Mount Evans, July 2014: Part I

I missed a chance to get up to Mount Evans to try and see my first mountain goats in the wild last month. The fine folks in the Front Range Wildlife Photographers Facebook group seem to post great shots from there daily. So today I decided it was past time for me to get up there and finally find some for myself.

Conditions were gorgeous this morning -- wispy clouds and a light breeze, which created just the slightest ripple in this seasonal pond near Summit Lake.  Nice of that little gray songbird to alight on that rock on the right and add a little extra something to the shot, too.

I saw plenty of marmots on the drive to the summit.  After stopping to shoot the first one I came across, I resolved to try and remember what I'd really come for and save the marmots for later!

I was fairly near the summit before I saw them -- a herd of about 20 in all, just lazily munching their way across the alpine tundra in various stages of shedding their winter coats.

This kid seemed to try to mimic the majestic stance of the adult in the previous shot, with less imposing results.

If mountain goats had yearbooks, this is what I imagine their senior pictures would look like.

I don't exactly know how they get the old coats off.  I imagine they rub against the boulders and such.

You can just see the nubs of this kid's tiny horns coming in.  That's adorable.

This poor guy looked a bit miserable.  I wonder how uncomfortable those winter coats are this time of year.

This is probably the closest thing to a "make my day" look something this ridiculously cute can muster.

"Hey, come look!  It's another one of those funny two-legged things!"

Great cloudscape looking to the southwest, I believe with Mount Bierstadt in the midground.

I like the little texture in the cloud reflection courtesy of the mountain breeze.

OMG, you guys ... his tongue is HALF PINK AND HALF BLACK.  Just when you thought they couldn't get any more squee-inducing.

I get a very "peel me a grape" vibe from this pose.  Apparently even mountain goat kids develop a sense of entitlement at a young age.

Click here for Part II.