It has been about 30 minutes since I first spotted the Bull moose near Grizzly Peak Mountain Homes subdivision in Red Lodge and decided to go on a moose chase (my first). My heart is beating fast with excitement. As I am parked at the Ranger Station parking lot South of Red Lodge, I watch the moose start coming down the hill (towards Highway 212) and disappear behind a few trees. I decide to start the car and go South on Highway 212 to see if I can snap a few more good photos of this big bull moose.
Less than a few seconds later, I think I see the moose running behind trees (on the West side of Highway 212). The moose jumps over a fence between two properties. To my surprise, I see very fast movement through the trees near the fence. Did the bull moose pick up speed? There is fast and very fast! What moved was too fast to be a moose but perhaps something caused the moose to run even faster than what I had seen so far. I slow down the car, pull the car on the edge of the highway (in the emergency lane) and put on the breaks (the only car I see then is one car that was also pulled on the side of the road which I imagined had also stopped to admire the events that were taking place). The suspense what killing me but I did not have to wait too long to get the explanation. Out of nowhere, two white-tail deers jumped on the highway and crossed the street and start going South on the East side of Highway 212. I assume they saw the big bull moose coming towards them and decided they were better off staying as far away from his big antlers as possible. I don't get to catch my breath from this unexpected deer appearance that I get to see this big tall moose come out of behind the trees and also cross the street. This would be my final chance to capture a photo of him. The following is the last photo I took of my moose chase.
Notice the back of the two white-tail deer running on the side of the road (in between the moose's feet). What are the odds of capturing a bull moose and two deer in the wild in the same photo?
Here is a zoom of the above photo so that you can see the white-tails! :)
This completes my moose chase adventure. Till next time! Come back next week for a new moose photo.
Have a great Monday and start to the week!
Moose Monday is a New Active Rain Group!
You can click on the following link to see more moose photos and/or to join this group.
This is the Group to share everything that is Moose. It can be an actual photo of a real moose, anything (object, work of art, etc.) that depicts a moose and/or a story involving moose. Start your week well with Moose Monday!
All photos and/or written content produced by Gerry Khatchikian. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission of Gerry Khatchikian, Realtor Associate with Prudential Red Lodge Real Estate.
All photos and/or written content produced by Gerry Khatchikian. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission of Gerry Khatchikian, Realtor Associate with Prudential Red Lodge Real Estate.
I got inspired by Debi Boucher's recent post on the virga clouds (Active Rain PhotoBlogger Group - Virga) and decided to share some of my recent photos of the clouds in the sky here in Big Sky country (nickname for Montana).
The first painting was photographed in the morning of October 15, 2009. The little patches of white here and there in the clouds complement the white on the ground. The finishing touch was the orange glow seen in the middle and bottom of this painting.
The second painting was photographed in the morning of October 24, 2009. With the accent on the orange color, I think it was Mother's Nature way to remind us that Halloween was only one week away!
The third painting was photographed in the morning of October 26, 2009. It looks like Mother Nature drew a laurel's wreath right above the mountain.
And the last one of this series of 4 paintings was photographed around noon on the same day as the previous painting (October 26). I thought this was an interesting group of clouds and Mother Nature made sure that they stood out by stroking them in white and with a big brush!
Mother Nature always amazes me with her paintings of the sky here in Red Lodge as well as everywhere else int he world. Not only she gets up early and likes to surprise us with her amazing paintings in the morning but she also creates amazing masterpieces all day and especially at night so that we can end our day on a good note (you will know what I mean by visiting my following posts: Moon Over Red Lodge - Painting by Mother Nature and Friday Foto - Red Lodge By Night). What can I say? She is a tireless woman and she makes our life so much better thanks not only to her beautiful paintings in the sky but also all her wonderful creations on Earth.
I hope you enjoyed this small sample of her sky paintings. Which one was your favorite painting out of this series of 4 paintings?
All photos and/or written content produced by Gerry Khatchikian. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission of Gerry Khatchikian, Realtor Associate with Prudential Red Lodge Real Estate.
The following photos were taken in Red Lodge at sunrise on October 21, 2009.
I was a foggy morning. I took the time to stare at the morning sky and enjoy this unusual curtain effect.
