Doesn't this scene just take your breath away? The peace and serenity of locations like this in Rocky Mountain National Park are well worth the hike to get to them. Although my legs and ankles would beg to differ with that comment.
Dan & I took a small vacation this past week and enjoyed the beauty of Estes Park in the Fall. The pictures I'm sharing here are Dan's. The weather was not terribly cooperative for most of the time spent there, however, there were some gorgeous moments that Dan captured and I wanted to share.
This feisty little Steller Jay joined us for lunch at the lake. I didn't realize that the crinkling noise made by Clif Bar wrappers or plastic bags would lure the wildlife in like it did this guy. He was very animated and extremely wishful for a bite of our food. I'm fairly certain that other visitors had shared with him in the past based on his reaction to the noise from our food wrappers. He made a wonderful subject for a photo shoot and Dan was able to get so many pictures of him I can definitely see doing a stained glass window of him.
Mr. Big
This is the largest elk that Dan & I have ever seen. For those of you who have not experienced our national parks, it's fairly common to see people pull over to view the wild life. We always look to see what the spectacle might be and this time it was HIM! Neither Dan or I had ever seen an elk this large. I counted 9 points on one side of his antlers. I believe a Royal Elk has 7 points a side....this guy was beyond Royal! Of course, he bugled and we have no idea why he wasn't surrounded by girls. He was magnificent and since he was closer to where we had just finished our hike, he was less comfortable with people than the other elk in the meadows down by the park entrance. He didn't hang around long, but at least Dan was able to get a number of photos of him.
We're back home and the bassets are happy to have our company again. There's something about being out in nature that recharges my batteries.
Here's wishing all of you a great week of creativity!
