mountain goats. they really ARE interesting enough to talk about.

I tried something new yesterday, if you didn’t notice. I co-authored a post in my blog. And it was really fun! So I decided to continue this trend. Today I am co-authoring a post with Jake (See biography below). This is going to be a strange post.

When I went to Deadwood for Thanksgiving, we all ventured over to Mount Rushmore. I had been to Rushmore twice before, and that place does not change. So it was nice to go, but not cool or special anymore. [Co-authors note: I have strangely never been to Mount Rushmore. I assume it looks much like the rest of the Black Hills, except with the super-bizarre heads of ex-Presidents carved into the side of a mountain.]

We tried to walk the path around it, but it was closed. We took about a million pictures, but they all just end up looking the same. We were all kind of bummed about the trip . . . until . . . .

When we were leaving, we saw a crowd gathering. And there were about 5 MOUNTAIN GOATS!

Now animals freak me out. And these ones were wild! [Co-authors note: Mountain Goats have voracious appetites and the uncanny ability to stand in tiny cracks. Perhaps this is why Andrea is freaked out by Mountain Goats (a type of animal). Additionally, they like high elevations, are sure-footed climbers, and enjoy licking salt. Don’t question how I know these indisputable facts.]

Well if you consider mountain goats that are around people all the time and have big ol’ tracking collars on their neck wild, then they were wild.

Well Kyle and Dana are NOT scared of wild animals. And they were inching closer and taking pictures while I was standing roughly 10 feet away using my zoom function on my camera. After they had their fill of the mountain goats (which I accidentally called billy goats) we left. [Co-authors note: “Billy goats” and “Mountain Goats” are not the same. They may not even be related. A domestic goal (aka “billy goat”) is a member of the capra family, the genus of the antelope/goat family, while a Mountain Goat is not. Again, I am an unquestioned expert on goat science/lore.]

We were walking to the parking lot and BOOM. The goats were there too. And WAY too close for my comfort. Like 2 feet away. Kyle and Dana were geeked. I was terrified. [Co-authors note: Probably because of the Mountain Goat’s well-known voracious appetite.] Thankfully the goats didn’t charge me, but they were eyeing me the whole time. It was bad.

Co-Authors story: In the summer of 2004, I had the privilege of being employed by the U.S. Forest Service at the Russian River Campground in the Chugach National Forest, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. Whilst on a strenuous hike, a rogue Mountain Goat decided to follow/stalk my hiking partners and I. For roughly three (3) hours, the individual Mountain Goat followed behind us at roughly twenty-five (25) yards. When we stopped for a break, the Mountain Goat would stop for a break. At first, we were a bit apprehensive, as several locals had advised us of the potential dangers of Mountain Goats (again, probably because of their voracious appetites). After a while, it became amusing. It even reached the point where we could get within 5-10 feet of the animal before it started authoritatively bleating. When that happened, we decided not to mess with it. Anyways, it was pretty cool, and seemed innocent enough.

Fast forward to this fall -- October, 2010. Which to my horror, I learned that a singular Mountain Goat murdered a human in cold blood in Olympic National Park, Washington. Upon learning of this, I immediately recalled the Mountain Goat experience in the Chugach. I now don’t think it was so innocent -- the Mountain Goat was clearly stalking us (probably because of its voracious appetite).

Also, here is a nice song that you can listen to. Dana told me to add it. It's by a band named The MOuntian Goats. Here is the link.

Co-Author Bio: Jake Haseman, Bears football lover, Beer pong beast, Lawyer extraordinaire. Married to Brenda Haseman (coolest woman ever) and owns Reba, badass dog. Also terrified of aliens, robots, alien-robots, and Andrea.