I did a little research on my computer the other night, and I found out that the most moose sightings in Colorado were near Grand Lake, Colorado, and along the Kawuneeche Trail just to the north in Rocky Mountain National Park. And I decided to go there and see for myself yesterday afternoon. The last time I was in Grand lake was when I accompanied my then wife Lisa to a weekend retreat with the choral group she belonged to at the time. It seemed like it took forever to get there from Denver, but as I recall, we left on a Friday night after work (always a bad time to head for the mountains, what with all the traffic), which was probably why it seemed to take so long. I checked Google Maps, and it said the trip would take a mere 2 hours and one minute from my condo in Denver, and I'll be damned if they weren't exactly right. I immediately headed to Grand Lake, where I took the photograph in the upper left of the above collage. A great view, but not a single moose in sight. I then headed to the Kawuneeche Trail and walked along it for about a mile, but still no moose. After that I headed through the western entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, as seen in the bottom two photographs in the collage, but never saw even chipmunk.
When I got to the barricade marking the point where Trail Ridge Road was closed for the season, I turned around and kept an eagle eye out for any wildlife, especially moose, on my way back. I stopped once again at Grand Lake, and the scenery was beautiful, but mooseless. What is the deal with that? I read on the internet about people seeing dozens of moose, not to mention bears, on their trips through this area, but when I myself drive up there, nothing. I am really beginning to think that there are no moose in Colorado at all - that it is a lie, a shuck, a jive, a con, just to promote tourism in the state. If you ask a ranger about it after a fruitless day of searching for wildlife, he or she will say "You should have been here yesterday. There were two hundred moose out on the roadway, and they would not move. People had a field day taking photographs." Take my word - it is all a crock. I don't even believe there are bears in this state, either.
And so I headed home as the sun started to set, having enjoyed the scenery and the walk in the woods, but disappointed once again not to have see a moose, a bear, or even a damn deer. In point of fact, I saw a deer crossing the road just a few miles from Fort Collins a few days ago, but nothing at all around here. One of these days, once the social security checks start arriving, I will have to drive up to the mountains and stay there over the weekend, heading out into the wilderness just before sunrise and just after sunset to prove one way or the other that there are actually any wildlife in this state. I will do that if it's the last thing I ever do. And it just very well might be.
LIARS!
No comments:
Post a Comment