Chipmunks

 

Chipmunks

 

If I had not heard it myself, I would have thought it a joke. But I did hear it, and they were serious, and I about choked. When the city folk come out to the forest, there’s no telling what you might hear.

 

On a well-earned vacation in Sunriver, we had just completed a relaxing canoe trip down the Deschutes River. We rented a canoe for the day and drifted downriver about six miles where a shuttle bus would return us to our truck. At the takeout point there is always a small crowd of adventurers also waiting for the bus to arrive. I quietly sat on a convenient rock and listened to the conversations. Out on the gravel road a couple chipmunks scampered by, drawing the attention of the city folk.

 

“Oh look at the mice on the road.”

 

I winced and said nothing.

 

“No, Johnny,” intoned the mother.  “Those are baby squirrels.”

 

I almost lost it right there. I turned to my wife. “Wanna bet they think deer grow into elk and finally become moose? Maybe a coyote is just a half-grown timber wolf.”

 

Just for a moment I thought about telling the urbanites about Rocky Mountain Oysters, but then the bus arrived….