Elk & more elk

We saw elk everywhere. After photographing a large heard of cow elk we saw 4 bulls together. The first 3 bulls came into the sunny meadow but the oldest bull with the biggest rack waited for some time to see what would happen before he carefully entered the meadow. We thought this was pretty need and upclosed until we ran into some bull elk up close and personal right downtown in Estes Park.

Cowboys

We had a great opportunity to watch horses and riders in action at a mounted shooting competition. The riders ride an obstacle course shooting (special ammunition thats loud and smoky) balloons along the way. The little girls was fearless on her pony. We met Lee Cable, a great friend and nationally known wildlife artist (on the buckskin) who introduced to the Susan K Black seminars in Wyoming.

Este Park/Rocky Mountain National Park

This is the prettiest place we know in the Rockies. The little city of Estes Park is the gateway to the East entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park. The city is surrounded by high snow capped mountains and craggy rock formations spring up everywhere. It's very touristy but the main street is lined with beads and trinket stores. Still, the scenery is better, to our way of thinking, than Vail, Aspen or Steamboat Springs.

The weather was blustery and overcast. We stayed in the trusty Toyota at the national park campground. It snowed 8" at the height of the pass that night.

South Rim of the Grand Canyon

We can't say enough about the National Parks. The accommodations are in beautiful, one of a kind locations, inexpensive, well maintained, safe. The lodges have a history of their own. The south rim is easier to access and more crowded but the sunsets and sunrises are a wonder to the eye and mind.

more cowboys and indians

Dinosaur tracks on the Navajo reservation. We were told the round things are fossilized dinosaur poop.

Which one has the woody

more sunsets and sunrises

Ella & Noah

The obligatory childhood nudes