Well, as explained below, we recently upgraded our computer so we're now able to do some things with our blog that we've been wanting to do. Namely, add videos! So forgive us, but we're going to be adding some older things here for a while, but we'll start with one that's still in season (almost).
So every fall we've lived in Boulder, we have taken the 45-minute drive up to Estes Park to watch the elk rut. It is soooo cool. We've had some really great experiences, and this year, we actually went twice in one week, so we were exposed to more. The first trip we focused on the Sheep's Lake area near the northern entrance to the park. There's a huge meadow with a nice parking lot overlooking and as many, many elk congregate there, it's a very popular spot for people to come and watch. The rangers are wonderful - they know absolutely everything about the rutting season and are on hand to answer your questions, such as, "When does a deer turn into an elk?" (True story - it was in the RMNP newsletter). Anyhow, Ben got this great footage of a bull tearing up the earth and tossing it around (listen to all the other bulls in the valley bugling in the background):
When Ben asked the ranger what he was doing, the ranger said he was making a cocktail of elk urine and dirt and covering himself in it for the ladies. Mmm, Eu du Elk.
Next, we were lucky to catch two young bulls practicing their sparring skills for next season. We were about half a mile away from them, but you can still hear their antlers knocking together:
As cool as that was, our next trip was better. We decided to try another area of the park, a little further south. We just drove around until we saw a bunch of cars parked alongside the road and people crowded around, looking down the mountainside. At first the herd was pretty far away, but they quickly moved close enough until they were all about thirty feet away from us. I handed Hank to Ben (who went with almost everyone else back close to the road) and Abe and I climbed up on some rocks and got this:
So every fall we've lived in Boulder, we have taken the 45-minute drive up to Estes Park to watch the elk rut. It is soooo cool. We've had some really great experiences, and this year, we actually went twice in one week, so we were exposed to more. The first trip we focused on the Sheep's Lake area near the northern entrance to the park. There's a huge meadow with a nice parking lot overlooking and as many, many elk congregate there, it's a very popular spot for people to come and watch. The rangers are wonderful - they know absolutely everything about the rutting season and are on hand to answer your questions, such as, "When does a deer turn into an elk?" (True story - it was in the RMNP newsletter). Anyhow, Ben got this great footage of a bull tearing up the earth and tossing it around (listen to all the other bulls in the valley bugling in the background):
When Ben asked the ranger what he was doing, the ranger said he was making a cocktail of elk urine and dirt and covering himself in it for the ladies. Mmm, Eu du Elk.
Next, we were lucky to catch two young bulls practicing their sparring skills for next season. We were about half a mile away from them, but you can still hear their antlers knocking together:
As cool as that was, our next trip was better. We decided to try another area of the park, a little further south. We just drove around until we saw a bunch of cars parked alongside the road and people crowded around, looking down the mountainside. At first the herd was pretty far away, but they quickly moved close enough until they were all about thirty feet away from us. I handed Hank to Ben (who went with almost everyone else back close to the road) and Abe and I climbed up on some rocks and got this:
It was SO COOL. Most of that footage was totally un-zoomed. That bull elk was probably ten feet away from me at the closest.
Rocky Mountain is such a gorgeous place. That evening (dusk is the best time to watch the elk), they were doing a controlled burn, it was chilly, and the leaves on the aspens were turning. It was absolutely the best way to usher in the Autumn season.
Rocky Mountain is such a gorgeous place. That evening (dusk is the best time to watch the elk), they were doing a controlled burn, it was chilly, and the leaves on the aspens were turning. It was absolutely the best way to usher in the Autumn season.
So come visit us in late September/early October - we'll treat you to some of this!
1 comment:
Tsk, tsk....endangering your child to get some good video? I'm sure you would have made Steve Irwin very proud. I would love to some visit in the fall, but I don't know if that will ever happen :(
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