Again, we were traveling across the country and back. As our way back we opted to take a more southern route in the hope to avoid cold nights. These colder nights just do not work well in our small camper van. While the van was converted from a passenger van into a camper, I do not think it was properly insulated as a regular camper conversion. Moreover, it does not have a heater or air conditioner. We invested in a backup battery bank from Anker. This battery is 1800 watts and powers our coffee maker, microwave, lights and a heating pad for Radar who sleeps on the floor. We can asl briefly run a space heart on the battery. We used the battery three times during our trip across and it is a game changer.
After visiting Death Valley, we headed for the Big Bend
National Park, via Sedona. Camping in
both spots was good. However, I may
write a little more about this in future posts. We also enjoyed our very brief visit to
Guadelupe National Park.
We were amazed and disturbed by what transpired in the Big
Bend NP. Going towards our camp spot at
the Rio Grande Village we finally saw some of the park wildlife. A coyote crossed between our van and a
vehicle in front of us. We slowed down
to take a look at the animal, which we assumed would run off into the
desert. But no, it turned around and
just looked at us from the side of the road.
Our first thought was rabis. In
our area that is what you suspect when you see a coyote or racoon in broad
daylight. Something wrong! We went on our way after taking a few
pictures of the animal.
After a wonderful night of camping in the village (more
about that in a subsequent post, hopefully), we set out to explore the park a
bit and then go on our way to our next stop (Del Rio, TX). Again, at the same location a coyote crossed
the road to slow us down and here again stood by the road staring at us. Then it dawned on us, the animal was begging! We drove on to the visitor’s center and I
asked one of the park officials about our encounter. They acknowledged that the coyote was
actually begging and was considered a nuisance.
They tried to move it to another part of the park, but it had returned
to the same spot within a few days.
I guess we all know why this is happening. Folks feed the wildlife and have conditioned
this poor animal to live on handouts instead of hunting. Why can’t people get it in their dense heads
not to do that. You read about folks
getting killed by bison in Yellowstone; bears ransacking cars looking for food. It is unnatural, probably a poor, but tasty
diet. We are doing a disservice to these
animals and nature. We know (or should
know) how bad processed food is for us humans and that this is one of the
reasons for our obesity epidemic. Folks
that feed the wild animals are doing the same to them.
This issue is not only occurring in National and State
parks. Our neighbor feeds stale bread to
the dear in the woods behind our home. Every
evening a herd of 6 to 8 deer move into the yard next door and they wait for
their handout. In addition to the health
issues for the deer, these animals carry ticks (Lyme disease), flees (tape
worm), and you do not know what else to impact humans.
People don’t feed wildlife.
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| The beggar in Big Bend National Park |
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