Be Careful! Deer Are Everywhere On Your Trip From Albany to Pittsfield!
Last night (Wednesday, September 28th), I found myself making a trip back from a concert in Albany, NY, as I drove back home to Pittsfield. As some of you may be well aware already, when you make that drive at night, watch out for deer everywhere!
As someone who has recently moved to Pittsfield, MA, I am still learning the routes to take to get places. While I'm no stranger for having to lookout for things that go bump in the night on the road, I wasn't shocked at having an encounter with some deer on my way back from Albany. However, I was shocked at just how much of the trip I needed to be on the lookout.
I was driving from a Jimmy Eat World concert at Empire Live. As someone making their first Albany to Pittsfield drive, I wasn't quite certain what would be the best route to take for the drive home. But as I was trying to leave quick to avoid the outgoing concert traffic, I picked a Google Maps route that I'm not so sure I want to take again.
I ended up taking NY-43 to the Eastern Union Turnpike, which then follows NY-43 all the way to US-20. NY-43 is where the deer where everywhere. As for exact spots, I couldn't tell you except that from the moment you see a sign that something to the effect of '10 Miles From the Only Stephentown in the World', that's where the deer start to chill on the roads.
They were in the road, they were crossing, they were jumping off to the side, they were just chillin' on the side. In what was about a three-mile-ish stretch. I saw a minimum of six different groups of deer that I either had to stop in the road, or slow down to make sure more weren't crossing in front of me. Like I said, they were everywhere.
It's that time of year when they will be out in about in the evenings. And I am not someone who is a hunter. I think they are beautiful animals! So, aside from having damage done to my vehicle or worse, I would prefer to avoid having any sort of collision with one. If you find yourself making a trip through those parts at night, please proceed with caution and watch for those deer.