DAY 5, SEPTEMBER 25, 2018

It was a cloudy morning after the storm yesterday.  Mark made us his famous biscuits and gravy, and then the guys dropped me off at McDonald’s for an hour so I could try to post.  I am not incredibly tech savvy—-about average or better for a person of my maturity and hair color!!  I had a dickens of a time trying to post photographs on the page.  After inflicting my woes upon our son Cameron who is an IT guru, I decided I will take him up on his offer to help me with the the photo insertions.  If there is a blank spot in the middle or end of a post, Cameron will be able to fill it in, I hope.

We did in fact move some items out of Mark’s trailer and then left at 3:15 to go out to the “Slippery Ann” site in the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge to watch the elk bugling.  The refuge lies north and east of Lewistown, and it took about an hour and a half to reach there.  There is no traffic at all on this stretch of Big Sky Montana and even ranch houses are few and far between.  The sun was still out; the landscape consisted of plains, fields, ranches, streams, and occasional buttes.  The wildlife refuge is located in the “Missouri Breaks” area of the state where the Missouri River meanders through small valleys and plains, and the landscape changes to reflect the presence of water:  willows. and other deciduous trees lining the riverbanks with splashes of autumn color. I had asked Mark if we would be walking far, but he said no walking at all.  We rounded a bend in the dirt road and saw signs for “Slippery Ann” and “No Hunting Viewing Only.” By the way, we had not spotted a single elk up to this point on our way in (It turns out that elks have learned to read—-who knew?). As we approached the viewing area, the road was lined bumper to bumper with cars and pickups——People with lawn chairs and drinks.  On the small hill above were campers of all kinds and the smell of barbecuing was everywhere. Out in the middle of nowhere is this hotbed of activity. People were respectful toward other viewers and the elk,and spoke in hushed tones.

                                

And then we saw all the elk.  We estimated there were 15 to 20 bulls tending to their harems of cows and the calves.  There were possibly ten more bulls in the trees beyond bugling most ferociously, but not bold enough to fight the older and larger bulls. In the late afternoon autumn their coats looked especially rich and they were all really good looking. The closest groups were about 100 feet away between the road and the trees and the farthest way were up to 500 feet and hidden for the most part in the trees. 

The bulls paced back and forth bugling and whistling as a warning to other bulls not to encroach on their cows. They also rounded up any cows who might have wandered out of their protection area. 

The bugling was loud and intense a few times, but no actual contact occurred. There was quite a bit of posturing and bullying going on.  The sound of an elk bugling is a very distinct noise—-loud and sometimes prolonged.  JL thinks the sound of elk bugling and the sound of a loon on a lake at night are the most dramatic because they not only express emotion but elicit a response from those who listen.  We enjoyed every minute of this experience and felt blessed to have been so close to this impressive animals