Elk, Nature and Love

DAD, THERE’S A BUNCH of elk out here, and one of them’s a bull—a big bull!”

My daughter Faith rarely rises first in the morning, but in October 2019 on a trip to Estes Park, Colorado, she was the first one up. It started snowing the night before, and she wanted to see the beautiful, mountainous country covered in snow.

This was a special family getaway we put together because we found cheap tickets to Denver and desperately needed some time in the mountains. It was me, my wife Lisa, Faith, my mother Gloria and Demi, our spiritual daughter. That’s a term we use for this fireball of a Jesus follower whom we started mentoring five years ago when she was just 20 years old. Now, she’s considered family and travels with us when she can.

It was an absolutely amazing trip in so many ways. In hindsight it provides a unique view of how people of different interest levels view wildlife and what gets them motivated.

I’m the fanatic of the bunch. You’ve obviously figured that out by now if you’ve read more than a couple of my stories.

My wife’s really into wildlife, but she wouldn’t seek wildlife out without me. She’ll look at videos all day online, but she’s not going to trek through the Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado unless I bring her.

Faith is a young kid who loves dance (ballet, tap and jazz), sports, pro wrestling and likes animals. She’s not obsessed, but she does get excited seeing wild animals.

Mom likes wildlife but really just likes to get away. Demi likes wildlife but loves scenery. She was blown away by the beautiful fall colors the first day we were there and the contrast of white snow-covered scenery on day two.

It was Faith’s and Demi’s reaction that really inspired me on this trip. For starters, if anyone is less prone to wake up earlier than Faith, it’s Demi. But when she saw the snow and the elk she rolled out of bed, put on some warm clothes and followed Faith and me outside.

A few cows were about 20 yards from our cabin, but most of them were up to 100 yards away, including a big bull, a medium bull and one smaller one.

Faith wanted to document this on video on her cell phone, and Demi followed me with her camera to get photos.

“Now ladies, we have to be very careful. The rut has not ended yet, which means the bulls can still be territorial. So, we have to be pretty careful out here.”

For the next hour in 20 something degree weather, we followed this herd down toward a lake.

The two bigger bulls locked antlers a couple of times, and the cows seemed like they couldn’t care less we were there.

I watched Faith spend more time in the cold at one time than she had in her life, combined. Also, I saw Demi get really detail-oriented, trying to match up the elk with pretty aspects of the habitat. I wasn’t giving a typical Chester wildlife education lesson, either. It was all about the experience.

As the herd disappeared, we went to get breakfast. Lisa, Demi, and I drove down toward Lake Estes, which borders a golf course because that’s where the elk headed.

Lisa stayed in the truck.

“It’s too cold out there,” she said.

A friend of mine gave her the Indian name, “She Who Sits in Truck” after she refused to go into a mosquito infested river bottom with us a few years ago. That name was on point today.

Demi and I saw a big bull down by the lake and an even bigger one on the golf course. We snuck up behind the bathroom area in the park on the edge of the golf course. We were going to use an adjacent treeline to get closer to the big bull.

As we got around the corner of the bathrooms, the big bull was right in front of us—I’m talking 10 feet away! When we looked behind us, the bull that had been by the lake was running up to challenge him, and we were in the middle!

I grabbed Demi, pushed her ahead of me, and we high-tailed it to the truck.

Lisa was sitting inside laughing. “She Who Sits in Truck looks pretty smart now, huh?” she quipped.

Demi was laughing hysterically. “That was awesome! It was scary, but how cool was that to get that close to those big elk?”

Later that morning we ventured into Rocky Mountain National Park, and it was stunning. The beauty of the fall colors the day before was enhanced by the continually falling snow.

Demi and I spotted three big mule deer bucks, so we sneaked down a draw toward them and captured some incredible photos. I love mule deer and seeing them put a smile on my face.

Watching Demi, who is not a major wildlife enthusiast, so eager to get good photos put an even bigger smile on my face. And so did what she told me about 20 minutes later.

“I love these mule deer and I love you even more but it’s getting too dang cold. I’m going back to the van,” she said.

She was right. The temperature was dropping, and the wind was blowing hard. I hung with the deer for another five minutes and went back up.

We need to find ways to connect those things that intrigue people and lead them to ways they can do something positive for wildlife and its habitat. Sometimes that simply requires taking them into the wild.

Through Faith and Demi, I learned a lot on that trip.

Oh, and I can’t leave out “She Who Sits in Truck.” I had a little frostbite on my fingers after the mule deer photo session. She might’ve been right to sit that one out.

 

Email Chester Moore at cmoore@fishgame.com

 

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