Roosevelt elk au naturel

[Okanagan]

There were seven elk in the herd above, three of them playing in the river, and I can only see those three though some others are there in the brush somewhere.

In the photo below, there were five head of elk in the herd, and I thought that three or four were in the photo below but I can only see two of them.  One rump to the lower right with its head above and to the left of the rump patch, and one facing the camera in the upper left quadrant.

[HaMeR]

That's cool. Those are some big critters!! Thanks for sharing. 

[FinsnFur]

You either did a lot of running around today, or you been storing pics in your camera.
Non the less I'm glad you unloaded it

[Okanagan]

You either did a lot of running around today, or you been storing pics in your camera.
Non the less I'm glad you unloaded it

Thank you!  All of the photos were taken Monday through Wed. of this past week. We saw black bears (so many it would strain my credibility here to say) blacktail deer, elk, a cougar and assorted eagles, swans, fresh and salt water fish, etc.  Most of my photos were taken out of a vehicle window or beside it.

[JohnP]

Thick "stuff" you guys have to hunt in up there.  I enjoy the critter changing from winter to summer wardrobes and then back again.  Our coues in their summer attire look like a newly minted penny. 

[Okanagan]

Thick "stuff" you guys have to hunt in up there.  I enjoy the critter changing from winter to summer wardrobes and then back again.  Our coues in their summer attire look like a newly minted penny. 

The new summer coats on our blacktails and mule deer are really red, like a pale Hereford without the white face.  They add hair and turn Confederate butternut in Fall and get more gray as the year goes on till they start shedding.  I've never seen a Coues, though always wanted to hunt them.

I grew up in desert and love it, especially the feel of the air.  Courting my wife on the thick rain forest side and hunting with her Dad gave me claustrophobia the first few times.  It felt way too closed in, and made me consciously uncomfortable, longing to push that stuff back away from me and see out a long ways.  A man gets used to it and learns how to use the thick stuff to hunting advantage as much as possible, as any hunter learns to do with what the terrain and vegetation gives him to work with. 

Wish we could sip on some ice tea under a cottonwood on a summer evening down your way.

My son tracks Roosevelt elk in this true rain forest thick stuff. Several times he has tracked a bull for two or even three days before he's gotten a shot at the bull he's after.  If it weren't for logging clear cuts, most of the rest of us would never see or get a shot at these wet jungle critters.

Hope you're doing well and get well soon.

[JohnP]

Okanagan, the door is always open and at this time of the year there is always a gallon of ice tea in the fridge and one outside brewing. 

Hope to be out of "The Chair" next week and on the operating table the same day.  Doc claims I'll be good to go no later than 90 days later.  Will not be at 100% but should be ok for routine daily life and limited hunting.  No cold weather hunts for a while.