Day 112 - The Moose is Loose!!

Well folks...What happens when you get rained in all day in Steamboat??
Answer: The next day you go crazy!!

Yesterday is the first and only day it has rained all day. In the final analysis, we probably needed the rest and downtime. By nightfall, however, we'd decided to get up before the break of dawn and head back to the Arapaho Wildlife Refuge. Before the break of dawn literally translates to 4:00 AM. It was dark in them mountains. But...the payoff was big on a couple of levels:
1) The sunrise was beautiful

2) The misty morning light made for some really nice snaps

I know..I know...enough with the hay already!!

3) And most important...critters love the morning!!

Sup, Dawg?

4) Fourth and finally, Lizzy is just moose-mad; she is constantly on the lookout for meese! 

Well today was so special I had to separate the blog into two (2) segments; the first is just the beautiful events of the day, and the second is dedicated to Lizzy's moose bonanza!

First things first...

So why would anyone purposefully climb into their Jeep at 4AM, you ask? 

Well, the last time we headed for Arapaho Wildlife Refuge is was 5:30AM, and it was almost light when we pulled out of our condo parking lot. Most of the critters we saw were along the way to our destination. The moose we watched at 8:00AM was enjoying a morning nap. So...when in the refuge...do as the refugees do; get up early, early! Besides that, the morning was gorgeous!

Ya gotta love layers...

...and more layers...

...and red barns and fences...

...and misty mountain mornings...

...brought to you by the road less traveled...

...oh, yes...and hay!

As we drug ourselves around this desolate area, we encountered one of the areas most prolific inhabitants, the Pronghorn Antelope. Since these guys are not as nocturnal as deer, we found them still in the rack waiting for the sun to come up and get warm.

Hey, Dude! We're up...why aren't you??

You heard right guys; that was Reveille. Get the hell up!!

Excuse me!!

And just for good measure:

Yonder hawk!

OK, good people...

...we saved the best for last...

...here come the meese; here come the meese; here come the meese

We were atop Owl's Ridge Road right at sun up! Wait a minute. You don't know what Owl's Ridge Road is? OMG!! That's where we wildlife photographers convene to stalk morning meese. You see, you DO see much more from Owls Ridge. Meese are lurkers. And in the mornings they can be found lurking IF your eyes are sharp or you have Wildlife Willie's big gear. IF you're lucky and find a moose or two, THEN you head down to Moose Goose Trail for a closer look. How do we know this? We done done it way more than once. Problem we've had before while noodling around Walden, Colorado's Moose Capital, is we never hit it this early. Well, in less than 5 minutes, we saw some movement from our perch. Here's the shot from a distance (like a quarter mile):

Coupla meese from atop Owls Ridge vantage point

It's a bit risky once you've spotted a moose from the ridge. There's absolutely no guarantee that you'll ever find him again once you drop down to the flats. This morning we got lucky!

I see the moose and the moose sees me...

Meese are just like big kids...they love to play Peek-a-boo!  Gotcha!!

After watching one big dude for a while, we decided we'd head further down Moose Goose Trail (who names these things, anyway??). Hopefully, if this guy was out, there might be others.

BINGO! We hadn't anymore than started the Jeep when this big bad boy stomped his feet and bolted several yards away. When he did, two or three others came to see what the ruckus was about. So...one or two at a time, we watched and snapped some shots. I suspect they were about 150 yards away most of the time.

Morning "Meese and Greet"

OK...you look at me and I'll look at you

He needs a shave

Here's another big dude...see him lurking? Thought I was just kidding, huh?

Yum! A tree!!

Well, Lizzy's day was made, BIG TIME! We probably watched these guys for 45 minutes or so. Since it became obvious they weren't going to invite us over for some nice, tasty vegetation, we decide to take a couple more shots and head back to "the Boat" to beat the afternoon rains. Here's a couple of parting shots:

Adios old fella!

Thanks for the show, guys!

Hey folks...we hope you've enjoyed sharing this beautiful Colorado morning with us. We'd love to hear your comments!

Till next time!