We were walking along Highway 97 when we saw a turtle on the center line. We wanted to step onto the road and rescue it before it got run over. But first a big white van had to pass. The speed limit here is 100 km/hr. As the van approached, the turtle darted (Yes, darted. It was a hot day and being cold blooded it was quite active and very fast) toward the lane of the oncoming truck. I watched as the two converged, certain I was going to witness a death. The van just nipped the edge of the turtle shell and flipped the turtle back to the center line, landing up-side-down. It was then that we saw the beautiful underbelly of this Western Painted Turtle.
We carried the uninjured creature across the road, where it was headed, and set it down on the shoulder of the road. It immediately darted back onto the road. It obviously had a death wish. We then carried it through the ditch and across a parallel road and into another ditch, where it finally "caught on" and headed into the wild country.
It just seemed the right thing to do.
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