Living in Boulder County, Colorado, has its advantages like the drive to Rocky Mountain National Park takes less than an hour. I know! I grew up in Wisconsin where deer rut in November and was surprised to find a bull sniffing around his sixty-plus harem on the edge of Estes Park. They rut two months earlier than Wisconsin deer. Who knew?
They moved quickly from the forest and soon gathered at the corner of a busy intersection.
A couple of one-point, yearling bulls checked out the party. See the one sneaking up from the left in the photo below? Yep.
I knew there would be trouble when those young bulls thought it would be a great idea to have a go at the cows.
That didn’t fly, but I did — The bull elk was pissed! Make sure to turn on the sound.
The boys stuck around, so I jumped in the car for a quick hike before sunset. I took this picture through the window. The elk herds were EVERYWHERE!
Hikes are plentiful. We pulled over and hit the trail.
Spectacular views everywhere.
As the sun set in the west, I took another look before heading home.
Luckily, the Colorado and California smoke didn’t make another appearance until Monday. The skies were pretty dang clear.
Next time, I’ll start before three in the afternoon. You never know what you might discover on a Colorado adventure!
Have you been to Rocky Mountain National Park? Are you choking down smoke like me, or are you able to see clearly where you live?
Susie Lindau's Wild Ride 
beautiful country, enjoy the autumn susie and pass on the wonders of mother nature, be blessed
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Thank you, BW! It’s smokey again but always gorgeous through the haze. Have a great weekend!
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keep up with the adventures and stay safe, be blessed
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Thanks so much. You too!
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What a gorgeous place. I see the elk are quite the tourist attraction. Great video clip.
And yes, we are socked in by smoke for days already. The air looks so clean and fresh on your post. Nice!
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Thanks for watching, Anneli! After two close calls, we took advantage of the clear skies to hike instead.
Today, the air is thick with smoke. When will these horrible fires end? I’m sorry to hear you are experiencing poor air quality too. It seems like the whole coast is burning!
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It is!! The fire maps are scary to look at. We’ve had smoky skies before when BC had fires, especially a couple of years ago, but nothing like this. We’re expecting rain at last and are hoping it will wash away the smoke and with any luck the rest of the coast will get enough rain to help with the fire fighting. It will take a LOT of rain for that though.
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I know. Our snowstorm stopped the Cameron Peak fire from spreading but not burning.
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Very nice!! Heading tot Boulder again next Saturday to see my son and hike! Love the area!! Won’t make RMNP this time but love your pics!!
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Thank you!
Woohoo! Hopefully, the smoke won’t be as bad when you visit. There are a lot of hikes nearby and the leaves are turning in higher elevations. It should be beautiful!!!
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Can’t wait!!
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Yay!!!
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Gorgeous scenery as always. Photos and filming never quite do justice to how big and imposing these elk are. I remember having to fight to protect my harem back in my younger days. Sure don’t miss that hassle.
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😂😂😂😂 I should’ve seen that one coming! Thanks for stopping by, Al!!
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Gorgeous pictures. The elk are amazing. So great to be able to see them that close.
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Too close!! 😂 Park rangers were crowd wranglers. Elk can move quickly. Now if it were moose, we would have stayed farther away.
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Spectacular views indeed! I hope to see them in person someday, Susie. Until then, I enjoyed your pics. 🙂
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Me too, Paul! You would love Colorado. Thanks so much for stopping by!
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I love visiting RMNP during September and have seen a few male elk interactions … at a safe distance. Gorgeous animals!
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Safe distance is right! Wow!!! They move fast but are pretty used to people. Moose on the other hand…
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We’ve had a couple of clear day but they predict the wind will change so we may be in just in a temporary clearing. I assume rutting means making whoopie?
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YES!! Lots of lovin’ goin’ on. Actually, it’s the start of the season, so more sniffing than anything else! 😂
The smoke is thick in the mountains too. It’s been a hell of a year!
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A magical trip in nature – with terrific photos as always, and some wild video too! Bravo!
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Thanks so much, John and for sharing!! It was a fun quick trip!
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Looks like you had a great time. Wonderful photographs, Susie!
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Thanks, Nanchi! It was a. late afternoon trip and so worth it!
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Sounds like much more fun than the hotel is these days, Susie.
Thanks for the much-needed interlude.
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Thanks for stopping by!! I just switched my opening setting in one of my MSs to a hotel so you were on my mind!!!
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They don’t care who is watching, they don’t care if there is a pandemic, when nature calls…
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Right? I thought of how oblivious animals are too. I wonder if any of them noticed our mask-wearing. Maybe the owls… 🦉 😂😂😂
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