Elk in Yellowstone

I took a walk from my campsite as the sun was setting because I could hear a river down the hill. Naturally when I got there it was a spectacular stream in the middle of a massive meadow. Off to my left was a massive bull moose elk. I counted eight points on either side of his rack, which I came to learn later means he was an 8x8. With him were 14 (fourteen) cows. That means this dude cohabitates with all 14 of them. Maybe I’ll ask the eagle to ask the coyote to ask the elk his secret. Not that I am close majestic, or a bull moose, or a an elk even, but it did give me cause to laugh out loud in the wilderness...my one relationship imploded and this guy is running 14…ouch…go elk.

I should mention that my clue that there was an elk, or a bear, or something big in the area was this massive poop dropping (see photo above). I am not a naturalist or animal expert by any stretch, but I am pretty sure this did not come from a coyote (though I’ll let you know in the morning), a cow (there don’t seem to be any in the park), or a bird or a squirrel. I deducted elk or bear, and I am choosing to think it is elk droppings.

I also included a shot of a chipmunk who decided to dine on sunflower seeds I dropped. By the way, there are approximately 1500 seeds in a David and Son big size bag…I didn’t count them but I counted 100 of them then estimated. Feel free to challenge this estimate. At any rate I have finished 2 bags of seeds already, meaning I have consumed something like 3000 of them in 9 days. I wonder if that ok?

The horse....he was tied at a ranger station and I felt him looking at me so I snapped a shot to stay in theme.

And another reality check. As I was sitting by my campfire tonight, listening to my coyote friend howl with his buddies before he checks back into my campsite for the night, looking at a beautiful star filled (no comets) sky, the ever distinct sound of a generator cranked up somewhere in the campground….and it is a big and desolate campground. I investigated and sure enough the generator was attached to a mobile home that was the size of a stadium. Satellite dishes, pop out sides, 3 hours of set up and a silence shattering, coyote frightening generator. Good news is that I saw a sign that said it had to be turned off by 8pm. They should be able to generate enough energy to run that mobile city for the night by then.

Finally, the fuzzy shot of the elk is a result of either the limits of my camera (friend Matt R. is holding my good camera hostage) or the limits of the camera user, and the elk should not be held responsible.