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Posted by Ronda Miller March 29, 2011 at 9:23 a.m.

Running Naked With iPhone: Day Two - A New Beginning

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Waking up to a crystal clear morning in the Rockies - it doesn't get any better. The devastation of the campsite by pine beetles seemed less foreboding than it had appeared in the cold rain of the previous evening. Although the first words out of my mouth, "I'm not leaving the tent until the sun is up and the temperature is 70 degrees. No, make that 80 degrees", the thought of campfire coffee, bacon and eggs, and a roaring fire enticed me to exit the comfort of the queen-sized bed with overlaid sleeping bags.

Once the sun came over the mountains, the cool night air warmed immediately. So much so, that we discarded layers of clothing to begin exploring the area surrounding the campsite.

We noticed many small signs of life: a new beginning that provided not only hope that in time this site would return to the beauty of the past (knowing that probably wouldn't happen in our lifetime), but also a gentle reminder of the cycle of life. The knowledge that nature has a way of regenerating and doesn't require much in the way of help from mankind.

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The lure of wildflowers, a mountain stream, and the instinctual use of our senses enabled us to first 'trip' across a mother moose with her calf, enabling us to see sights to which I previously would have been oblivious.

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Once we spotted the moose, we began circling around her to position ourselves closer, but with an awareness not to come between her and her calf.

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As we circled, we became aware of what would have been signs, or clues, if we had known what to watch for. These included fresh moose and/or elk scat (poo by any other name), and an area of grass that had been a recent nesting place for a mother and her calf.

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Eventually, with much trepidation, we made our way close enough to the female to get these two pictures. The awareness of her odor, her closeness, her sheer size, brought an excitement and understanding of why people hunt - whether that be with camera or weapon. I felt more alive than I had in a long time, scarcely noticing how soaked we were from lightly falling rain, and the dampness of the tall grasses as we made our way through them and back to the bleakness of the campsite.

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Within less than a 24-hour period, we had witnessed what many people go their whole lives without seeing. And, we had adapted to our climate enough to have steaks on our plates in time to retreat into the warmth of our vehicle as evening rain fell once more.

(Stay tuned for: "Running Naked With iPhone: Day Three - Letting the Cosmos Decide"

Comments

David Lignell 3 years, 9 months ago

Beautiful pictures, Ronda. Glad Day two brought about a renewal of life.

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schula 3 years, 9 months ago

Ronda -- just breathtaking! The Rocky Mountains are so beautiful no matter the season. You were so lucky to see the moose.

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SandCoAlmanac 3 years, 9 months ago

I dunno, Rhonda. A naked moose is still a naked moose. Kinda looks like a lost, naked horse, in a way, .... or one of my ex-sisters-in-law in that one rear view shot . . .
More importantly, I love the visual art you paint with words! Great! Really great! I don't know how many pages are in your rocky-top travelogue, but I hope there's enough to last until winter!!! Hunting with a camera in wet grass is one of best ways to sneak up on the natural Rockies, in my opinion! I'm hoping your 'cosmos' segment includes some astronomical musings, but then I've never hunted stars with an iPhone. My breath is barely bated until then .....

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Ronda Miller 3 years, 9 months ago

Thanks David, Shula, and Sand. I have never been one to photograph anything and have rarely used a camera so I was nicely surprised at how well the iPhone shots turned out. I did have a little voice telling me what to do most of the time (no, it wasn't tange or his mother). I remember hearing distinctly to get a branch or something in part of the picture for interest, depth perception, dimension.

Sand, I agree that the moose looked much more like a horse than I would have thought...at least at times. I was thrilled the pictures of it eating from tree limbs and moving around are as clear as they are. My apologies that the calf doesn't show in any of these images. They were so distant when I first spotted them, so covered by foliage, and even dumb me knew not to get close to the calf.

Sand is hoping for "astronomical musings", - how about clouds in my coffee? Or faces in the clouds? Or double rainbows? ;)

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Ronda Miller 3 years, 9 months ago

multi, as we were leaving, there were teams going through the campsite and finalizing the clean up. They plan to burn all of the campsite areas right before the first snowfall and then they can replant trees. Apparently they grow like weeds in the proper areas. Even if they plant trees that are five or six feet tall, it would make a huge difference in terms of how barren the area looks. We would like to see how it looks in five years. Who knows, maybe I'll still be blogging for the ljworld and hanging with tange (scary thought) and I can do an update with comparison shots.

