We Live in a Great Place!
In one day-long trip we saw five big game species: these elk at the National Elk Refuge, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, bighorn sheep and mountain goats. Where else in the west can you do that?
We live in such a wonderful area that our family opted for a stay-cation to welcome in the new year. Last Thursday we left home early on an excursion to the National Elk Refuge to ride the horse-drawn sleigh out to see the elk. Shortly after turning up Highway 31 in Swan Valley, we prematurely accomplished one objective of the trip: we wanted to show the kids lots of elk, and there they were, just off the road.
After braving the slick roads over Teton Pass, we caravanned through Jackson. Instead of turning toward Grand Teton Park though, we continued east on Broadway, passing the hospital and turning left at a large sign proclaiming that we had arrived at the National Elk Refuge.
This snow-covered gravel road led us on the east side of Miller Butte, exactly opposite of where we would take the sleigh to see the elk. At the south end of the hill, a dozen bighorn sheep browsed and as soon as we stopped for a better look, made for our vehicles. Within a minute or two, our kids were up close and personal with bighorn ewes, lambs and rams as they literally licked the salt off our cars.
We drove north along the length of the hill and saw perhaps 50 sheep in all, along with a group of pronghorn antelope. Elk watched us from far to the west and south.
The temperature climbed out of negative numbers when the sun bathed the road and clear blue skies added to the magical time. Finally, though, it was time to head to the visitor center and prepare for the purpose of our visit—the sleigh ride amongst the elk.
We saw mule deer on the west side of the highway as the bus shuttled us from the visitor center to the sleighs, then we were there. As we huddled under blankets, our sleigh driver, Dave, gave us a few words of caution and with a slap of the reins we were off, gliding across the snow with Teton Park on our left and several thousand elk in front of us. Miller Butte provided the eastern backdrop.
Numerous nearby bulls pawed at the snow, using their front hooves like brooms to expose the grass beneath. Dave explained that these elk were currently living on natural forage grown on about 5,000 acres of irrigated pasture. Supplemental feeding wouldn’t start until the natural forage was gone or winter conditions made digging for dinner impossible.
The horses pulled us through the elk and we stopped several times for photos and so Dave could explain more about the operation. The ride took only an hour, but for most of the family, this was the closest they had ever been to live elk in mind-boggling numbers.
We decided to drive down the Snake River to return home. As we neared Alpine, Wyoming, I mentioned that I often see mountain goats in the area. The words were hardly spoken when I braked to avoid a goat almost in the middle of the road. In all, perhaps 10 goats licked salt from the road and another 10-15 browsed on the hill.
In all, we had shown our kids five big game species in the course of a day. I thought about that all the way home, grateful to live in a place so rich in wildlife. As we enter a new year, it is my hope that we never take that for granted.