vacation |

Back when I was a kid, and still to this day, I loved watching nature shows on TV. I didn’t have cable growing up, so it was always whatever was on PBS. I specifically recall Marty Stouffer’s Wild America. Growing up in the suburbs, however, I never had the opportunity to observe wildlife in its natural habitat.

Since getting into photography, I’ve been drawn to wildlife as one of my subjects. Many have just been chance encounters on visits to National Parks, but on this trip to Colorado I made the plan to spend two nights in Estes Park with one sole purpose: to witness the elk rut.

Fall is mating season for the elk. The bulls are hormone-crazed, and for the most part the females don’t seem to pay much attention. Bugling is non-stop, though outright battles are few and far between. While watching these bull elk, you may see them digging into the ground by swinging their antlers side-to-side, urinating on themselves and the ground, then rolling around in it and the mud, covering the lower half of their bodies in dark brown sludge. I don’t think human females would find any of this attractive, but then again, I’ve never tried it.

I felt like odds were pretty good I’d see some elk, but I didn’t know that it would be such a given. I had rented this monstrosity of a telephoto lens for the sole purpose of getting some great shots of these majestic animals!

I arrived around lunch time and went straight to Moraine Park, a meadow area of Rocky Mountain National Park, not very far from Estes Park. This was center stage for the elk rut, and indeed I found a bull with a large harem of about 20 cows on the far side of the meadow.

They slowly worked their way closer to the road, and I had walked out away from the road to a little rocky area where I ended up sitting down to observe this bull and his harem. There were quite a few people behind me watching this group as well, but aside from that I wasn’t totally aware of my surroundings. I hadn’t seen any other elk in the meadow, so my focus was on this group.

Then I hear this guy yelling, “Toni! Toni!” I didn’t even budge, but then I hear this Toni speaking to two ladies that were behind me, telling them to walk slowly over to her and sit down. I looked behind me, and I see this young bull no more than 20 yards away heading right for me!

Alright, I decided I’d head over to huddle up with Toni and those two other ladies! Toni seemed to be pretty knowledgeable in elk behavior, stating that she hunts elk. The idea was that this young bull likely would not charge all four of us close together, and that we should sit still, and NOT start running! This young bull walked around to the other side of the rocks, picked at the brush for a little while, then walked no more than 10 feet behind us and off into the meadow! Wow!

At this point there was another bull headed this way from the other side of the meadow. He wasn’t as young, but he still wasn’t as big as the bull who controlled this large harem. At one point it looked like he wasn’t going to mess with big daddy, and walked off a bit, but he lingered. And he lingered. And gradually he worked his way closer and closer to the harem. Big daddy had enough. He got up and started chasing the young bull off!

There was no battle, as this younger, smaller bull knew he’d be no match for big daddy. So he finally decided to wander off.

After getting checked into my hotel and getting some food, I ventured back to the meadow. I observed a few more bulls, only one that was very close, but there didn’t seem to be much going on. I had read the elk are more active in the evening, but to this point, that didn’t seem to be the case. So I began driving back as we had just about reached dusk.

When I got toward the front of the road, I came upon pure madness! There were at least 3 or 4 bulls and maybe 100 cows! Bulls were chasing each other and bugling, the females were squealing, and cars and people lined the road watching the show!

I ended up running into my buddy again, the same young bull I saw earlier. Some of these bulls were easily recognizable due to distinct features, and for this young gun, it was his beat up antlers. He must have engaged in a battle at some point during the rut, because he was missing the end to his right antler. This time I was in the safety of my vehicle, and he walked right in front of it.

I noticed how heavy he was breathing! You can see here his mouth is open; poor guy had his hormones going bonkers, and just couldn’t find a female to link up with! Maybe next year!

Day 2 started out near mid-morning, as I made the hike to Dream Lake for sunrise. I was told when I got there that I had missed some action, and that there was almost a battle. No big deal, as there was still plenty to see the rest of the morning, and I was able to get some great close-ups with much more favorable light than I had the previous day!

Such an amazing animal. I wish I’d had more time to spend watching them, and I wish I could watch them year-round! That evening I had hiked to Alberta Falls, and didn’t get back to the meadow until it was just about dark. There didn’t seem to be much going on, anyway, so I kept the camera in the bag and just observed with my own eyes.

The final morning brought rain showers, and for me I was actually trying to find some bighorn sheep. No such luck with that, but there were still plenty of elk. I saw this guy outside of the park, but close to the entrance.

After that I went to the Sheep Lakes area, looking for sheep, but finding more elk! This guy was walking away from the road, but I was able to get a couple good shots in before he was only displaying his backside to my direction.

I took a drive down Fall River Road, still looking for sheep, but finding another elk that was actually behind a fence, so I was able to get VERY close to him and remain safe! He didn’t seem to be to interested in finding a mate, as he was just grazing through the grass.

And with that, I was off to Denver! I have hundreds more photos of these awesome creatures, but these were some of my favorites. I hope you enjoyed looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them!

