The fall is definitely the season of the elk. They are everywhere. Unfortunately, every time I say “season of the elk” to myself the very old Donovan song “Season of the Witch” comes to mind–and I end up rewriting the lyrics with elk words….very strange. It could be worse, however, we were in the car the other day, drove past a spot were there were no elk, and both Michael and I said “no elk” together. 5 minutes later Michael is humming a Christmas tune–when I asked him about it–he said it was “No-Elk, no-elk, no-elk, no-elk”–Ouch! Clearly the elk in this picture felt the same way.
It was highly appropriate that I spent my last shooting trip in the park with elk; we had the same experience last year…elk, cows, calves, bugles, flirting, rejection, disgusting gestures–watching the elk is like reading a cheap romance novel. Big bad guys, big good guys, damsels trying to escape, and big guys trying to have their way with them. These two cows were reacting to a far-off bugle rather than paying attention to the bull right next to them. (or maybe they were just perusing the bank of photographers, all with huge lenses, that were checking them out)…maybe for an issue of PlayElk?
With all that said, it’s with a very hollow feeling that I leave the park. I have so many unposted blog posts and so many thoughts going through my head. I think that, even though we are no longer in the park, park-inspired postings will continue for a while. For my ed friends, I do know that I am now more convinced than ever that DSRP is critical to student thinking–especially the systems part–and we need to do everything we can to ensure that ever student understand how all life is interconnected. Let me know if you want to here more.
So, as we continue this adventure, we’re off to Arches National Park, then to the Rockies, then home, I’d like to leave you with on thought.