Thanks for the info on Mt. Saint Helens. It is incredible what a decade or two can do.

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Alia Ahmed 3 years, 9 months ago

Beautiful photos, Ronda.

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Ronda Miller 3 years, 9 months ago

Thanks, Alia.

Tange will have to give me his best estimate/guess, but he and his mother stayed back quite a ways from where I was. I am going to say twenty feet away. I had a plan to run (throwing tange in the path of the moose) should I need to.

I don't like being cold, but I do so love a good adventure! :) I am also terrified of heights and had to feign sleep on several aspects of the drive, but nature doesn't faze me. Stupid me! :)

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tangential_reasoners_anonymous 3 years, 9 months ago

Mounting a camping trip can be a big push, especially with provisions for four in a single vehicle. (We're not backpackers.) The effort is justified by the experience. As we stepped from the vehicle into the razed campground, I was ready to take everyone to the five-star hotel to which Ronda earlier had alluded. Luckily, we lingered long enough to discover what someone recently noted: It's not where you vacation; it's with whom you vacation. Ronda and son would make it a wonderful experience.

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mmiller 3 years, 9 months ago

Ronda,

Awesome pix! Colorado is so refreshingly beautiful isn't it??! I really want to visit the mountains again.

Great job with the title!! Ofcourse you know what captured my attention!!!??? Ha ha......This is a well-respected blog, so I must be on my best behavior -- as hard as that may be...UGH!!! :O)

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Ronda Miller 3 years, 9 months ago

mmiller, well respected blog. Now isn't that a pretty thing to say...and so 'unusual' for me! Keep your mind out of the gutter and look up at the mountains as it were.

Yes, the mountains are always nice to view - except from the roadway.

tange, "It's not where you vacation; it's with whom you vacation. Ronda and son would make it a wonderful experience. " In this case all aspects were covered - the whom and the where! :)

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RoeDapple 3 years, 9 months ago

Used to go on a 4 day camp out with three of my buddies every year in the fall. Started out in sleeping bags out in the open, progressed to camper shells on back of pick-ups or tents, eventually built a 10'x12' shed with pot belly stove and bunk beds. 4 days of target shooting, story telling, cooking over open fire, hunting for squirrel or rabbit to add to camp cuisine. Our families, at least those who could stand to be near us after 4 days of living like "animals", would come out on Sunday morning for "Camp Breakfast". After they left we would break camp, police up the area and start making plans for the next year. As health issues of some and the death of another have taken it's toll, the camp outs came to an end three years ago, but good memories linger. Your trip was special, I know.

Been there, done that!

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kanfans 3 years, 9 months ago

Your writing is so vivid, Ronda. I can smell that fresh mountain air. Sounds like you are making some wonderful memories with your kiddos. Blessings to all. Jeannie

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Music_Girl 3 years, 9 months ago

Great posts and pictures Ronda! Where do I sign up to go next time??

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Ronda Miller 3 years, 9 months ago

music, I think Roe is wanting to gather a few more friends to start over again. ;)

Jeannie, how nice to hear from you! Yes, many memories made and so many more I look forward to making. Scotty leaves the end of this month for basic training. He will be doing an entirely different route of making memories - hold him in your prayers. Please tell everyone hello on your end. I miss M... ;)

Roe, there is no time like the present to get a new group started. The weather will be right soon. We need to talk to anyone who has knowledge, experience, or an old pop up sleeper for camping. I think I would enjoy that more than the time it takes to set up a tent, campfire (although they smell fantastic and feel terrific), and we could be in a different site nightly. If there is one thing I learned about this experience, it is that I want less people, more adventure!

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Boston_Corbett 3 years, 9 months ago

I can just vision those Grizzlies standing on their haunches, sniffing the cool night mountain air, sniffing for you-know-what.

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Ronda Miller 3 years, 9 months ago

Corbett, don't you have something you were supposed to do this afternoon? :)

I think that Grizzle was searching for moose tracks (known as scat to you), or peanut buster parfait, or somethin, somethin, Palin. Am I correct?

