by Dianne
The Creature from Lake San Cristobal, CO (Sept 2010)
In an earlier article titled "Night Creature" there was mention of Jim and Gayle Clark's "creature." Here's the follow up story to their little adventure -- edited and condensed with permission from Gayle.
Back in September Gayle and Jim, vacationing in Colorado, were invaded by a visitor who woke them one night with loud gnawing and scratching noises coming from beneath the sink cabinet at the foot of their bed. Having heard stories of mice getting into campers in that area they went to town the next morning and bought necessary supplies. Jim thought it probably was a mouse but Gayle said she wasn’t convinced of that. Baited traps in place, they went to bed confident that by morning they’d capture the unwanted visitor. In the middle of the night the little varmint started making noises again and Scruffy (their faithful cat) went out to investigate. A short time later they heard a loud bang. They thought "creature" took the bait and was caught. When Jim got up in the morning to retrieve the critter from the trap it was empty. Meanwhile, Gayle went to turn on the coffee she’d prepared the night before and discovered a big mess in her kitchen. Evidently, that night during Scruffy’s hot pursuit of the critter, the pot was knocked off the stove and water and coffee grounds were everywhere. That’s when Gayle noticed the little creature had taken bites out of 2 apples. This was proof enough for her that this was not a mouse or chipmunk they were dealing with.
The following evening the pitter patter of little feet running under the floor returned. When Scruffy jumped down to investigate Gayle said she knew the Creature was back. Jim once again baited the rat trap, this time with apple pieces, and they went to bed expecting to hear the snap of the trap. They did hear a loud noise at 2:00 am but it was not the trap, it was the frying pan and baking sheet that Gayle had forgotten to put back into the oven. She had left them on a step stool and the creature had knocked them off. OK, back to bed. Jim has his glasses within easy reach, along with a broom, and two flashlights. Finally around 5 am the trap went off. Jim opened the cabinet door and sure enough it was in the trap. THEY GOT CREATURE!!!! When it was light outside Jim went to retrieve the body. They weren’t sure what it was – not a chipmunk, not a tree squirrel, but what? They said it looked like a rat but then they’d never seen a rat like this with a furry tail and big wide-set eyes. They decided to take him to the campground host for identification. The host told them that they were the proud owners of a dead PACK RAT! They wondered if this guy was a lone traveler or were there more to come. Nope -- don't think I'd want the likes of him invading our RV either. Fortunately for Jim and Gayle, they had their one and only “creature” and for the duration of the camping trip their evenings were quiet and restful.
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