Other Matters:Downpour And Elk

Well, the ski trip was sogged out. When we were five minutes from the lodge at White Pass, the skies opened. If it had been a few degrees colder, we'd have had a glorious snowfall. At 36 degrees, we got what my old Oklahoma chum Charlie Manwarring called a toad stabber. We looked up at the runs and saw downhill skiers resigning from the mountain in droves. Snowboarding and cross-country would have been possible but not enjoyable. We wheeled around and headed back down Highway 410.

Still it was a beautiful drive. We stopped at the Oak Creek feeding station and watched thousands of elk getting their ration of hay. The picture at this site shows you a few elk, but gives you ony a notion of the extent of the herd and the magnificence of the animals. We looked up at the ridge above the feeding station and saw dozens of elk in relief against the winter sky, waiting to get in line and make their cautious way down the steep, rocky trail to the free chow. Scroll down to see the pictures. Click in the video box on the right side of your screen for a two-and-a-half-minute narrated tour of the Oak Creek Wildlife Area and see elk moving through the forest.