Cataloochee Valley

We took the boys to Cataloochee Valley in the Smokies this evening to see the elk. The park released elk in the area in 2001 and they have been doing well. During the fall, the male elk bugle to intimidate other males and attract females. It's pretty impressive.

It took about 2 hours to get to the valley. Rylan slept most of the way there and Carter did a good job of just chilling out.

When we first got there, most of the visible elk were hanging out at the tree line at the edge of the field. It didn't take long though for them to start coming out and moving across the field. We saw 3 or 4 males with large racks and a few younger males. There were also several females and a few babies.







Both boys did really well. We had a picnic next to the car as we watched the elk. Carter seemed to like pointing out and watching the elk. He even learned to say "elk", though I probably won't recognize that's what he's saying if he repeats it tomorrow. Carter also tried to copy the bugling. He found a stick, held it up to his mouth, and made a "bluubluubluu" sound. Rylan only got a little fussy a few times and I was able to calm him down pretty quickly. I put him in the Bjorn and wore him most of the time so I could take pictures. We spent a couple of hours in the park and Rylan fell asleep in the Bjorn a little bit before we left.

The drive home was also surprisingly pleasant. Rylan slept the whole time again and Carter was calm. We got home around 9pm and got the boys in bed. I'm hoping Rylan sleeps well tonight since he slept so much this afternoon!

We had fun showing Carter the elk today and I think he liked seeing them too. He said "bye, elk" several times as we were leaving. He's so sweet!