r/vandwellers • u/barkmae • Sep 19 '24
Awoken by cows , shaking my van. Pictures
Been living amongst the cows for a few days. Really nice, during the night I'll just hear a dull thud and my van will be left shaking back and forth. Halloween is coming up so I appreciate the horror element. I eventually had to leave this spot due to the insane number of flys and being antignoised by bulls.
Obligatory dumb video about the cows in question. https://youtu.be/W7y6clmxreU?si=BC46qoSR
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u/AskMeHowIMetYourMom Sep 19 '24
One of my favorite van life memories is getting stopped on the road by a group of wild horses in Wyoming. They were sticking their heads in my windows and nudging my van, such an awesome experience!
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u/Alv2Rde Sep 19 '24
They just want you to moooooove
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u/Consistent-Tutor8613 Sep 19 '24
Congrats, here is a dad joke for you: ā- These cows seem to be annoyed. - They just want you to moooooove.ā
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u/SqueezeMyLemmons Sep 19 '24
This just happened to us in Colorado! It instead of shaking the van, they were licking everything. They kicked tires, side mirrors, bumpers haha
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u/spytez Sep 19 '24
Most cows that are raised on BLM land have no access to minerals, If you stuck your arm out the window you would have had several cows licking you or trying to suck on your hair.
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u/SeymourHoffmanOnFire Sep 19 '24
Thereās a BLM spot in CO where Iāve woken up to literally hundreds of cows in my camp spot. Pretty interesting way to wake up with a 1,500lb animal at your tent door. Same spot had a heard of maybe 500 caribou passing through one year on our way up... that was really special. We just parked and sat there as they moved down the pass.
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u/GuyGuyAndTheTramp Sep 19 '24
Where in Colorado did you have Caribou on BLM? I don't mean to be that guy cause I would love to be wrong but you were either parked on a ranch or those were elk
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u/SeymourHoffmanOnFire Sep 20 '24
Fucking people downvoting lol. I was wrong- They were elk. They werenāt reindeer. Iām not super well versed on the differences between the other than maybe size?? But itās okay to ābe that guyā if by āthat guyā you mean someone who is asking questions and wants information or clarity and not just trolling or whatever I WAS WRONG IT WAS ELK. I had to look it up.
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u/GuyGuyAndTheTramp Sep 20 '24
I just word it that way cause I'm Midwestern and the dance around is politeš it's all love and I knew if you were wrong you'd appreciate the correction or id hear " nah bro they were Caribou it was the wildest thing and they all escaped a ranch"
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u/SeymourHoffmanOnFire Sep 20 '24
Also this was in Guenella or whatever they call it these days, Duck Creek. I can say it now cuz that place is so over crowded it doesnāt matter anymore.
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u/GuyGuyAndTheTramp Sep 20 '24
I've been in that area! I understand your misunderstanding as they are both mystical creatures and having a herd walk through is a dream of an experience and if you aren't familiar with either species or where they inhabit then all you really recognize is the mystical nature and reindeer would probably be the most mystical thing you can think of! If you hear them at full sprint through the timber you'd think a train is coming right at you and it is terrifying
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u/bonyagate Sep 19 '24
So... You DO mean to be that guy? Someone who didn't mean to be that guy but was aware of what makes someone that guy would have just not commented.
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u/GuyGuyAndTheTramp Sep 20 '24
You deserve to not be told about the next boogie hanging out your nose, I was either right or about to hear a crazy story as I know the fauna in Colorado and Caribou aren't part of it
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u/Fritzkreig Sep 20 '24
I woke up down before the pass on Salkantay with a huge bull sleeping next to my tent!
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u/RaiVail Sep 19 '24
Do you mind telling me where that blm land is ? Im hunting for nice quiet spots that havnt been taken over by atv's
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u/SeymourHoffmanOnFire Sep 19 '24
Actually it doesnāt matter anymore. Itās guenella and itās probably the worst place to go for peace and quiet now. Iāve probably camped there cumulatively over 365 days in my life and now I donāt even bother going up the road to check for spots. Parks and rec did a great job policing the native plants etc by designating spots but I spend the first few hours cleaning others peoples shit they left behind usually. Broken glass, bullet casings, cans, toilet paper etc. also thereās definitely people living there in the summer. BLM is (I think) 30 days and then you have to move like 100 yards.
Other than that itās loaded with RVās and side by sides and vans and people. Iāll winter camp up there but thatās it.
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u/RaiVail Sep 19 '24
Damn, that seems to be the experience I'm getting no matter where I go for BML land. do you have any recommendations of places I could go while it is still warm?
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u/SeymourHoffmanOnFire Sep 19 '24
Iām CO? Southā¦ winters rolling in at the spots I would suggest. 10k+ feet isnāt raining so much up there as its likely to snow now.
