Rocky Mountain National Park Elk Rut

Corey and I drove by where we stayed on our June vacation 2015 ,as we turned the corner onto the street we came across our first encounter with an Elk for the evening. He looked a bit bedraggled with his drapery of grass entangled in the  malformation of his antler. It was without a doubt he was content to graze on his own since  no others were sighted with-in visible range.

Getting beyond all the shops of downtown ,following HWY 34 just outside of town, we came upon a mountain meadow filled with groups of Elk Bulls,Cows and calves from the past season. We pulled off the road to catch glimpses between parked or passing cars of the roaming Bull Elk pictured on the left-hand of the collage,hearing for the first time up close and personal a bugling .

We were privileged to once again capture a collared Cow lazily grazing among the rest of the herd. My understanding of the purpose of the collar is to keep track of travel patterns, age and where her collaring originated. 

As we approached the Rocky Mountain National Park the blinking signs notified tourists that the Park was only open to the 12 mile point due to poor visibility on the mountains. So, we didn't get to go on into the park since we would have still had to pay the entrance fee of $20 and daylight was fading fast. 

On our reverse trip to Estes Park we caught two young Bulls feeding alone. A little further back towards town, we came across a different large Bull Elk ,which is featured in the middle of the collage and found in the middle of the herd on the outer right top picture. What was awesome was the echoing of bugles from so many parts of the hills and meadows in our travel path. The group just above, to our right,didn't come to my attention until I tried focusing on a far bugle.

I know that I've talked about lodging before, as in renting a room but there are several camping areas available for either campers or mixed sites including tents; as well as vacation homes and Bed&Breakfast accommodations.

By the time daylight was done we were ready to retire back to the Twin Owl Motor Lodge since our day had begun so many hours and miles ago. 

We documented our stay...

Time to eat supper and prepare to head off to Goshen Hole,Wyoming. Another long day on the road.

I hope you enjoyed our pictures and blogpost for today.

Here's wishing you Have a Great Day!

Our Evening at Estes Park - Part Three

These are just a few shops and attractions that caught my eye as we passed into and out of downtown Estes Park on our way to the Rocky Mountain National Park.

I was particularly drawn to the name of the restaurant pictured in the upper left hand corner, The Hunters Chop House.  They have both a Lunch Menu and a Dinner Menu. We didn't stop but definitely with so many fine dining choices throughout the city this would be included in a list of suggestions.

As we wound our way back to our night's lodging , seeing the floral displays I wondered what building we were about to pass...I truly appreciate flower plantings because they always seem to brighten up with color and soften straight lines. It came to our attention we were looking at the Estes Park Visitor Center Parking Ramp designed by Architect Michael Koch.

There wasn't enough time to see everything due to our late afternoon arrival. However, the most important part of our journey to this city was yet to be experienced and will be apart of the next blogpost, that being the Elk Rut taking place beyond the City Limits. I will share some pictures of the Elk bulls and cows that became quite the attraction to many others seeking the same thrill as Corey and myself.

Until the next blogpost...Have a Great Day!