Daughter Kate enjoyed wandering around our supermarket on shopping day, comparing our store to the one she works in. We ate lunch at home before going to Cataloochee, hoping to see elk. It was out of season and early afternoon, so our hopes were not high. On the way, we stopped at a hidden overlook to get a broad view of the valley.
We hadn’t been in the elk area very long when Kate spotted the first one, calmly eating near the road. John took this photo out the window for me.
We stopped to go through one of the old houses left in the park. I’ve been through the house many times, so I stayed on the bridge over the stream. When David and Kate came back, they walked down the stream looking at birds perched over the water.
On the way out of the park, Kate exclaimed that she spotted an elk. John backed up and parked. There were five of them in the woods! I took a shot of the action I saw, which was of David and Kate taking photos. It had begun to rain, making my picture a bit spotty. If you look between Kate’s nose and hand, you can see an elk standing up in the background.
Mehrling Muse 
Elk are such gorgeous creatures. You were lucky to spot some. Lovely pictures!
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We’ve been lucky to see elk often in the park. We had guests from Vienna, and elk walked right past our car! We couldn’t have asked for anything better.
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It is wonderful to walk in forests where you can see the Elks in their free and natural habitat. I am taken with their grace and calm. It is also to beautiful to see mother Elks courage if by accident you get to near her calf.
I love your outings, Anne.
miriam
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Thanks for coming along with us to see the elk in the woods.
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When we lived in Oregon we were able to visit an elk refuge and see a large herd of them. Great that you can see them too. They are definitely more balanced looking than moose!
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Elk are large, but nothing like moose. I’ve never seen a moose in the wild.
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I only saw one in a wildlife refuge in Maine.
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I’ve never seen one in the wild. How fun you all had the treat!
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I’ve never seen an elk – how lucky you saw two of them. That’s a nice picture of David and Kate – they really resemble one another.
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I think I’m too close to see the resemblance of Kate and David.
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In that picture, I really noticed it a lot.
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So lovely to see wildlife in their natural habitat! I’m more familiar with Canada’s moose, found in most provinces, but elk? I think they’re mostly in our western provinces. They’re related to deer, aren’t they? Cousins maybe!
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I’m not sure of the relationship of deer to elk. I do know that moose are far larger than elk. I’ve never seen a moose in person. (I’m still struggling to read, so I won’t look this up.)
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Sorry reading is still so hard for you! Hope it gets better really soon!
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I have an appointment with a retina specialist Friday and may know more then.
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Good luck, Anne!
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Thanks, Ellie.
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