A Friendly Fox
Both of Our Cameras Were Active.
I ran into Sharon on the side of the road near that opening between the Deer Mountain Junction and the Beaver Ponds. It’s a place I call “Moose Meadow.” That late spring day, there were three elk with small velvet antlers grazing in the meadow, and both of our cameras were active.
I’d met Sharon like this briefly on other occasions. Her parents had long owned a cabin in Estes Park, and she had been coming here since she was a child. As we stood talking, she told me of a time when the roads weren’t so crowded, the animals abundant, and you could bushwack across the rocks to walk the edge of the continental divide. Those were her childhood memories.
Since that time, her career had taken her to New York City, and her marriage to California and Hawaii. She’d traveled to Europe and the world to both ancient and tropical lands. Her life success had offered her many options, but her childhood memories, and love for the mountains always brought her back to Estes Park.
Now, she was learning photography. Sharon’s cameras traveled with her, and she had even ventured into underwater photography. There she had captured the vibrant saltwater colors of tropical fish. But now she was in Estes Park for the summer, and asked if she could book a couple of
RMNPhotographer Private Photography Tours.
A few days later, we were off together searching for wildlife to photograph. It was a wonderful morning, with animals greeting us at many stops. In Endo Valley, there was a bull moose feeding on the leaves by munching down on the branch, pulling it through his mouth, and shedding the stem of its greens.
At Sheep Lakes, we watched a young bull until he ran from the lake toward where we stood on the curve. Stopping, he posed as if to remind us it was his land. We captured a picture of him behind a sign that read, “Meadow Closed: Wildlife Protection and Viewing Area.”
Our Cameras had not Been Up Long
Appropriately, at Deer Mountain, a mule deer doe and twin fawns stood frozen for just a moment. Our cameras had not been up long before she scampered away and into the forest where her babies would be protected.
Driving into the Hidden Valley parking area, a bull elk stood boldly on top of a hill. With the growth of his antlers so early in the season, you could tell by the rut he would be an active bull with strong, dominant antlers pointed at their tips.
Sharon and I parked in a pullout and walked the edge of Trail Ridge Road along the willows at the Beaver Ponds. As we stood talking, watching, we did not see any animals. After a few minutes, we decided to move on.
Then, I saw him. A beautiful, yellowish red fox emerging from the brush. Pointing at the canine not twenty feet away, I was sure he would see us and scamper back into the brush. Instead, he sniffed and hunted, searching for food in the ground, a rodent of any type.
Our cameras up, both Sharon and I were shooting image after image. To my shock, the furry fox stayed right in front of us. He continued to hunt, captured a vole, ate it down, then hunted some more. For ten minutes, we were able to capture images. To Sharon, I suggested camera settings, f-stop speed and ISO. Shooting from above, we adjusted our angle working for a better composition.
In RMNP, shooting deer, elk and moose is not a rarity. Chances to capture a fox, especially in more than a fleeting moment, are unique. This time with this fox so closely to us was a gift. Then, as if knowing this, the fox sat, looked in our direction, and yawned having become a bit bored. When we had several images, he stood and ran up the hill, crossing the road, and disappeared into the forest.
I am so lucky on
RMNPhotographer Tours to be able to watch, photograph, and appreciate these magnificent animals sharing moments in their world. For Sharon, it was not New York City. It was not deep in a tropical ocean or some ancient European location. For Sharon, it was sharing a moment with a wild fox living playfully in the mountains she called home.
On this day, this beautiful, full and fluffy red fox had given Sharon and I a few special moments of photography, and he had reminded Sharon why she always returned.
