Elk and Aspens

Day seven of my trip to Colorado and Wyoming found my brother Eric and I headed west on Highway 34 up the Big Thompson Canyon towards Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). RMNP holds a dear spot in my heart as I have spent many days in my past fishing, hiking and camping with family and close friends. One of my fondest memories is sitting in the back of a pick up truck listening to the elk bugle and watching them spar in the meadows. Eric and I found plenty of elk. In fact we found one nice bull just inside the south entrance in beautiful morning light. Shortly thereafter we watched two bulls sparring and my card filled up right at the beginning of the match. DRAT! Next we made the drive into Bear Lake where it was snowing and the wind was blowing like crazy. It made for some nice aspen images though. We made a stop at Sprague Lake where there were Brook Trout spawning in the inlet as well as an Aspen Tree that a beaver gnawed down. We drove up into Hidden Valley a favorite spot for me as that is where I learned to ski even though the ski area is now long gone. On the way out of the valley we photographed a Magpie on the side of the road. The day slipped in and out with clouds. We drove back down into Estes Park where we photographed a lot of elk in the east side of Estes near the golf course of all places! I loved my final image of the day. A cow elk looking for some peace and quiet from all the attention she was getting from two nearby bulls. Thank you Lord for this wonderful experience. God's love and blessings to all, chris