Originally posted by savoche We are quite different in some ways, Duke - and that's probably a good thing for you and me both
No, cars just don't make that kind of an impression on me. People can do that, animals can, and even landscapes can.
One of the most scary situations I've ever been in was a taxi ride in Lisbon. I remember the other passengers. I remember the maniac driver, while going 130 kph, slapping his forehead with both hands after running a red light and just missing some crossing traffic. I remember the Doppler effect distorting the sound of the blaring horns. And I remember not wearing a seatbelt. But I have no idea what brand of car it was.
I'm sure a ride with that cab driver would of had the same effect on me.
But, like you, a lot of things....people, animals, books, landscapes , vehicles, etc ... make impressions on me.
Two wild animals that probably made the biggest impression on me....one was a very large Grey Wolf...and in parts of the three prairie provinces and northern territories...the Grey Wolves can get very large.
A few years ago, in a provincial park about 25 miles north, from where we live, a Grey Wolf was trapped . It was a lone wolf, not part of a pack, and it was taking pets, livestock in the areas adjoining the park. It was 7 feet, 9 inches from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail and weighed 179 pounds. These were Conservation Dept. measurements.
However there I go digressin' again.
The wolf that made a personal impression on me happened about 30 years ago.
One early morning about dawn, in late March, I was driving slowly around some deep lakes in the Canadian Shield. It was an early ice out for the lakes and the Lake Trout are known to come close to shore at this time.
I was looking for a good spot to fly fish (wet flies) near drop offs...in accessible lakes. No one else was around, that I could see and I was driving about 5-10 mph on a back road that followed the shoreline.
As I was driving slowly....I saw a large Grey Wolf...staring at me...his yellow eyes locked on me....those eyes are really piercing.
I just kept on driving past him, at around slowly....he watched me all the time. As I got about 20 feet past him...he started to move, hesitated...actually... looked both ways at the edge of the road...then quickly crossed...disappearing into the dense Canadian Shield bush.
It was a very brief encounter...but what struck me...was the absolute beauty and power of this massive canine...and the intelligence in the eyes...as we locked stares. Frankly I was glad to be in the car, although reports of wolf attacks against humans are not common.
The other animal, one that I've only seen once in the wild, was a Wolverine. I was with my family, and we were in our freighter canoe, running gas out of the small Evinrude ( 4.5 HP Deluxe) outboard, as part of the winterization process for the outboard.
It was early October, Canadian Thanksgiving, at a lake on the Canadian Shield...which, as an interesting aside was formed millions of years ago when a meteorite crashed . Anyway, it was a beautiful fall day, sunny, not windy, leave colours were at their peak...and we were cruising in our freighter canoe , not too far from the shoreline. We saw a Wolverine by the shoreline....ambling along....with their unusual gait. It was memorable for all of us, as it marked the first time any of us had ever seen a wolverine.
We've seen moose, elk, mountain goats, Dall Sheep, black bears, grizzly bears, Orcas, great gray owls, Golden Eagles, etc...but never before...or since a wolverine.
Of course, both with the wolf and the wolverine...me the family photographer...didn't have a camera with me.
But, both those animal encounters did leave quite an impression on me, just as my first sight of a '63 Corvette, split window fastback with the high performance 327 fuelie engine did....back those many years.
I must admit, that one first impression has stood out, over all others, and that was the first time I met my wife. I recall looking into her eyes, which are as deep and blue as the Aegean Sea. I was hooked.