Stupid Elk.

Joey, Nate, Ian, Evan and I drove up to the hot springs to relax before a day of studying. I hiked up the hill, no problem! I was very proud of myself. We all hung out and relaxed. The moon was out and it lit up the mountainside. With all the steam it created a sight that was very pretty. After about 3 hours at the spring we were tired so it was time to go on our way home.

The drive started out nice. We listened to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as Joey drove his Buick down the road. I was dozing off onto Nate who was already asleep. Ian was to my left and Evan was "shot-gun." The next thing I know I'm screaming. There was a loud crash and glass was flying everywhere. I'm still screaming and I don't stop until Ian puts his hand on my shoulder to calm me down. I look over at him and there is blood smeared across the window. I look forward and Joey is sitting in glass covering his face with his hands. The car is stopped in the middle of the road at this time, and he drives over to the side of the road to be safe.

We are all okay, thankfully. I look at Nate and he is just in awe. I look at Evan and he is just being BA as usual with his hand all cut up and bleeding. We get out of the car. Joey is missing the driver side window and the windshield is all smashed in. Joey has cuts on his nose and in between his eyes. I look down at his hands which were shaking from adrenaline and his hands have little cuts and scratches that are bleeding.

We look back at the road and in a distance we can see this large mass laying in the road. Nate had a camera and the boys were brave and slowly approached it. It was this HUGE cow elk. I couldn't believe how massive it was.

A few people pulled over and helped. The elk was drug off the road and they told us it wasn't far to cell phone service. Joey's Buick was still running! He attempted to drive it but with all the glass flying into his eyes it was impossible. Ian took one for the team and got into the driving seat because he was wearing his glasses. We drove for about 20 minutes. Nate, Joey and I were in the backseat. Nate was curled up and Joey was behind Ian. He was so cold he was shaking. I couldn't imagine how cold it would be with my head sticking out of the window. Our damp bodies curled together in the car. Cold and quiet we drove on. Finally we hit Eagle, Joey has service and

I call my mom who came out to get us at the Hwy 55 Winco. We sat and waited. My mom got us it was 6 in the morning and we could see the sun starting to peep over the hills. Joey went to the emergency room to get checked out for the glass in his eyes. Then my mom dropped us off at our dorms and I slept.

I'm so thankful that no one got hurt.