting the tundra. Their winter coats are comin' off and the bugs are hatching. The bugs are BAD up there !!!

The 'bou will wander about aimlessly, for hours on end during the bug season. As THICK as they are, they're not as thick up on the roadways (as they are down in the tundra) Sometimes you'll see 'em running, as if they've gone mad (just trying to escape the bugs). When it gets bad, you almost have to bump 'em with the truck to get 'em to move out of the way (I've had 'em wander 2 feet infront at walking pace). Only those of us authorized to deal with the animals are allowed to pressure them though. They have the right of way and vehicles WILL stop and wait.

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Depending on where you're at during the "migration" times... you may see them in the hundreds... or the tens of thousands. And, don't let ANYONE try to BS ya. They LOVE what the oil field gives them. They stand beneath the pipe to get some shade, they hang out up on the pads (beneath the air handling ducts) to be in some breeze to get relief from the bugs too. The pipes go sub-terrain, or are elevated high where the major migration paths intersect the pipe. There's a LOT of care and attention given to how things are done up there.

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All that fresh/tasty meat... and I'm NOT allowed a single shot.
 

Wassman

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Wow very different way of life up there. Hopefully some day I can pay a visit, it is on my bucket list. Riding my Harley up there sounds like a great time.
 

Ratdog68

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Everyone should get to Alaska at least ONCE !!
 

Aspp

Central California
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Wow, very cool.
 

TEXASLAWMAN

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Awesome story! I so want to go up there before I'm to old. The bug part sounds horrible.
 

Ratdog68

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Yup, the bugs are a MAJOR issue this time of year. I keep a can of bug dope in my daily carry at work, as well as an "After Bite" stick for the ones that do make it through the defenses. I also keep a bug net for my head in my pack... and, I'm 3.5 miles off-shore. The clouds of bugs on shore are epic. Swamps got nuttin' on these swarms of bugs. After about a month, they die off and their eggs are laid for next year. I keep asking for a few days' worth of 70F heat, and then a cold snap to 20F for a week... hasn't happened yet though.
 

Soonlobo

LSB Member
Wow, they are everywhere!

I have to get there just once. My dad was stationed in Fairbanks back in the 50's and went back in the late 1990's on a cruise. He and my mom really loved the glaciers.

What a spectacular state...
 

Ratdog68

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They're fine eatin' critters too. But, dumb as a Zombie during bug season.
 

Ratdog68

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A lot of people say that... then winter sets in. LOL
 

coondog

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A lot of people say that... then winter sets in. LOL

Yah I know the cold. I was born and raised in Michigan. My mother kicked me out of the house at 18 and I went straight to Texas. I'm 52 now. I remember the weeks where the temp never got above 0 during the day and dropped down to -20 at night. Go out in the woods and it was so quiet my ears would ring because of the silence. There was something about that I just loved. Now that I think about it being in Texas for 34 years I probably would go into some kind of thermal shock. lol
 

Ratdog68

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LOL... let's just say.... you KNOW it's COLD when you look at each other and celebrate how warm it is when it hits -20F... and MEAN it.

I am SOOOOO loving this 75-80F weather we're having in Seattle right now !!! Life is GOOD.
 
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