I am blessed to live the the Western United States. We have a unique heritage that crosses the Cowboy with the Indian, and the Mormon with the '49er. A barren landscape is more common than a cityscape. Our skyscrapers include monoliths of vermilion rock and snow-capped peaks. A drive home from work might take you past irrigation sprinklers, bales of hay, sheep, or dilapidated barns. The air is clear. Sometimes you can see seventy miles in one direction. The water is cold and crisp and when I am hiking I love to dip my face into a frigid stream and gulp down mouth-fulls of liquid. A summer evening could be spent hiking in the hills, or at a rodeo, watching a young cowboy lasso a calf and wrestle him to the dirt.
One of my favorite pastimes, however, is looking for animals. Not the cattle or sheep or horses, but the wild animals. Deer are the first to come to mind because they tend to wander closest to town. Once in a while I'm lucky enough to spy a big buck, with thick antlers and a wide spread. In September, during the rut, nothing is more exhilarating than to sneak upon a herd of wildly bugling elk, and watch them roar, and sometimes wallow in the mud. Mountain goats are fun also, but take a lot of work getting to the highest of peaks where they hang out year-round. But sometimes, I don't have to go any further than the valley I live in and watch the eagles as they nest in the trees.
The following photos are my own that I have compiled over the years. I am by no means a professional photographer, but I love to get out and do it. It is a passion that I don't spend enough time pursuing. All locations are anonymous, as I don't believe in divulging secret places, but I can assure that they were all taken in the American West.
Desert bighorn sheep live in some of the most rugged territory of the Southwest.
I was hidden behind a tree when I heard some elk coming up the other side of the hill. I hoped to see a monster bull, but instead found an adorable cow and calf.
Every winter, bald eagles come to our valley from places as far north as Canada.
Turkeys are becoming more common on the mountains. Most of the time (when I see them) they are in their little flock and waddling away. It is always a treat to see one with his feathers fanned out.
The best time to photograph deer is during the rut. That's exactly when I found this buck chasing a doe.
A golden eagle can have a wingspan of over seven feet! I was excited to see this sedentary raptor spread its plumage.
The American Bison, or buffalo, is a massive animal.
This ram is not as big as some of his counterparts, but is still pleasant to look at.
This collared lizard is perched atop a headstone in a rural Utah cemetery. I remember as a youngster seeing a similar colorful lizard in the same graveyard and my grandma thinking it was a plastic toy--until it moved!
Nothing beats the rut during September. I snuck through the trees before dawn and found this bull elk bugling through the trees before he came prancing out.
My daughter is the one who spotted this great horned owl. It is stealthily perched in the crotch of a tree, blending perfectly with the bark. This was in the middle of town, next to a church building.
I don't know if this antelope is of a slightly different breed, but it belongs to a herd that live in the mountains. Most antelope that I know of live on the desert.
Double the pleasure is always better!
A peaceful buck lying in the shade of a tree in the low country.
This is the first bear that I ever photographed. We spotted it while deer hunting and watched him casually prowl around, never too afraid of us.
An early-morning surprise! Three bull elk out in the field on a misty morning.
This is a remarkable buck that was nice enough to pose for us. The most surprising part is that we are literally in someones back yard! ♠
