CALL OF THE WILD

Mid-September to mid-October is typically Bugle Season at Rocky Mountain National Park. From dusk to dawn, romantic elk bulls send out a piercing message, called “bugling” to the elk cows hanging around within earshot, and you can guess the rest of the story. I don’t know how many females one bull can round up in one night, but I don't think they care about looks or personality in their mating game. Just about any ol’ cow will do.

Now, Big Bore and I were too tired at the end of each day to hang out in the park to listen to the bugle “concert,” nor did we really care to observe the results, but during one early morning drive to Hidden Valley, off the beaten RMNP path, we came upon the above party goers recovering from their big night. The exhausted bull, surrounded by six more-alert females (one not seen in the pic), rested close to the parking lot, maybe 10-15 yards, not about to move.

“He must be quite the charmer,” I said.

“Looks to me like he needs a cigarette,” BB added.

We saw other wildlife on our trip, including the blue jay and gray jay below, plus a goofy brown bear T-shirt from an Estes Park store window that BB thought was photo-worthy, but nothing was quite as amorous as that elk harem happily chilling out in plain sight at Hidden Valley.

TOMORROW: The Stanley Hotel