By Chuck Woodbury
This is the truth, the whole truth… It happened many years ago, but I will never forget. I mean, how do you forget a giraffe that tried to eat your RV — and while you were inside!
But, wait! There’s more! Not one, but two giraffes attempted to eat my motorhome.
This is my Weirdest RV Moment. I hope you will submit yours. A form is below. Let’s see what weirdness there is in the Wonderful World of RVing by sharing our stories.
My story goes like this: I was traveling south on I-5 from Seattle to Sacramento in my Tioga motorhome. My daughter, Emily, now the editor of this publication, was riding shotgun. She was a teenager.
Somewhere around Roseburg, Oregon, we saw billboards for the Wildlife Safari Animal Drive Through Park. This is where my story begins. Years later, in a similar park on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, I had another weird animal experience when I was attacked by a Yak. The animal wanted white bread, a loaf of which I had purchased for 50 cents at the entrance. It was to feed the animals; all the drive-through visitors were equipped with a loaf and the animals were well aware of it.
But I will not tell you the full story of that experience now, as I first have giraffes to discuss. I will tell you, though, that the only harm I experienced that day was the several ounces of Yak slobber the giant creature dripped onto me when it stuck its cow-like head into my window. My daughter, also present on that excursion, thought it was hilarious that her dad had to spend the rest of his day with sticky, slimy Yak slobber on his shirt and pants. Don’t laugh. It’s not funny when it happens to you.
But more about Oregon and the giraffes…
We paid our money at the gate and headed very slowly down the paved, one-way road that led us by one wild African animal after another — impressive ones like lions and cheetahs and elephants and bison and bears and zebras — the list goes on.
But no sooner had we entered the park, traveling at only a crawl — walking speed — when a giraffe approached — actually, I think two giraffes approached. Oh, it was very exciting! How often do you see a giraffe up close? We stopped. I’m not sure, but I think a car ahead of us was stopped, so we had to stop, too.
Remember, we were in a Class C motorhome.
And here is what happened next
One or both of the giraffes began to eat our roof. I think they were interested in the molding on the edge off the roof. Maybe they have similar tastes to the little green parrots of New Zealand that love to eat rubber, and do serious damage to tourists’ windshield wipers.
I did not know what to do. We couldn’t move. We were trapped. And all the while, the roof of my little portable home was being dined upon by the tallest creatures on Earth. One of the worst things that can happen to an RV owner is a roof leak. And here I was, helpless, as my roof was being nibbled away by enormous creatures that I was too pitifully small to shoo away.
We finally escaped them. But I was worried. How damaged was my roof? Would it need professional repairs? What would I tell a repair shop when asked, “How did the damage occur?” Would they believe me when I said, “It was eaten by giraffes.” They might think I was crazy! Giraffes, in case you are unaware, are not native to southern Oregon.
Okay. That is enough. I have gone on far too long. In the end, after exiting the park, I climbed on my RV’s roof. There was no visible damage! Whew!
So that’s my story. Now, below, in the form provided, please reveal your “My Weirdest RV Moment.” We’ll post them on this website. Attach a photo if you have one. You’ll be famous.
##RVT1070
