Colorado finale

                                                 ©2014 Lydia Hinshaw

Bull elk compete for possession of the nearby harem

 OGALLALA, NE -- It was 23 degrees when we woke up in Rocky Mountain National Park Friday morning, and that was our signal to hit the road.

 We've learned how debilitating nights under 30 degrees can be.  It seems to take forever to get warm again.  Perhaps this is a function of age.  At any rate,  we were not willing to risk a third night.

 On the way out of the park, we went on an elk hunt for the third straight morning.  It's the rut, or mating season, when the bulls compete for the control of groups of cows.

 Although we could hear the bulls bugling at night, we had had very little luck in seeing them.  Friday we found two impressive bulls tangling antlers.  It wasn't a violent confrontation, but in fact seemed rather half-hearted.
 Periodically, both would forget what they were doing, lose interest in
each other, and go back to grazing.
 We watched for a while, along with 15 or 20 other photograhers, equipped with everything from professial cameras and tripods to camera-phones.
 After a while, the bulls wandered farther from the road, and we headed into Estes Park for coffee and gasoline.
 Now we're 250 miles east, out of the mountains and officially on our way home.