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Linda Hanney 3 years, 9 months ago

I am enjoying your vacation through your eyes and pen, Ronda. I appreciate your attention to detail. We always have our eyes open for a moose. Many hunters spend a week in the Colorado mountains and never see one. Congratulations on catching great pictures.

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Ronda Miller 3 years, 9 months ago

Linda, how many moose have you seen in your life? I expect many. The moose are very lucky when they aren't spotted by a hunter - maybe she sensed I was harmless and only wanted to enjoy her beauty. She is so shiny!

I saw a male with a huge rack moving through the forest one day, but all we could make out was his rack moving back and forth as he ate and moved away. from us. We pulled along the side of the road when we saw everyone else doing the same and it was fascinating how many different accents and types of cameras were among us!

Honestly, I wouldn't have been too surprised should you have been there!

I am having a great time with my iPhone. (tange pulled me kicking and screaming into this modern world of technology). I only had a cell phone for a month or two before this, so I have been technically delayed and challenged. (Just ask Jonathan)

What was I thinking! ;)

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riverdrifter 3 years, 9 months ago

Ronda: Nice shot of a shiras moose, the smallest sub-specie of the moose. Mooses. Whatever. The danger signal from mother moose is flattened ears and eyes narrowed to slits. I saw this once at entirely too close range on Isle Royale.

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Ronda Miller 3 years, 9 months ago

river, thanks for sharing additional info on the specifics of this fine looking animal. She looks well cared for and fit; almost as though she were curried for a show!

I wouldn't want to see a larger one, but the male, from what I could make out from his rack, was massive. Apparently a different species and in a different location.

Were you hunting or just sight seeing? Probably a dumb question, but I don't know much about hunting moose or the Isle.

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Boston_Corbett 3 years, 9 months ago

No, the "scat" as you call it, looks quite like typical Marion monkee poo to me. He may be close by.

The Grizzlies are looking for that which smells like a Sonic Blast with Reeces pieces to him. I told you what it was.

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riverdrifter 3 years, 9 months ago

I was working in/on Isle Royale National Park and we'd run into them from time to time. They are NOT afraid of you and often don't run away like deer do. If you saw a bull, it was also a shiras. Males are bigger. BTW, moose are the largest member of the deer family. Somebody in Minnesota shot this great video of some moose, set it to some music and the dang thing went nuts on Youtube. Look closely and you can see Lake Superior in the background at times. http://www.maniacworld.com/twin-baby-moose-in-sprinkler.html

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riverdrifter 3 years, 9 months ago

Here's one more moose pic that I like. Bear in mind, this is a juvenile moose. I like moose. Mooses. Whatever. I just like moose country! http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2085537&size=lg

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Linda Hanney 3 years, 9 months ago

Ronda, It's been years since we've seen a moose close up.in the wild. Still say great shot--I would have probably been too scared to hold the camera still.

Did you know some of the pine beetle damaged wood can be used for construction. We have friends who built a house with it in the mountains. Not sure why more of it isn't being salvaged. Up around Walden CO there is a pellet factory (stoves) with mountains of logs waiting to be processed..With the dead trees filling entire mountainsides, I hate to think what would happen if there were a fire.

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Ronda Miller 3 years, 9 months ago

Boston, yeah, I heard you the first time. It is time to go to DQ!

river, what a delightful video! The calves are so small and mama is so large. I didn't realize that moose were of the same family as deer - I should have guessed that one. They are beautiful animals, eh? I believe the calf can be seen in the top quad picture of our moose and calf - behind her mama. Thank you for taking the time to post the links.

Linda, I noticed there were many fallen trees that make great homes for the animals. I also gave thought to how much damage would occur should there be a fire caused by whatever reason with all the dead wood having fallen. I believe that is a large part of why they immediately cleared the pines from campsites. With the many campfires being lit it would be too much of a fire hazard.

Thanks for the information about the use of the pine for housing. I wonder if they allow people to haul it off for personal use, or if there can be permits purchased for such a use. Fascinating area! btw, I got a little excited while holding the camera. You should see the shots of my thumb and hand! :)

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