This entire thread could just be posts from Nextdoor.
At least twice a week (often times many more), someone will post a “coyote sighting.”
Yeah, a coyote.
Big deal.
They are as common out here as squirrels are back East.
The counterpart to that is when the post is “OMG, what is this HUGE bug?”
I can always answer, without even looking, “Palo Verde Borer,” and always be right.
(Link broken for the people who are triggered by big beetles:
There didn’t used to be Elks in Edmonton, but now they’re all over the place!
If I saw one of those, I don’t think “bored” would be an accurate description of my response.
Was driving through a small Texas town at sundown. Along side the highway were regularly spaced trees. Railroad tracks ran parallel to the trees and highway. As a train went by, the light shown through the spaces between cars and, as it swept over the trees, they appeared to revolve. It was quite an illusion.
There’s a mysterious sign on a highway near me. It’s square, green with white lettering. “Highway to hope”
A town called “Hope” is in the same region. But the sign has it in small cap.
And the highway doesn’t go to Hope.
I worked for housing during the summer between years of college, and one year a coworker had some friends come to the dorm we were painting at lunchtime. The dorm in question had big windows in the common area, so we all got a great view of the thunderstorm that sprang up during lunch, as they often do during July and August.
The coworker’s guests were from some western state, and they were amazed to see sheet lightning. They said they’d never seen it before and couldn’t figure out why we weren’t as impressed as them. Sheet lightning is very damn common here, lol. Pretty much the only time I see forked lightning is when it strikes something nearby.
But they have trouble breaking through defensive lines.
I never knew that was called “sheet lightning.” Seen it many times here in NY State, but didn’t know it had a name. Cool! Thanks.
Do you know you get altitude sickness? Some people do, some don’t. And it depends on the altitude of course. My cousin has lived in Denver all her life, but has asthma. She can’t come visit me in the mountains.
I seen people with altitude sickness, does not look fun at all. Sort of like the flu.
I lived in flat Yucatán (Mexico), and later mountainous Oaxaca (Mexico). When I bright a friend from Yucatán to visit Oaxaca, he got sick from the curvy roads — there isn’t a curvy road anywhere in Yucatán.
Over here on the other side of our Wisconsin, it’s even easier: east is bluffs, west is river (Mississippi).
One time I was backpacking in the Sierras, above 10,000 feet, and every single one of my group of five sea-level dwellers got altitude sickness, each on a different day. Everybody got their chance to vomit in their tent at night. Fun times.
I have friends that visit me in Colorado Springs (only 6k) that get altitude sickness every time. Thankfully, he can take Diamox to mitigate the issues. It’s something to take a couple of days prior to the altitude adjustment and mitigates most of the issues, although it has side effects of its own: for him, every carbonated drink tastes off, which is one of the more common side effects, so no beer for him.
The thing to keep in mind is that most (not all) people can avoid or mitigate the symptoms by taking it in stages. Drive from low elevation to a high elevation over a few days, then acclimate for a few more before going higher or being active works well. But if you fly from near sea level to Denver and then go up to @enipla’s altitude or go skiing near Leadville, you are very likely to be in a world of suck.
Been there, done that. 
Yes taking it in stages helps. But very often people fly into Denver rent a car and head for the hills.
We have oxygen bars where you can try to rehab yourself. Never been in one myself, but some of my visitors have.
Visited some friends in Breckenridge, and our first stop was them taking me to an oxygen bar. Sooo exciting, just sitting there for fifteen minutes.
Doubt you can get a beer 
They should have water though. Hydration is important.
You can get canned O2 in any Supermarket up here. I think it helps for those not feeling well. Ya just take a shot once in a while. I keep a couple of cans at home for guests. 
That amused me.
A friend of mine had his nephews visit from Australia and they also got excited by squirrels which they found exotic compared to boring old animals like kangaroos.
Yeah, but they have cockatoos! When we visited, the first time we saw one, we thought someone’s pet had escaped.
