Camera Ready

Whenever Skip and I travel up into the mountains, I always keep my digital camera right by my side hoping that I will catch that "National Geographic" photograph of our resident wildlife. On our drives, we'll spend hours scouring the woods, the valleys and the sides of the roads, most often seeing nothing - but this day we were in the right place at the right time.

We were driving back from a day spent in Cripple Creek, a mountain gambling town located on the western side of Pikes Peak and about 60 miles from our home. Having left most of our money behind, we were in need of something to lift our spirits. The narrow two-lane road out of Cripple Creek is a constant series of sharp "s" curves that wind back and forth down the mountain with a steep drop-off on the left and a vertical rocky incline on the right. As we rounded one of the corners, my eyes happen to glimpse a herd of big-horned sheep vaulting up from my left. In a split second, they were darting across the road and scampering up the incline on the other side. And at that same moment I also heard the screeching of tires and saw the red brake lights of the vehicles in front of me as the traffic in both directions came to a complete standstill. I was driving, so I yelled for Skip to grab the camera and start shooting.

It was really an amazing site. Most female big horned sheep give birth to a single lamb (baby sheep) in the spring. Once the baby is strong enough to follow its mother, the pair joins other mothers and babies. This was just such a herd. Once they were all safely across the road, they took their time to regroup and climb up the rocks - every once in a while glancing back at all the curious on-lookers.

We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful state as Colorado, and to be able to enjoy its variety of wildlife. For as long as I live, I will never tire of experiences like this.