Pork Chops, Pests, and Paradise: Our Wild Last Night in Klamath Falls

On our last night at the WorldMark Running Y, Leesa performed grilling duties on the patio while I stayed inside, safely out of the line of fire. Everything was peaceful until a blood-curdling shriek pierced the air. Naturally, I assumed a bear was attacking. Nope. Turns out, a mouse had officially claimed squatter’s rights inside the grill cover, and Leesa’s arrival constituted an illegal eviction.

Once the trauma subsided and we sat down to eat the pork chops—which were delicious, despite being seasoned with pure adrenaline—nature decided to apologize. Right across from our porch, a doe and her two fawns strolled by. It was a picture-perfect, majestic wildlife moment.

But Oregon’s fauna wasn’t done with us yet.

Later that evening, we spotted a much larger mouse inside the unit. Apparently, the grill resident had invited a friend, or perhaps a landlord, over to inspect the indoor accommodations. Leesa immediately called the front desk to report the tiny, uninvited roommates. Because my wheelchair and walker don’t exactly make me an agile mouse-catcher, I deployed myself as the official Look-Out and Tracking Commander. We kept a vigilant, military-grade watch on the intruder’s location until maintenance arrived. They set non-lethal traps in the last two places we’d spotted the little guy. Feeling totally reassured by our new plastic roommates, we barricaded ourselves in the bedroom, shut the door tight, and hoped the mice didn’t know how to turn door handles.

Onward to Reno for an overnight stay tomorrow!