Stockholm Syndrome

He’s killing me but part of me is starting to enjoy Mighty’s company. A really, really small part

The first night I baited a humane trap with cheddar cheese. Every cartoon mouse in the world eats cheddar cheese and since that’s the extent of my rodent knowledge, it seemed smart.

I stomped to the camper in sub-zero temperatures the next morning to find the trap tripped but empty. The truckers around me must have wondered why I was shaking my fists at the sky and shouting, “Damn you, Mighty!”

So for the second night (last night), I baited it with Nutella, the yummiest stuff I own. I learned, from a bearded woman at a hardware store, that mice like peanut butter. I already knew that he likes chocolate, so Nutella seemed like an irresistible bait.

This morning I found another empty but tripped trap. Maybe he’s gotten too fat from the Snack Box Smorgasbord to fit in the trap. I think I’m going to have to get a kill-him trap and just deal with the disappointment of my PETA friends. Thank God I have super long bbq tongs.

In other news, Lisa’s scavenger hunt continues:

Task 1: Boothill Cemetary in Billings. Another closed road.

Task 2: Shark Swimming Pool in Sheridan, WY. I was a little excited about this one because it’s way off the kitsch scale. Here’s what it should look like.

But here’s what I found:

Buried shark face

Task 3: Cowboy Cafe. Another fail because I couldn’t find parking.

Task 4: Little Big Horn Battlefield. I drove in, took this terrible pic of the sign, and left so I wouldn’t have to pay $25. That’s crazy! But the teepee pictures are free though probably a bit insulting.

Finally, task 5: Sanford’s Grub and Pub, the ultimate kitschy place, complete with gas station memorabilia (including pump handles as door handles) and an inexplicable Daffy Duck. And a Deep Fried Oreo Sundae, which was tasty but death-defying.

It looks like I’ve done a good job of dodging the latest blizzard. My hope is to get to Nebraska tonight, then to head east through Nebraska again. Not my first choice – I was hoping to go through Minnesota and Wisconsin – but I guess God isn’t big on that plan. That is, of course, the same God who allowed a mouse to set up house in my car, so I have some questions.