Thursday, December 08, 2005

Road Kill! Yummy in my tummy...

Now, many of you from Texas or Arkansas may shudder at the thought of eating road kill. The very words, ‘road kill’ conjure images of the Clampetts and Ma fixin’ possum stew for supper. However, in the great state of Alaska people actually sign up to be on a short Fish and Game road kill list. The lucky few are called to field dress and haul off moose that have been hit by an unfortunate driver. A call may come a couple of times a year for each person on the list. It amazes me to see how much damage one of these moose can do to a car or truck, while the animal remains pretty well clean and undamaged.

Recently, one of our new friends, Mark and Kathy, received a call regarding a large cow moose. A young mother and her kids were driving from Homer to Anchor Point one snowy night last week and up from the gully came a cow and her calf. Both were killed and the car totaled. Thankfully, the mother and children were fine. Mark went and was lucky to get the cow. However, Mark and Kathy are going to Idaho this weekend for three weeks to see their newest grandbaby. With the moose not yet finished aging, Jeff and another brother from the congregation are going to process and put up the moose next week. I can’t wait to be a part of this timeless Alaskan tradition: cleanin’ and cookin’ the road kill! I will let you all know how it turns out.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dana Jean and Jeff,
Today is January 5, 2006 and I am bring my Language Arts classes to the computer lab to view your Blog, "Road Kill." I have instructed my students to ask yall questions about this article or about life in Alaska. So, hopefully, be expecting some very interesting queries.
Cary