BULL MOOSE
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As my time in KY shortens, my wife and I decided that we needed to make an attempt to see a KY elk. Yesterday, we took the little Neon, our binoculars, and cameras over to Addington Enterprises near Hazard for a looksee.
We turned off the Daniel Boone Parkway and stopped at the Crossroads country store for some supplies. We purchased two permits for $25 and filled the car with $12 of gasoline. We bought two loaded roast beef sandwiches, two Mt. Dews, two bottled waters, two bags of chips, and two rolls of film for $16. Since Laurel County and most of SE KY deprives us of our right to purchase and enjoy adult beverages with our meals, we purchased a stockpile of these items as well. The state of KY also got $2.80 in tolls. Other than the elk, we had no business in Hazard, so I guess that the elk are already bringing in more money to the economy.
At the security house to the mining company, we had to complete a liability release and read some safety literature before entering. Both the company and the store said that quite a few people come there to see the elk. The folks at the store were very friendly and excited to help us. They said that one couple had driven from MI just to view the elk.
We would have liked a map, but one was not available. There are a bunch of roads on that place. My wife commented that she would swear that she was in MT if she didn't know better. Wildflowers and grasses were intermixed with uncut forest, small fishing ponds, rolling grassy hills, and BIG mining equipment. All of these new wonders have been the direct result of that terrible stripmining.
The time was 6:30, so we had 2.5 hours of good light. I honestly did not know what to expect, and I would have been happy to see the fleeting rump of only one elk. What we did see was unbelievable!!!
We had not traveled a half mile from the security shack until we saw our first KY elk. I was looking at all the rocks from the stripjob when my wife exclaimed elk! There on the side of a rock hill were three big bulls. Two were wearing tracking collars. The smallest bull was a young 5x4. The other two bulls were starting to grow the sixth point on the tips of their antlers. They were AWESOME! I was amazed that their antlers were already this large. The largest bull did not wear a collar. The two bulls will push 300" this fall. We snapped a few pictures and watched them graze on the steep hill at less than a hundred yards.
Now I was pumped and satisfied! How many more elk could we see? We traveled along the wide roads and saw rabbits everywhere. I spotted a whitetail doe at three hundred yards and she was skittish. As we drove closer, I turned my head to see three more elk 50 yards to the right. There was one large cow and a small cow and a spike bull staring at us. One cow wore a collar and the other two had tags in thier ears. Eventually, they moved back into the brush and we drove off.
Suddenly, we spotted a lone cow on a hillside that was within 200 yards of three whitetails. My wife insisted that she was pregnant. We explored the road further, but only saw lots of rabbits.
We took a side road that led to the top of a mining dump. From the top, we were able to look out over a large expanse of "plains". There were 7 cows of various sizes feeding about 500 yards away from another road, so we decided to drive to them. It was not easy to find the exact road. When we arrived, we could see the tops of their heads from the road.
As the light started to quickly fade, we rounded a bend and saw three more bulls silouetted aqainst the sky. One was rather large and the other two had small racks, but they already had 5 points on each side. I hope that the pictures look good, but I am sure that the flash will only highlight the grass.
The elk are truly wild, but they are very accustomed to vehicles, loud explosions, and humans. They will move away if you try to just walk to them. From my binocs, it was neat to watch their nostrils flare as they scented the air for our scent. As a species, they are not nearly as wary as the whitetail. One would expect the whitetails there to be less skittish, but it was not the case.
We saw a total of 17 elk. Seven of these were bulls. The animals are indeed doing well here. We hope to go back before the end of June.
We turned off the Daniel Boone Parkway and stopped at the Crossroads country store for some supplies. We purchased two permits for $25 and filled the car with $12 of gasoline. We bought two loaded roast beef sandwiches, two Mt. Dews, two bottled waters, two bags of chips, and two rolls of film for $16. Since Laurel County and most of SE KY deprives us of our right to purchase and enjoy adult beverages with our meals, we purchased a stockpile of these items as well. The state of KY also got $2.80 in tolls. Other than the elk, we had no business in Hazard, so I guess that the elk are already bringing in more money to the economy.
At the security house to the mining company, we had to complete a liability release and read some safety literature before entering. Both the company and the store said that quite a few people come there to see the elk. The folks at the store were very friendly and excited to help us. They said that one couple had driven from MI just to view the elk.
We would have liked a map, but one was not available. There are a bunch of roads on that place. My wife commented that she would swear that she was in MT if she didn't know better. Wildflowers and grasses were intermixed with uncut forest, small fishing ponds, rolling grassy hills, and BIG mining equipment. All of these new wonders have been the direct result of that terrible stripmining.
The time was 6:30, so we had 2.5 hours of good light. I honestly did not know what to expect, and I would have been happy to see the fleeting rump of only one elk. What we did see was unbelievable!!!
We had not traveled a half mile from the security shack until we saw our first KY elk. I was looking at all the rocks from the stripjob when my wife exclaimed elk! There on the side of a rock hill were three big bulls. Two were wearing tracking collars. The smallest bull was a young 5x4. The other two bulls were starting to grow the sixth point on the tips of their antlers. They were AWESOME! I was amazed that their antlers were already this large. The largest bull did not wear a collar. The two bulls will push 300" this fall. We snapped a few pictures and watched them graze on the steep hill at less than a hundred yards.
Now I was pumped and satisfied! How many more elk could we see? We traveled along the wide roads and saw rabbits everywhere. I spotted a whitetail doe at three hundred yards and she was skittish. As we drove closer, I turned my head to see three more elk 50 yards to the right. There was one large cow and a small cow and a spike bull staring at us. One cow wore a collar and the other two had tags in thier ears. Eventually, they moved back into the brush and we drove off.
Suddenly, we spotted a lone cow on a hillside that was within 200 yards of three whitetails. My wife insisted that she was pregnant. We explored the road further, but only saw lots of rabbits.
We took a side road that led to the top of a mining dump. From the top, we were able to look out over a large expanse of "plains". There were 7 cows of various sizes feeding about 500 yards away from another road, so we decided to drive to them. It was not easy to find the exact road. When we arrived, we could see the tops of their heads from the road.
As the light started to quickly fade, we rounded a bend and saw three more bulls silouetted aqainst the sky. One was rather large and the other two had small racks, but they already had 5 points on each side. I hope that the pictures look good, but I am sure that the flash will only highlight the grass.
The elk are truly wild, but they are very accustomed to vehicles, loud explosions, and humans. They will move away if you try to just walk to them. From my binocs, it was neat to watch their nostrils flare as they scented the air for our scent. As a species, they are not nearly as wary as the whitetail. One would expect the whitetails there to be less skittish, but it was not the case.
We saw a total of 17 elk. Seven of these were bulls. The animals are indeed doing well here. We hope to go back before the end of June.
