Rocky Mt Park

Last Saturday I drove north to RMNP and arrived quite early.  Elk were very active in the meadows at Moraine.  Bugling males were very exciting to listen to. A dominant bull with full antlers sang, splashed across a creek, and battled a bush.  I did not see any fighting, the big males seemed to be more interested in the females.  One large male sat in a field 100 feet from the road and did his bugling sitting down.  Another bull walked between the parked cars and stood 10 feet away from a man doing video with his iPad.  That bull was not afraid of people !
     I drove up Trail Ridge Road to the summit, and found it very windy. Tundra plants are almost finished blooming. I felt like I would be blown off the mountain so I descended back down to the valley.  Aspen leaves are golden on some hillsides, and still green in dense clumps in lower forests.  Sprague Lake was very pretty to walk around.  I found a few birds:  Pygmy Nuthatches, Grey-headed Juncos, Mountain Bluebirds, American Pipits, and Townsend's Solitaires.
    I was lucky to get a camp space, most of the campgrounds are all reserved. 




Arctic Gentian

I was lucky to stop for a "Moose jam"  and even better to get a few photos of Mama Moose and her little calf.









The Rockies are a very old mountain range and the peaks are rounded from erosion.  This is so different from the sharp craggy Tetons that are much younger. 

I decided to post this photo anyway.  The bold Elk meets technology