The sun took a little longer to makes it appearance but I was in no hurry. I stood there and waited to see what other surprise Mother Nature had in store that morning. A few moments later, I was rewarded for my patience and was able to capture this beautiful view of the sun peaking over the fog curtain (the fog completely disappeared a few hours later and it was a nice and sunny day in Red Lodge).
All photos and/or written content produced by Gerry Khatchikian. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission of Gerry Khatchikian, Realtor Associate with Prudential Red Lodge Real Estate.
After pausing and looking towards me, the bull moose decided to run on Ski Run Road and he picked up lots of speed! I was wondering whether I had b.o. (I had not had time to shower yet that morning) and he could smell it from 100 yards away or if he did not recognize the type of car I was in and beileve it to be a very large predator. As much as I could step on the accelerator and catch up with him with my car on Ski Run road, I made sure I did not make the moose feel threatened by the paparazzi and left plenty of space between him and the car. The last thing I wanted was to have him turn around and come charging towards the car. I was lucky to not have any other cars on Ski Run Road and actually slowed down (after making sure there was no car behind me) to capture the following photo with my camera's zoom lens.
Note: Ski Run Road was a quiet street on that day in October, it is mainly used by residents of the area but once the Red Lodge Mountain ski resort opens after Thanksgiving, it becomes a busy street with all the skiers traveling to get to Red Lodge Mountain and back to town. Also don't let the above photo fool you, the moose is taller than it may appear, most of the bottom portion of his feet is in the snow!
He was head towards the National Forest Service ranger station on Highway 212 South of Red Lodge. I hoped he was not going to report me to the Ranger!
He must have understood the road sign (seen in the photo) and made a sharp left turn to go down a ditch by the side of the road and then climb on a hill which runs parallel to Highway 212. I had to continue down Ski Run Road and turn left on Highway 212 to actually park in the ranger station's parking area and capture a few more photos of the bull moose.
Here he is on the hill (next to Highway 212) and behind the National Forest Service ranger station.
And here is a better one as I was also able to capture some of the Fall scenery in the same photo.
By the way, the snow in Red Lodge in the above photos, has all melted as of the day of this post.
This is the Group to share everything that is Moose. It can be an actual photo of a real moose, anything (object, work of art, etc.) that depicts a moose and/or a story involving moose. Start your week well with Moose Monday!
All photos and/or written content produced by Gerry Khatchikian. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission of Gerry Khatchikian, Realtor Associate with Prudential Red Lodge Real Estate.
By the time I got in the car, a couple of minutes had already gone since my bull moose sighting. Will I get the chance to find him to take some more photos? I am thinking to myself, he should not be difficult to spot with his impressive size and Mother Nature's recent painting of the ground in a bright white. Wait! I can see some moose tracks on the snow! It looks like he was headed South towards Ski Run Road. I am hoping he did not go too far and out of sight from the road as I had no intention to get out of the car to chase him on foot (moose are beautiful to watch but keep in mind they are wild animals and they will attack if they feel threatened).
So I drive down to Palisades Campground Road and just before I get to Ski Run Road, what do I see cross the road in front of me? The Bull Moose! Time to reach for the camera but no luck! The bull moose is on the move and picks up speed after noticing my car. He dashes through the open field and is headed towards the Red Lodge Mountain. I could not believe how fast he was running especially for his size. By the time I get the camera, he had managed to get behind some trees and I could not get a good photo of him from Palisades Campground Road. So I decided to turn right on Ski Run Road and follow him and hope he gets away from the trees.
Sure enough he predicted my move and decided to go back on his steps, across Palisades Campground road, over a fence and across someone's private property. The snow on the ground was deeper and he somehow slowed down. I did manage to turn around, come back on Palisades Campground Road and stopped the car on the side of the road. I finally caught my lucky break! He decided to stop for a few seconds as he turned his head to see who is this crazy guy chasing him in a car for the past few minutes. Once he realized I was not carrying a gun and all I was really interested in was a few good photos of him, he quickly glanced at my camera. I missed the photo when he was looking my way for a second but here is the precious moment that I was able to capture.
Here is a close-up of his face and his big antlers!
