Rose and dog Sadie left in the morning for a Christmas visit with her family. By late afternoon we were in hostel mode. Son John $pencer bunked in with grandson David to give his room to Bob, a hiking friend of long standing. We had a leisurely breakfast before driving the two to Cataloochee to hike. Even though it was not prime grazing time, we saw a herd of elk resting in the valley.
The fellows let me take their picture after they strapped on their backpacks. They planned to hike back to a peak we can see from our living room window. It isn’t right in our back yard, but it is pretty close.
Mehrling Muse 
The hikers look in earnest Anne.Looking at the elk, I’m glad hey’re not hunters too.
Huge Hugs
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John and Bob have hiked together a lot, though this was the first time we met him. He’s a very interesting person.
xxx Hiking Hugs xxx
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Beautiful photo..
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Thank you. The mountains here are lovely.
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They sure are, wildlife are plentiful
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They are crazy hikers like my middle brother. I’m fair weather o ly
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John and Bob moved up their hike because it’s supposed to rain on Sunday. We wondered what their weather was across the mountain, because it was very overcast here.
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My brother likes to go snow camping.
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These two have camped in the snow. Crazy!
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Weather looks good. Should be a good hike! Awesome elk.
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen a non-zoo elk. That would be pretty awesome.
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We’ll look for elk the next time you come.
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I’m taking you up on that.
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Ooooh, I love the elk. Hiking is such good exercise. There’s nothing quite like being up close and personal in nature. Lucky you. Happy New Year.
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We have often seen elk in that remote valley. There are many signs warning people to stay well away from the animals.
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Anne, same warning signs in and around the Grand Canyon in AZ too. Our tour van stopped so we could take photos. Some tourists were trying to approach the animals. How awful of them. Live and let live. Have respect for nature and its creatures. Happy New Year. oxox
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I’m glad I’ve never seen people try to get close to the elk here.
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Some people have no respect for nature and just don’t exercise good, common sense. ox
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Wow, I hadn’t realized that there were elk in North Carolina.
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Elk were here and hunted out of existence in the 1700’s. They were reintroduced in the 1990’s and are beginning to encroach on residential areas near us.
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Lovely!
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Ahh … the elks look so peaceful and obviously feel quite safe out in the open … that’s a terrific photo of them all! The hikers look all kitted out for the trek. I take it you drove back home!? 😀
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John and I enjoyed the drive to take the hikers to the trail head. We went back home and picked them up a day later, about 20 minutes from our house.
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Better elk than the black bear that was lurking around your neighborhood not long ago – they are impressive looking. I can’t say I’ve ever seen an elk, or a moose for that matter … I don’t think they have them in the zoo.
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Saw their likeness many times in the alps.
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Hiking in the Alps must be on a higher plane.
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