Magical moments

Yesterday I brought Coal into work with me. After work we stopped at the park and walked. It was dusk as we headed back to the car. We passed the entrance to the park when something moved in the near dark. For a brief moment I thought it was a horse and then realized it was a dusk. I heard hooves. There were others further back hiding in the dark. I froze and watched, but it was too much and the elk closest too me backed up and turned around. That set the herd in motion and I heard them trotting down the road. Poor Coal doesn't see well in the dark but he sure heard that! We circled around and crouched down in the bushes down wind. Coal was snuffling, drawing in there sent. They would shimmer in and out of the dusk. They seemed to melt away into the twilight.

Today, I get a phone call from a co-worker. She's full of excitment I can barely understand her. She's counted 19 elk. They surrounded her car and she was babbling. So I hurried up and got on the road. HOLY WOW. It was more like 30 of them. My car was the fifth to park and watch. It reminded me of the wildlife parks you drive through, where the animals are completely habituated. Except these elk have been driven down from the mountains by the cold and snow. They were grazing and going about there business. 14 crossed the road in front of me. There were more on each side of the road. Young bulls and cows. One bull only had 1 antler. I wish I could capture in words what I saw. These big, big animals with their dainty walk. Huge eyes, and the brown fur that hid them so well the night before. And of course those amazing rump patches.


I took the picture with my cell phone. It's awful of course. I plan to go up there tomorrow too. (I'd taken my camera out of my car because it's so cold I didn't want the batteries to be drained).