If you want to see wildlife in Colorado, you don't necessarily have to go out on a hike into the mountains of Colorado. In fact, look no further than the Estes Park Golf Course. Surrounded by mountains that always take me back in time to some pre-historic dinosaur vibes I've seen in textbooks, golfers can take advantage of a surreal view while the elk of Estes Park pretty much take over the golf course. The large and in charge bull-elk kept "bugling" while I walked around to take pictures and watch them bath in the pond. At first, it's pretty terrifying when the elk looks right at you with this echoing and bellowing "cry." The bugling sound actually originates from both his lips and nostrils, so essentially when a bull-elk is bugling, he is roaring and whistling at the same time. And, it is loud!
Just right up the road, you can tour the infamous Stanley Hotel (which is where Stephen King got his inspiration for both the Shining and Pet Cemetery.) At the famous "Whisky bar" you can even order an old fashioned for $16 (yes, it's the nostalgia you pay for) and order some elk sliders with fresh arugula. But, would it surprise you that all elk meat in the restaurants of Estes Park comes from outside Estes Park? The elk are a very protected species in Estes Park, Co. In fact, there is a $10,000 fine for killing an elk under "Samson' Law."
The antlers on the bull elk are impressive! Depending on the amount of sunlight the elk gets, they can grow as much as 1 inch per day and weigh up to 40 pounds. And, when it comes to romance? When the bull elk is mating, he will dig a hole, fill it with his own urine and bath in it to attract the females. They can also run up to 40 miles per hour and jump up to 8 feet in the air. Sexy, no?
Just roughly 3 hours away in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, it is open elk season. While hunters may only use compound bows to hunt, rifles are permitted one weekend in September. Ummm, yes, we didn't know about that last year while tent camping in mid-September. So, it goes without saying that I slept with one eye open during both a Harvest Moon (full moon) and Friday the 13th as I heard intermittent gun shots through the night and early morning. Wild game hunters will be the first to tell you that elk are an extremely hard animal to hunt, because they can just disappear. I met a lady on a hike in Boulder earlier this year who was an elk hunter. She said that one elk fed her family for over 250 days. They froze the meat for steaks and tacos. The meat is extremely lean and low in cholesterol and tastes like beef.
Here are a few shots I took of the non-hunted protected and prized elk of the Estes Park Golf Course:
I thought it was adorably cute that the elk actually crossed the street on a cross walk. Thanks for reading, friends. I hope you have a lovely weekend and take an opportunity to take a restorative walk out in nature. "A walk in nature walks the soul back home." - Mary Davis
Love,
Kimmie
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