January 6, 2026

This afternoon I was back up on Exhilaration Rd.  It was another warm day at around 50. I soon saw a jackrabbit but it didn’t sit for a photo. There were still lots of elk tracks everywhere. I soon spotted a deer down over a small rise. I thought it saw me so I decided to stay put. I was out in the open as 9-10 deer came up over the rise to me. They grazed around for over thirty minutes all within 30-40 yards of me. I didn’t want to disturb them so decided to stay put until they left or detected me. It was hard being a statue. I shot some photos and quite a bit of video. At one point some coyotes behind me started a howling session. That alerted the deer and they soon went for cover in the trees. I only got in 2.5 miles since the deer pinned me down. But that’s ok. The light on the Raggeds and Mt Gunnison was dandy. On the way down I saw the most brilliant sun dog I’ve ever seen. A fitting end to a great afternoon. Praise the Lord!  OMD EM1 III straight out of camera - no editing