Waterton Canyon, October 2014

After my epic foliage drive from a couple of weekends ago, I was looking for something a little closer to home for my next photo outing. I'd seen some postings in the Front Range Wildlife Photographers Facebook group of bighorn rams sparring and a brown bear in Waterton Canyon, which is about a five-minute drive from my house. So that it made it easy to decide where to go today!

While wildlife was the goal, I made sure to have my landscape lens and tripod ready to go.  So as I headed up the canyon scanning the hills and the shores of the South Platte River for activity, I also was able to stop and shoot scenery like these cascades.

There are a lot of telephone lines running through Waterton Canyon, along with water pipes and many other signs of human activity.  Composing shots to exclude those elements can be a challenge.

It was nice to see the water still running so briskly this time of year.  Unlike California, we had a pretty wet summer.

The canyon is closed on weekdays about three miles in for some work Denver Water is doing.  I'd seen neither bear nor bighorn when I turned around, but I did get a nice new angle on one section of the river.

I ran into another member of the Front Range Wildlife Photographers group who was driving to her home in the canyon -- I'll have to ask her sometime how she got that great address -- who told me that a group of ewes had come down to the road ahead.  Sure enough, at about the 1.5-mile marker there they were.  A few young rams and some lambs were among them, and they'd headed into the river.

As I settled down to get some shots, they decided to come back across.  OK, then.

I was really excited about this shot when I saw it on the back of my camera.  I love that I was able to freeze the water droplets, but I wish I'd gotten this lamb's face a little sharper.

Does this remind anyone else of a high school yearbook picture?  Just me?

Check out these young toughs, trying to look all intimidating.  Wait until the rut starts; they'll get a harsh lesson in just how tough they actually are.

This makes me feel like the expression could really be "sheep in the headlights."  Poor girl seemed uncomfortable crossing the river with me pointing my camera at her.  So I put it away and stepped to the side, and she eventually rejoined the others.

Six miles of walking, beautiful weather, nice scenery and a herd of bighorns.  I'd say I did all right staying close to home!