Last week it didn't take more than once for my brother Chris to ask "Want to go spotting?" and I was packing my thermos,gloves, and camera for an early (VERY early) morning. O-dark-thirty comes to mind...anyway, I was ready, 'cuz he's been known to leave slowpokes standing in the driveway wondering where the ride went.
Up the Wilson River, then we headed for the hills on the Coast Range road. I use the term "road" loosely. Actually, it's almost a freeway compared to what we drove on as kids up there.
Chris, along with the rest of the Y-chromosome carriers of our extended family, is a avid hunter. Especially of ELK. He wanted to show me some of the prime spotting sites, which are also incredibly scenic.
The best "spotting" opportunities happen at the crack of dawn. The sun should only be a gleam in the east when you get to the top of the hills. We were there. See that hillside starting to light up? It took awhile for the ice to melt off the puddles...it's still winter, remember, even though we were blessed with blue skies that morning.
Aha! THAT is an elk track.
And now...spot the elk. Here's your assignment: double click on the photo below. That should enlarge it enough for you to spot the elk. Can't find them? Look for the rounded tan spots. There are two elk on this hillside. Honest.
And after the lucky hunter gets his critter, he has to haul it OUT of those canyons...There is a running photographic record on Mom's livingroom wall of the past umpteen elk hunts.
Right alongside the mounted rack of antlers from one of my dad's bulls (that's a boy elk, to you flatlanders). And it's not all guys in those photos, my sisters-in-law have earned their share of the glory, too.
Family tradition - or disease. It's a toss-up.
It was a great morning. We spotted two bulls, several groups of cows (lady elk), a family of deer, and a squirrel.
I had thawed out by the time we got down to the main road on the Kilchis River. So we stopped at a couple of bridges to see if we could spot some salmon...that's another story.
What a great adventure. Wish we lived closer so my girls could get a taste of coastal living with their grandpa. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteOkay, my eyes hurt but I finally found those two! Guess it helps to spot them if they are moving!
ReplyDeleteIt was a trick finding those elk considering the WHOLE picture didn't come up when I clicked on it, and the elk were in the missing bottom half!!! Boy, did that bring back memories :-).
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