All photos and/or written content produced by Gerry Khatchikian. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission of Gerry Khatchikian, Realtor Associate with Prudential Red Lodge Real Estate.
The Snow is Melting in Red Lodge, Montana. We Are Returning to Fall Weather!
You never know what to expect with weather when you live at 5,555 feet above sea level and in beautiful Red Lodge, Montana. We had above seasonal temperatures in September and then we were surprised by Mother Nature with snow on September 30th and early in October. For those of you who left me comments in my previous two posts with regards to "snow already?" I just want to assure you that most it is gone. I heard that some of you back in the Northeast may be getting your first snow fall today.
The following photo was taken right at sunrise on Friday, October 2009. Snow came early but I am happy to report that it did not stick for long and the green grass is back!
Fall is back in Big Sky country! But who knows we may be getting some more white stuff before the end of the month. As long as it does not get cold, I am happy.
Have a great weekend!
If you enjoyed the above photo and want to see more photos of Mother Nature's recent creations here in Red Lodge, Montana, just click on the following links:
All photos and/or written content produced by Gerry Khatchikian. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission of Gerry Khatchikian, Realtor Associate with Prudential Red Lodge Real Estate.
This bull moose was spotted just south of Red Lodge, Montana on the morning of October 6, 2009.
I got alerted to his presence by my dogs who kept on barking. He was standing there (big and tall) and I could not believe his sheer size and the contrast of his figure with the snow (hard to miss seeing him once you have your head turned in the right direction!). I was able to get my camera and take this photo through the slight opening of my door. However, the loud barking of my dogs also alerted him of my presence and he did not want to stay around for more photos. He started running away and not even my powerful zoom lens could snap another good photo of him.
My previous bull moose sighting was about a year ago and in the same spot as if the moose (not sure if it the same one) decided to pay me an annual visit. Not sure what hit me (perhaps the fact that I was running out of photos to share on my Moose Monday group and needed some new ones) but it took me a few seconds to decide to go on a moose chase, a first! I made sure to attend to the dogs and leave them securely in the house, put on some warm clothes (I was still in my comfortable morning clothes but did not bother changing, only adding more layers), put my winter boots on, take my camera, hop in the car and go on a moose chase! The adrenaline was rushing in me....
All photos and/or written content produced by Gerry Khatchikian. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission of Gerry Khatchikian, Realtor Associate with Prudential Red Lodge Real Estate.
White Wednesday - Wonderful White Outdoors (Red Lodge, Montana)
The following photos were taken in Red Lodge, Montana after the most recent snow fall.
Here is Kylie in the mud room after being out in the snow.
Here are Sir Barkley and Jester pausing for the photo just before playing with each other in the snow.
Here are all three of them in one photo. The snow falling does not deter them whatsoever from going out for some fresh air.
And it is not just the dogs that seem to have fun out in the snow!
It is currently quite white in Red Lodge, Montana. What makes the white outdoors so wonderful is that the temperature is just around 30 degrees Fahrenheit (snow without too much cold). It becomes even more wonderful when the sun comes out and shines on the snow.
All photos and/or written content produced by Gerry Khatchikian. All rights reserved and may not be reproduced or reprinted without express written permission of Gerry Khatchikian, Realtor Associate with Prudential Red Lodge Real Estate.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
Less than a few seconds later, I think I see the moose running behind trees (on the West side of Highway 212). The moose jumps over a fence between two properties. To my surprise, I see very fast movement through the trees near the fence. Did the bull moose pick up speed? There is fast and very fast! What moved was too fast to be a moose but perhaps something caused the moose to run even faster than what I had seen so far. I slow down the car, pull the car on the edge of the highway (in the emergency lane) and put on the breaks (the only car I see then is one car that was also pulled on the side of the road which I imagined had also stopped to admire the events that were taking place). The suspense what killing me but I did not have to wait too long to get the explanation. Out of nowhere, two white-tail deers jumped on the highway and crossed the street and start going South on the East side of Highway 212. I assume they saw the big bull moose coming towards them and decided they were better off staying as far away from his big antlers as possible. I don't get to catch my breath from this unexpected deer appearance that I get to see this big tall moose come out of behind the trees and also cross the street. This would be my final chance to capture a photo of him. The following is the last photo I took of my moose chase.
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