OK, My Other "FAVORITES"!

You know I enjoy photographing ELK, right?

Oh yeah, I used to drive over to Cataloochee Valley quite a lot, in fact, right around this time of year! Oh yeah, during the RUTTING season!

True. I've been out of practice, you know, since my little, ahh, FALL DOWN, GO BOOM thingy last year (or whenever!), but yeah, I just might have to get over there again THIS year!

I think it's time ...

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, yeah, there are ELK right here in Western North Carolina, and yeah, the males start, ahh, fighting to see who gets the most "girlfriends" this FALL!

They get all "FIRED UP" and put on quite the SHOW, get over there and see what I'm talking about! No, really!

Just GOOGLE it!

And yes, it is actually "part of" the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but, ahh, "on the other side of the Interstate", no really!

Like I said, GOOGLE "Cataloochee Valley" and see what you can come up with ... Yeah, it is unreal. Once you get off the interstate, there is a LONG, TWISTY, GRAVEL road "up the mountain", but then you "pop out" into the valley ...

Big, open, fields, and yeah ... ELK out there eating, you know, if not fighting ... But yeah, the females are just out there eating, so yeah, just look for all the cars and tripods, and long lenses on the side of the road ... You'll see 'em, trust me.

It is FALL as I'm sitting here (8 Oct 26), so yeah ...

Yeah, this guy looks pretty happy!

He is the one with the BIG antlers, just saying ... But yeah, you can tell who is who, that is for sure!

The males are BIG, and yeah, "EXCITED", so yeah, stay away from them, just saying ... But once you see those antlers, yeah, you'll understand!

As a middle school teacher, who went to a LOT of the school dances, yeah, I was sort of used to it, but ... I'm just warning you! Stay close to your vehicle!

These "boys" are a wee-bit LARGER than any 8th grade boy, and they are "armed" with antlers. And I mean, ahh, HUGE antlers! And yes, you can see they tend to keep them nice and SHARP this time of year!

CATALOOCHEE VALLEY, NC, you know, over there past Asheville, off of I-40 ...

Check 'em out!

OK, my original, all-time FAVORITE elk image!

Like EVER!

Easy.

And yes! Another one, all taken at the same N.C. "hang-out. Hope to see you over there some time ... And no! That is NOT water, or sweat, all over his neck!

Yeah. Did I mention middle-school boy's bathrooms? Trust me, they had nothing on these male elk, that is for sure! Well, OK, maybe not so bad, but yeah ...

See ya over there!

l will be the one gigglin' out there, behind the tripod, with the long, zoom lens, and camera mounted on it!

You know, near my HRV, or the closest car to me ... One or the other!

See ya!