First Great Moose Experience in RMNP
The Sprague Lake Moose Family 2017
My first major moose sighting on the Estes Park side of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) was in September 2017. Long before RMNPhotographer Tours was even a thought considered, I was on a fall photo shoot, when I ventured to Sprague Lake in hopes of seeing “something.” Walking around the lake, I was disappointed, so I returned to the parking lot ready to leave.
Startled at a commotion, I looked up to see a large bull moose sprinting among the cars and scurrying tourists. A whirl of excitement rushed through me as this massive, 1,000 pound animal rushed by me in the parking lot. Quickly, he disappeared into the willows, then sprinted up the hill toward the lake.
By that time, I was sprinting too, fumbling with my camera backpack, accessing my Canon. Not so wise to run after animals, but this was my first moose photo op on the east side of RMNP, so I acted like a tourist because, well, at that time I was a tourist.
When I got to the pond behind the boardwalk, I discovered something truly special. There, a mother moose with four month old twin calves fed in the pond, the father bull moose now was standing watch, unmoving in the tall grass.
Oh, how handsome this family of moose was. For an hour, I stood with fellow photographer Richard Hahn as we photographed them. Richard gave me advice, generously teaching this rookie his photography tips. As we captured images, the moose meandered through the pond. Often, the cow would lift her head, water streaming over her in waves that trickled in dancing streams from her chin.
At one tender moment, a calf walked from the water toward the bull moose. I watched, hoping. The calf stopped in front of the bull, reaching his nose up to nuzzle his father like a child offering affection.
I had only seen moose a few times, always in Kawaneeche Valley on the west side of RMNP. With their population steadily growing since their initial introduction to Colorado in 1978, they had begun to venture to the east side. Today (2024), you are just as likely to see a moose at Sprague Lake, Sheep Lakes or anywhere in between. In 2017, this was a truly unique and special experience.
A Second Moose Family Encounter
Two days later, I was back at Sprague Lake, on my last outing before returning to the real world of work in the flat lands of Iowa. As I approached the lake, I saw them again chest deep in the water. The bull and cow together, the calves playfully splashing about.
As I stood on the trial, my camera shutter clicked rapidly. Then, the bull moved from the water onto the trail turning toward me. Backing away, the many tourists ran from the trail, up the hill and into the trees for cover. Two people helped an old man with a walker four feet off the trail, positioning him behind a foot thick tree. Then, they left him vulnerable as they rushed up the hill for safety.
I stepped up behind the elderly gentleman whispering, “Stay quiet, don’t move, and the moose will walk on by us.” Our hearts pounded as the bull grew closer. Its size seemed massive, the bulls legs reaching to my shoulder. His antlers were shed of velvet, each tine pointed and sharp.
When he was beside us, he stopped, an intimidating beast towering above us. From a few feet away, he looked at the terrified humans behind the little tree. Though frightened, I held comforting hands on the gentleman’s shoulders. Unbothered by our small size, the bull walked on.
In relief, the gentleman’s shoulders dropped, his hands resting on the walker. I patted his shoulder saying, “Now that was an experience.” He smiled back at me, pointing up the hill, “Even better than what those chickens up there.” Laughing, we looked up at the two people staring down on us like children who’d just been caught doing a really bad thing.
The family of moose at Sprague Lake was a precursor to one day bringing
RMNPhotographer Tour guests to find the massive, awkward looking animal many come to RMNP hoping to see. That day in 2017 is etched in my memory as a time when a moose family became real to me, and I often wonder if any of the moose I see today are the grown up calves of that amazing family.
