The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music
September 16, 2006
A milestone in my life today as I heard an elk bugle. Granted I’ve heard it on TV before but to hear it in the wild for the first time was a great experience. My wife and I rode into the Cataloochee Valley and we were treated to a fantastic display of nature. The bulls are rutting and chasing the cows. We watched one bull with a harem of about 10 cows and 5 calves in a meadow for about an hour. He put on a wonderful show wallowing, chasing cows, bugling and running his harem away from other bulls in the area. My wife and I had a great day and I shot over 300 photographs. Here is a small sampling of the photos I took. 
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If you get the opportunity you really should travel into the valley and check it out. Here is a link to an earlier post I did about the decline of the elk herd.
Moose Droppings is a place that chronicles my journey, I’ll explore new places and ideas I’ll learn new things and I’ll teach the things I’ve learned to others. Join me on the adventure and hopefully it will help you in your outdoor endeavors.
Super photos!
[...] Moose captures the story in photos from his trip over the weekend to Cataloochee Valley to see the elk. [...]
[...] One of my favorite places to visit in North Carolina is the Cataloochee Valley part of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. I was up there in September and got to hear my first elk bugle. The Mountain Press has a story about the elk in the valley and the boom to the area they are. [...]
[...] now in the Cataloochee Valley of The Great Smokey National Park it is calving season for the experimental elk herd. I traveled into this remote valley this weekend to see this small herd and to experience a part of [...]