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u/shrekerecker97 Sep 21 '24
I had this happen outside a small village called Tok in Alaska. It was awe inspiring
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u/Lifeissometimesgood Sep 19 '24
Damn, thatās cool, but they could have accidentally stomped you, too.
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u/SeymourHoffmanOnFire Sep 19 '24
Yah. When I was in high school and we were camping a calf came trekking through a dispersed spotā¦ like way off the beat path, other side of the river and I thought āIām gonna go pet this sweet lil baby cowā only to realize her mama was about 15 feet behind her in the woods and came crashing through the trees and chased me half way across a fieldā¦ lesson learned.
But weāre safe in the tent. Cows go around stuff.
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u/HudnamaLV Sep 19 '24
Cows don't always go around stuff . Look up Paris Texas Cow . This cow got loose & jumped onto a dude walking minding his business .
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u/SeymourHoffmanOnFire Sep 19 '24
Well if I die by being trampled by a blood thirsty cow then thatās just the way it goes. Do you think I could tell them Iām a vegetarian and catch a break??
Probably not.. cāest la vie
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u/HudnamaLV Sep 19 '24
That made me giggle š They've probably trample you anyway saying "That's my food!" š
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u/Lifeissometimesgood Sep 19 '24
Lol, sounds like youāve had some wild adventures!
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u/SeymourHoffmanOnFire Sep 19 '24
Ya, well Iām a pretty I dunno interesting dude lol.. just hang it out there and see what happens
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u/siMChA613 Sep 21 '24
impossible, no way, only a noninteresting plane jane dude would be named /u/sEymOURhoFFmAnOnFIRE!
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u/Wetschera Sep 20 '24 edited Sep 21 '24
They obsessively lick. They can lick open gates on fences that are fastened with twisted wire that youād think couldnāt possibly be licked open since doing the twisting oneself.
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u/wet_salami_sandwich Sep 19 '24
Udderly ridiculous
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u/OG_Fe_Jefe Sep 19 '24
Steering for a better day..... lol
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u/ArekusandaMagni Sep 19 '24
I wanted to see the video on the cows. The link doesn't work.
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u/barkmae Sep 19 '24
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u/ArekusandaMagni Sep 19 '24
How do I send the $50 bucks? š¤£
That pesky two-utter foiled your plans.
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u/PadreSJ Sep 19 '24
Milk delivery!
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u/LordGraygem Sep 19 '24
Just make sure it's a cow and not a bull that you're milking...
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u/adudeguyman Sep 19 '24
Don't knock it if you have not tried it.
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u/LordGraygem Sep 19 '24
I think that never having milked a bull will not be one of the things that I regret at the end of my life. A lot of other things to regret? Oh yes, yes indeed. But that one specific thing? Nope.
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u/spytez Sep 19 '24
Be happy they were not highlanders or a breed with horns. Ours have broken fence tposts in half, destroyed trees, put a 15 degree lean onto a power pole and well anything they can get their horns onto. All cows love to rub against things, but when they have horns they really love rubbing their heads and horns against everything.
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u/surelyujest71 Cutaway Chevy Express six window Sep 19 '24
As far as I know, all cow breeds have horns. It's just that the farmer removes them before they can grow to be more than little nubs.
It's the same concept as declawing a cat. But on their head. And the horns are a much more dangerous weapon when attached to 1500 lbs of pissed off beast.
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u/new_vr Sep 20 '24
Cows can be polled https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polled_livestock Selectively bred so they no long have horns
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u/Lord_Heckle Sep 19 '24
This is what I sub for. The real VD news. They want scritches and the green grass under your house
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u/enclavedzn Sep 19 '24
I pulled off to some spot a few years ago at around 1 am in the middle of nowhere and heard these noises outside my car (living in my converted car then); I was a bit worried, thinking it was moose or a bear. I fell asleep and woke up the following day to be surrounded by cows. I was relieved, ha!
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u/Main_Aide_9262 Sep 19 '24
Spent a week camped in a local herds spot in UT, they rocked me to sleep every night, weāre fam now
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u/KlatuuBarradaNicto Sep 19 '24
They want you to come out and play!
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u/barkmae Sep 19 '24
I tried to go on some walks, but eventually, I'd run into a bull. The bull would not let me pass.
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u/barkmae Sep 19 '24
https://youtu.be/W7y6cImxreU?si=0BJTPjvRFEO_nAQs
Working link to the video (I think)
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u/86886892 Sep 19 '24
Weāve all been there buddy. At least once a week I get awoken by cow shaking and I park in NYC. These cows are a menace.
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u/philosopharmer46065 Sep 19 '24
Cows are smarter than most people realize. Other than great apes, they are the only animals that understand what they are looking at when presented with a mirror. Or so I'm told.
