It's been a long time, but I prefer posting with pictures and that has proven to be tedious if not impossible. The two pictures in this post are the only ones I've been able to download since the last post. We've been asking around and may be able to purchase, yet another, gadget to boost our reception. We spent the holiday in West Yellowstone and Yellowstone Park. I'll give more details as the photos become available. For now, it's story time....
Jim and I hired a guide to take us fly fishing in YSNP. YSNP is known for its fly fishing and we weren't disappointed. Jim was on fire. He was catching fish left and right. I was so happy for/annoyed with him. The guide, Casey, and I were down stream working on my backhand, when we see a bull elk galloping toward Jim. We shout to Jim, since he was sooo busy catching fish, he hadn't noticed. This was a beautiful mature bull, nice rack. Mind you, elk are not thought of as super aggressive animals, but this "massive beast" is coming up on Jim with a bit of speed. Jim remains calm and starts waving his arms and calling to him in a dominant voice like you would to a horse or to cattle. He's so cowboy. But the bull's not stopping. In fact, it hops into the river just above where Jim is wading.
Meanwhile, Casey and I are far enough away that anything we did would be too late should the unthinkable happen (and believe me we were thinking it).
Jim reeled in his line and slowly made his way to shore. He told me later he saw a dead fall and was planning on jumping under it should the bull charge.
Both Jim and the elk exited the river, but the elk still seemed interested in Jim. The bull moved closer, but at the last minute the bull past Jim by and galloped down the river past Casey and I. Casey and I grabbed our jaws off the river floor and made our way over to Jim. Casey was astonished to say the least as he's been a fishing guide for the past three summers and had never heard of nor seen such behavior. Feeling a great sense of relief, our dark senses of humor quickly took over as I accused Jim of spraying himself with elk pheromones. Casey jumped right in mentioning his worries about liability and signing waivers.
This story as written here is as close to the truth as it gets. Should Jim relate this story at a later date, Casey and I will back up whatever he says, regardless of whether or not it contradicts this blog post.
Roaring River valley, RMNP
We arrived today in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. So far, we really like it here and plan on staying an extra day. Next stops are Seattle and Vancouver. We'll stay over night near Seattle and quickly move on to Vancouver. In Vancouver, Jim is going on a wild life expedition, while I go on a meditation retreat on Salt Spring Island. Next, we come back down and check out the Seattle area and gradually head south till we hit San Luis Obispo, CA.
Till next time, never underestimate an elk.
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