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Last Saturday was a gorgeous day and we thought we'd take a ride to Walden. It's a little over 100 miles one way to get there. Walden calls themselves the Moose viewing capital of the world. We didn't see any moose there.
Early, we began the route through Buckhorn Canyon which runs west out of Masonville. Part of the area rises to 7300 feet and there was a huge herd of mule eared deer scattered along a snowy meadow area. We stopped to just watch them gather and graze for a short time. The rest of the route through the canyon was fairly uneventful.
We came to highway 14 in the Canyon not far above Poudre Park. As we began to wind through Poudre Canyon the day was sunny and bright, but also brisk and cold. The Poudre River was running swiftly, and the falls (which I couldn't get to) were loud and fast, ready to sweep away anyone that ventured into its swift springtime current.
We began to experience snow flurries at about 6,000 feet. At about 7,000 feet you could tell it had been snowing for a good little while. The snow was still fresh on the tree branches, hanging like ornaments on Christmas trees. We knew that soon it would be dry and gone. If pictures were to be had, we should get them on our way up. By the time we returned through this beautiful spot, we knew it would show no evidence at all of any snow.
We saw no wildlife as we went on through Cameron Pass at some 10,300 feet, and over to Walden. We did see a lot of snow, still feet high, and when we looked back down the road we'd just traveled, some very dark skies.
There isn't a lot in Walden, but the Moose Creek Cafe had a wonderful patty melt sandwich. The rye bread here is dark and more like pumpernickel than it is like rye. Sure was good, and probably the hottest meal we've had in any restaurant since we've been in Colorado. We both enjoyed one for lunch before we got back into the car and went on our way.
There's a wildlife auto tour in Walden that is six miles long, so we thought we'd drive through and see what wildlife resides there. It was mostly water fowl, pika, marmot, and prairie dogs. (yup! Prairie dogs in the mountains) We got close enough to see that the prarie dogs had some pretty nifty color markings on them. Some had a black stripe - some had a partially black head or just a black hip. Interesting marks at any rate. There are stands in the preserve that remind you of the wooden deer stands that hunters use. They were occupied, and we wondered if they were for visitors or if they were for researchers in the preserve. We didn't have any real literature, so we just weren't sure. We would get that answer later. And we saw NO MOOSE in Walden.
The day had gotten some warmer and we headed back towards Cameron Pass. About 4 miles before the Pass was the Moose Visitor Center for a state park and we stopped in to see what all was there. The lady ranger on duty was a wealth of information. We learned from her that the people in the viewing stands on the wildlife loop were indeed, researchers. They sit there all day long counting and tracking the movements of the prairie dogs that have been marked with black paint! That explained the markings! We got a good chuckle out of that.
She also told us that the moose (if we should see any) wouldn't have any racks for a few more months. They shed them in the winter, and they are just beginning to sprout again, but are not yet very visible. The cows will be having their calves in another 4-6 weeks so they are looking for a place to have their babies and not likely to be seen either. Plus, since it was snowing, they have a tendency to just bed down in the snow until better weather arrives. We were really disappointed. There was a large probably 2ftX3ft pad on an easel at the door where she was posting moose sightings so that you'd know where they'd been seen and in what direction they were moving. There had only been one sighting that day and it was in the morning. It was nearly 2:30 when we left there and we weren't holding out much hope of seeing any moose for the remainder of our drive home. We figured the only Moose we would see would be the stuffed (real road kill) one inside the visitor center and the one made of straw outside. They sure are a lot bigger than elk. The one inside the visitor center stood about 7 feet tall at the shoulder. A live one that large would be pretty intimidating.
Only four miles down the road, and what do you know?! There on the side of the road was a moose! I was so excited I couldn't get the camera turned on and only got a shot of her as she crossed the road behind us and than another as she scurried through the snow to get away from "those scary humans." Well, dontcha' know that Jim turned the car around and took us right back to the visitors center. We put our sighting on the sheet at the door and showed the ranger the pictures we'd gotten. That sighting just made our day.
Back into the car and we really needed to be getting home. Twenty more minutes down the road, we came upon another moose! (no, we didn't go back to the visitors center again) This one lingered crossing the road and I got a lot of good shots of her. I started walking back towards the car to go on down the road. About that time, Jim popped his head out the window and yelled at me to turn around. There, behind me, following me down the road was a moose!!! I didn't know whether I should run, take pictures, or just quietly back away for fear of being charged by that big thing. Although, after the long winter, lack of being able to find good food, and shedding their horns, they were pretty skinny and didn't look so intimidating. I decided to get a little closer to the car and shoot some pictures (just in case I had to make a hasty retreat away).
The pair seemed as curious about us as we were about them. I sure hope we can get some more good shots after they fatten up and grow their racks back this summer.
Our son-in-law who travels for his job, was sent to Plattevillle to work this week. That put him only 13 miles away from us, so he is staying with us until his flight out on Thursday. It's been great having someone we know come to visit.
I've been long winded enough and I still have another sad post to make that needs to be posted by itself. So, until next time..... let's go shopping!!!
2 comments:
I worked for John Hoogland in Walden on the prairie dogs, and yes, the markings are for us to tell them all apart, although they're also fun to look at!
Sarah-thanks much for that comment! Hope you keep reading our rants and raves. :)
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