Elk Rut begins

It's the season when bull elk are gathering and defending their harems.  Their bugling is echoing across Rocky Mountain National Park.

More from the Tetons

A bull elk checks me out.  30 yards away out the right side of the frame - his harem of 20 females and their youngsters.

The eastern face of the Teton range from the Snake River overlook.

Brief time-lapse of the Teton range under a near full moon [behind the camera].

High country summer - Part IV

More from in and around Rocky Mountain National Park. 

At the edge of Dream Like, with Hallet Peak as a backdrop.

A cascade at the brink - just below Lake of Glass, on the way to Timberline Falls.  The Loch in the distance below. 

Looking West towards the Never Summer Mountains, from above tree line on Twin Sisters.

Looking West from the flank of Twin Sisters.

A cascade edges the tailings of the old Eugenia Mine.

A Lustrous Copper, Lycaena cupreus, a denizen of the Alpine Zone.

Whipple's Penstemon, Penstemon whippleanus.

Elkweed or Green Gentian, Frasera speciosa.

Elkweed or Green Gentian, Frasera speciosa.

Cinquefoil, Potentilla sp.

Close-up with a Sticky Geranium, Geranium viscoissimum.

Looking down Tyndall Gorge from just above Tyndall Glacier at around 12,000 ft.  The "glacier" is now reduced to a small dirty patch of snow by rising temperatures.  In the distance, Pool of Jade, then Dream Lake, and a glimpse of Bear Lake Road below.

Long's Peak and Glacier Gorge in the distance, and a glimpse of Dream Lake below, from the Flattop Mountain Trail.

A pair of bull elk, up high above the Summer heat.

Bull elk catch some early morning sun. 

The Continental Divide between Milner Pass and Mt. Ida.

Emerald Lake, with Hallet Peak and rocky spires rising above Tyndall Gorge.

Chaos Canyon below Lake Haiyaha.

Afternoon clouds fore-sage a thunderstorm as they gather above the helmet of Long's Peak.

Fallen tree.

High country summer - Part III

Only a few weeks left in summer. 

Insects & Plants

A member of the Copper family - perhaps Lycaena helloides, the Purplish Copper.

A Sphinx month, also called Hummingbird moth, hovers while feeding.

Mating Fritillaries.

Strymon melinus, the Gray Hairstreak.

Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio glaucus, on a thistle blossom.

Not a bee, but a fly that mimics bumblebees.

Bumblebee at work.

Honeybees at work on sage blossoms.

Landscapes

The approach to Mills Lake in Glacier Gorge, Rocky Mountain National Park.  Long's Peak is the squarish dome on the horizon at center, and beyond, Keyboard of the Winds and Pagoda Mountain. 

Dawn in Rocky Mountain National Park. 

A waterfall in Glacier Gorge, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Near Mills Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Glacier Creek, Rocky Mountain National Park.

View from the top of Mt. Ida [elevation 12,889 ft]: Azure Lake and Inkwell Lake, with Mt. Julian and Terra Tomah rising up behind, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Jewel Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Solitude Lake [elevation 11,400 ft], with Powell Peak in the background, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Looking across Glacier Gorge at Long's Peak, Keyboard of the Winds, and Pagoda Mountain, from near Shelf Lake.

Animals

Yellow-bellied Marmot.

Pica, or Rock Rabbit.

Ptarmigan in Summer plumage.

Bighorn Sheep.

Elk - they will be losing the velvet on their antlers, and moving lower as rutting season approaches.