Soft as velvet

This handsome Elk bull was quite a distance away, but thanks to 48x zoom (focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm), it almost looks like we were standing next to each other : )

My friends, Cathy and Terry, and I, had left Calgary early morning on Wednesday (14 May 2014) and I think it was around 12:15 a.m. midnight (Thursday, 15 May 2014), that they dropped me off at home after two long, wonderful days in the Rocky Mountains, west of the city. Wednesday night was spent in a spotless motel, in a place that had so many Mountain Sheep roaming the streets, lol! Though we were hoping to see at least one Bear, I knew I would be happy as can be to see absolutely anything beautiful : )

At one point, we drove past a site that had quite a few wooden cabins. A large, Elk-shaped object caught my eye in the far distance, among the cabins. At first, I wondered if the owners of the site had added a sculpture for interest. However, when we went to check, this is what we found : ) This huge Elk buck was wandering in between the cabins, happily feeding. Unfortunate, really, when wildlife becomes this accustomed to humans, but it did give us a chance to see one of these impressive wild animals at closer quarters. The whole time we watched, I was very aware of the huge size of this wild animal and never forgot for a moment that wildlife can be unpredictable!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk

I'm posting much later today, thanks to oversleeping because of the muscle relaxant pills that I'm having to take for my inflamed rotator cuffs in my shoulders. This is going to be a real nuisance for the next month - might have to miss an occasional pill when I know I have to be up and out at some unearthly hour the following morning.