Stories Behind The Art

On a beautiful summer day Jay and I set out to hike and spy animals in nearby Rocky Mountain National Park. If you’ve followed our wildlife jaunts, you’ll know we nearly always discover some animals including new and unexpected sightings.

Returning to the scene of "The Protector"  the handsome elk and harem sighting of last fall, we set a goal to reach Fern Lake, not just part of the trail as before. Despite a few spits of rain and cloudy skies, we set off for our destination, expecting a mere two mile jaunt up the mountainside.

But two miles only gets you to the waterfalls, not the lake which is two additional miles and a not so modest gain of nearly 2,000 feet which is pretty major when you’re starting at roughly 7000 feet. So we huffed and puffed and drank lots of water while younger parties scurried by us.

At last, we rounded a curve and smiled at the site of sweet Fern Lake. Munching on our cheese and sausage, we were drenched in the sunlight of the high mountain beauty. 

Our wildlife entertainment included a roosting bird who sat quietly on his rock island, later identified by a seemingly knowledgeable hiker as an “Anhinga.”

What we did not see were any elk, moose, deer, or bears. Of course, it is high summer with flocks of tourists so most of these animals are higher up, hiding away, or only appearing at dusk when humans have left them to their peace.

We communed with nature and celebrated son Jason’s three month anniversary of hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail. Jason has put in around 1600 miles over 91 days with another 1000 miles or so to go. Our puny walk is a small way of saluting Jason’s 30 mile days and superb hiking adventure.

Lest the capricious weather erupt up high, we had our photo taken by fellow hikers and set course downhill. That means, down … down …. down. Your calves immediately know which direction you are hiking. At the end of the hike, still no elk as we had seen before in this spot.

So, a quick dinner in Estes Park and on we headed home at the end of a satisfying and tiring day when, what to our wondering eyes appeared alongside the highway, OUTSIDE of the park, but a very black bear. He was climbing the trees and pulling down branches to reach the fruit.

Yup! It was really a bear and he moved through the trees like he owned the place. It is always stunning to run across wildlife where you least expect it. Because it was nearing sunset and we were quite a distance away, our photos weren’t too great. But, once again, when we set out to see wildlife, we did indeed enjoy an exceptional wildlife sighting! Stand by for the art version of this trip.

P.S. Our last bear sighting was in the Grand Tetons National Park. Click here to see the drawing Jay completed of this bear called "Griz, Power and Grace".