What can I say about Sedona? It is truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. It’s a photographer’s dream. It’s a spiritual haven… apparently. It’s a hiker or mountain biker’s paradise. It’s a great place for a vacation. While I only spent a day here, I could easily have spent a week.

It was a jam-packed day for me, which started with a hike to Bell Rock. This hike was a bit longer than I expected, but had some pretty good views from an elevated spot of the rock, though I think the rock itself was pretty spectacular, too!

By the time I got back off of that trail, it was time for lunch. I stopped at a great little place called the Red Rock Cafe where I had a wonderful chicken melt sandwich, sweet potato fries, and key lime pie! I didn’t feel guilty at all about that meal, because I had just come back from a long hike, and was about to go on another! I can’t speak for any other restaurants in the area, since this was the only one I went to, but I can highly recommend Red Rock Cafe! They seem to be very popular for breakfast, and I was very close to getting breakfast for lunch!

After lunch I headed to the Airport Vortex. There’s some kind of special metaphysical energy you’re supposed to feel at this spot. I guess I’m not into that sort of thing… I didn’t feel any different! It does have fantastic views, however! It’s a very short hike up from the parking area, so this is a good place for everyone to go and experience.

I sat up there for a while, just taking it all in. Not that I had time to explore the whole town, but I’d have to say this is the spot for the best views. Considering how quick and easy it is to get to, it’s a must stop if you’re in Sedona!

Next up was my favorite part of Sedona… the hike to Devil’s Bridge! If you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle with a high clearance, or you rent one, this hike is considerably shorter. If not, you’ll have to park an extra mile and a half or so from the trailhead. This would not have been that difficult of a hike, but after climbing Camelback Mountain in Phoenix the day before, and hiking Bell Rock earlier in the day, my feet were downright killing me by the end of this one! It felt like I’d get one big blister on the ball of each foot! So unless you’re in the same boat, this one isn’t too bad. There is a pretty steep climb to get up to Devil’s Bridge, but anyone in moderately decent shape should be able to handle it without issues.

The view is, of course, amazing. From this location you cannot see any houses or other buildings, it’s just those beautiful red rocks, shrubs, and trees! The above picture is a wide angle shot, and doesn’t really do the drop-off justice. If you fall from the top of Devil’s Bridge, you probably won’t survive. However, it is not as sketchy as it looks from this angle. It’s actually very wide, even at its most narrow point, where I’m standing. You’ll have to wait your turn to get a picture alone, hopefully not as long as I had to wait for this group that sat out there forever taking selfie after selfie after selfie! Annoying.

After that, it was about time to start thinking about getting the shot I really came here to get; Cathedral Rock at sunset! Unfortunately on this day, the clouds had other plans. I also had a difficult time finding the spot I wanted to shoot from. It is actually called “Secret Slickrock Trail”. There is no official parking area for the trailhead, you just have to park along the side of the gravel road. But in my opinion, this is the best viewpoint of Cathedral Rock, and not quite as over-shot as the Crescent Moon area below this slick rock.

At least there was some water in that pool, but I was definitely hoping for more sunlight on the rock. Thin high clouds were muting the sun quite a bit, so this was about the best I could do. I’m still happy how it turned out, though!

I left that spot before sunset, and debated on where to go from there, thinking there was a chance for a good sunset. I decided to head back to the Airport Vortex, and right as I arrived, the spectacular sunset was taking place! Unfortunately it was packed! I could not find a place to park! I finally parked in a little gap on the end that was actually a parking spot, but my car fit! I had to run to a little ledge above the road, as I didn’t have time to get to the top of the Vortex.

That ended up being a great way to end the day in Sedona! Accommodations in Sedona itself are quite pricey, so I had reserved a room about 45 minutes to the north in Flagstaff. It’s a windy road with a big elevation climb once you leave Sedona, and suddenly you go from the Red Rock desert, to a pine forest! There was also quite a temperature change!

As I was making this drive, I looked up and saw that the stars looked brilliant in the breaks between the clouds, and I envisioned how great that would look in a picture above the tall pines, so I found a spot to stop along the side of the road! Sometimes these impromptu shots end up being my favorite shots, and this one was no exception!

The orange glow on the bottom right is a result of the city lights of Flagstaff. The trees at this spot weren’t perfect, but for a shot that was completely unplanned, I’ll take it! There was also quite the change in temperature at this higher elevation, and I had to get my winter coat out to shoot from here!

Those Ponderosa pine trees had a very unique aroma. I can’t really describe it. They did not smell like what you think of as a traditional pine. It was not bad, by any means. I actually liked it! Some say it smells like vanilla, but I didn’t think so. I wonder if the people living in Flagstaff even notice it, or if their olfactory centers have gotten used to it, and they smell nothing? It’s probably the latter, but for an out-of-towner, it was a lovely welcome to town!

Sedona is definitely a place I want to go back to and spend more time. I’d love to get some sunrise shots, and some better sunset shots as well, particularly at Cathedral Rock. If you have never been, I highly recommend it! You will not be disappointed! As always, pictures do not do it justice, you’ll have to go see it with your own eyes!

Tag Archives: vacation

The Elk Rut

Red Rocks Rock!