Tea Time for Major Mammals

When a good friend learned I was going up to Rocky Mountain National Park to see the elk, she expressed surprise when I said I would leave as early as possible.

“They only come out after 4:30!”

‘Really,’ I thought. I seemed to remember crowds of elk on prior visits, quite possibly well before 4:30 p.m. I just smiled thinking how wrong she was.

So I went up to the park. It was a free (no entrance fee) day so the parking lots were pretty full. I drove past Sheeps Lake meadow – no elk. I drove back into upper Beaver Meadow – no elk. [I did find a picnic table where I had a snack under golden aspen.] I drove past elk-less Moraine Park to Sprague Lake. During a leisurely stroll around the perimeter I saw rainbow trout in its clear waters and feeding ducks.

Taking a side path I absorbed the beauty of a stand of aspen.

Back in the car I retraced my route, finding a parking place by Sheeps Lake meadow. There was nothing going on … except people were setting up lawn chairs and getting out picnic baskets.

Okay. Something may happen here.

I settled in. Got out the newspaper section I had brought and sort of read while alert for action. Pretty soon I noticed people pointing, getting out cameras, moving toward the edge of the viewing area. I got out of the car. Seeing a great bull herding his harem across the meadow, I went back into the car to get my camera.

I  looked at the car clock. It was 4:30 p.m.