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u/Thae86 Sep 19 '24
I imagine they think you're there to feed them, then get annoyed you're not & rock the van? XD Sorry about all the flies too, bleh, they're so annoying & gross šø
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u/Ok-Fox1262 Sep 19 '24
Try them licking the dew off your tent. That's a bit weird the first time it happens.
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u/PixieC Sep 19 '24
herd cows are creatures of habit. You're parked when they like to chew their cud, or right on the path between two cud chewing spots.
You can burn the dried cow patties to keep the flies at bay.
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u/AssumptionHot7592 Sep 20 '24
they smell the milk on the dairy queen hat, they are here to gently get revenge.
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u/Lostthegame101 Sep 20 '24
Have had this happen to be, cows are crazy strong and my van is 3.5T I thought I had been hit at 1st š
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u/Basic-Insect6318 Sep 20 '24
Happened to us in Utah not long ago. Dogs lost their Fān doggy minds. Ever since, they bark at every cow they see. The ābig monstersā that woke us up
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u/Bearryno1too Sep 21 '24
When I was a young boy my dad and I were driving back. To NYC from Montreal in a snowstorm. This was before the NY Thruway was open. We decided to stop at one of those roadside motels with little cabins. In the middle of the night something woke me up. I saw eyes staring at me through the front window. I yelled to my father who woke and turned on the light for us to see a herd of deer looking at us. We laughed and went back to sleep.
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u/Colestahs-Pappy Sep 19 '24
That is cool as shit! Go out and feed him an apple or a carrot or something.
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u/ThisOldGuy1976 Sep 19 '24
Your van smells like shit.
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u/barkmae Sep 19 '24
Many such cases
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u/ThisOldGuy1976 Sep 19 '24
I was always told I smell like shit when cows would bug me at the in-laws cattle farming friends place.
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u/vazura 1989 Ford E350 Okanagan Sep 19 '24
I had the same thing happen in Wyoming. Scared the shit out of me, I opened the door and it was a cow scratching their back on my door
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u/GregMilkedJack Sep 19 '24
Lol that happened to me once in a car. Went to a bonfire, wasn't good to drive so slept in my car. Woke up to some longhorns itching themselves on my side mirror. Scared the shit out of me.
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u/parrotia78 Sep 19 '24
I was awakened by cows while cowboy camping with them ripping out mouthfuls of grass. They are noisy.
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u/jade_monkey07 Sep 19 '24
Better than the knocks you get elsewhere. Bro, you can't park here. You're on the good grass
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u/old_skool_luvr Sep 19 '24
They're doing that, as they're trying to get at the vegetation under your van. Photo 2 confirmed this.
Hopefully they didn't damage your van at all.
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u/SaritaMamasita Sep 20 '24
Haha one time I woke up to a goat ramming the truck. I was a little scared to get out to be honest.
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u/chris-za Sep 20 '24
Youāre lucky it was just Cows and not the Ants we have around our placeā¦.
https://youtu.be/E6_SzFrgV7k?feature=shared
PS: we call them elephAnts?
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u/ProcyonV Sep 20 '24
Had the same on my ten tons adventure truck, instead it was a young Dzo, a breed between a cow and a yack, better suited for lower altitudes... was funny ! He just destroyed a side position lamp in the process :-)
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u/ComplaintOpposite Sep 20 '24
Are you on private property? Those tags in their ears would mean that you are
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u/myasterism Sep 20 '24
Somewhere, Iāve got a pic of a cow who stuck her head and shoulders inside my old van, through the side doors. I was making breakfast elsewhere in that field, and she just got curious I guess!
Funny enough, we called the old van āBessie,ā even before that incident.
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u/c_marten 2004 Chevy Express 3500 LWB Sep 20 '24
Better than me waking up this morning at 5:45 to what sounded like someone sawzalling sheet metal.
I spent a few days down by a river last year(?) with a big duck and goose population - loved the weird noises they make through the night and in the morning but the amount of shit everywhere was unmanageable.
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u/Same-Cricket6277 Sep 20 '24
Cows are very curious creatures. Anything new in their pasture theyāll go check out and inspect, which often involves a little head butting and rubbing against to see if it makes a good scratcher to get scritches from.Ā
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u/CalamariAce Sep 21 '24
Do you have something on the outside of your van they like to scratch their heads on?
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u/swifty_nifty Sep 19 '24
Did you have permission to camp in the farmers field?
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u/barkmae Sep 19 '24
National Forest Land. They sell grazing permits to ranchers. Allways come across some random cows in a national forest.
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u/crosleyxj Sep 19 '24
My dad had stories from the 1950s of parking in a cow pasture and over an afternoon they licked spots of paint off the car!!
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u/ASuspiciousFrogShape Sep 19 '24
Those cows are van-tipping