Back to RMNP; The Luck of an Elk Sighting

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

After our visit to MacGregor Ranch, we picked up a cold lunch in town and went back into RMNP. This is where we ate our lunch...how's this for ambiance? You may recognize this from a slightly different angle; again we're looking up Fall River canyon from Sheep Lake.

Today's drive we stayed in the lower levels of the park and enjoyed looking up at the mountains.

The sun was shining on the glaciers high in the far mountains.

These next scenes were taken at Beaver Meadows.

This little critter is a Wyoming Ground Squirrel. They are often mistaken for Least Chipmunks but are somewhat bigger and don't have stripes on their face.

As we were driving out of Beaver Meadows to get back on the main road, we saw this elk. Can you also spot the ears of another?

There were three of them and they didn't stand up very often. When they were lying down, you could only see the ears and some of the head. The colors of the grasses were beautiful and it was so neat to realize that we could have easily been passing by them for days without seeing them if she had not been standing up as we drove past. Now, every stick and stone we see from the road, we wonder if it's wildlife...teehee

Do you see all three heads in this one?

Here are kudos to my camera...this is where we were parked while we watched and photographed the three elk in the photos above...pretty amazing, huh? People we spoke with had been lucky enough to see herds of elk walking near the road in places, but I like our sighting. The beauty of the grasses and the luck of seeing them as they lie hidden during the day was special to me.

Another shot of the gorgeous Rockies as we headed back into Estes Park.

This is Mary's Lake, just south of town. All lakes we've seen have been very low; the extent of the drought is evident when you see where the water line would normally reach.

At the edge of town, we came upon these mule deer grazing in an empty lot.

While we were watching them, another doe and fawn came along.

The lovely town of Estes Park is surrounded by these incredible mountains...aaah.

This photo turned out kind of funky lookin' but every day, when we saw these red rocks, we knew we were getting close to the turn-off for our campground.

Lovin' Life ~~ And Wildlife Sightings