Estes Park - Elk Festival

Today after church I drove up to Estes Park for their annual Elk Festival.  I had a guest today - Eric, who is from Mesquite, TX.  It was nice to have some company - and someone to take a few pics.  We both laughed at the elk bugling contest and walked around the town before taking a bus tour to see some of the elk that were hanging around town.

We saw so many elk - both bulls and cows, along with some calves.  The coolest part was when we drove by the golf course - there were elk everywhere!  Some of the bulls were taking a dip in the water hazard, a couple were locking horns, a few were bugling back and forth and I think we were all in awe of the site.  I've never seen a golf course quite like that!  We also saw some deer along the way, but the day was definitely focused on the elk.

As we were driving into Estes Park, I was talking to Vicki on the phone and was about to tell her about an elk statue that I was looking at - and then the "statue" moved.  It was an elk right beside the car.  I laughed!  Eric thought it was funny too.

Besides elk, we saw a little snow when we came into town, but before we left, there was a lot more on the caps.  Many places got their first "official" snow today and people are gearing up for the skiing season.  I am not sure that I want to ski, but I really would like to go up and tube on the snow.  It looks like a lot of fun.  And then there's that one other thing that I want to try - dog sledding.  I'll have to comment on that later.

What else????   Hmmm... oh, it's supposed to be below freezing later on in the week (the lows, not the highs) and I am strongly considering buying a coat.  OK, after tonight (the temps started to drop), I am getting more and more motivated.  There are so many choices - ski jackets, motorcycle jackets (yeah baby!) and dressy coats.  I just want to know why the "- 32 degree rated" boots are starting to sell more and more.  Is it REALLY going to get that cold?  I am beginning to wonder what a real winter is going to be like.  On Saturday I spent about half the day at the mechanic/tire shop and people were coming in left and right to purchase snow tires.  I've talked to several people and it's looking like a necessity if you want to get out of the city.  Looks like I may be buying my first set of snow tires soon.

I think that's all for now - am finishing up some cooking (taco soup!) so that I'll have some good stuff to eat next week at work.  Yummy!

Have a wonderful week - and take a look at the new pics from today.  There were a few wolves (or wolf-mixes), a turkey vulture, red-tailed hawk, some kind of owl and other sites at the festival.  And for some reason, I kept thinking of Kirk Sumner during the whole time!  I know he would have enjoyed looking at the animals.  :-)

OK... am logging off now.  Have a great week!

konya