They aren't real common in this part of Kansas and it's been quite a while since I have seen one. In fact, last time I did it was road killed inside the Manhattan city limits. This one was on the property down the road, the owners have a very nicely landscaped pond with a decorative bridge across it, so I'm driving home and there's this guy standing upright in the grass. At first I thought it must have been a beaver, but it was pretty far from the water when I stopped to look, it wasn't a beaver.
I've never lived anywhere that had them, at least not common. You guys who do are probably laughing at my reaction, but I always thought they were kind of neat critters.
http://www.wildlife.k-state.edu/species/woodchucks/