Mount Evans, July 2018: Part II

I'd gotten the sunrise I had hoped for on Mount Evans. Better than I'd hoped for, in fact. And I'd gotten to photograph a bighorn sheep family and several adult mountain goats. But the true prize of the visit is always the opportunity to watch the mountain goat kids. They're playful, charming, curious, and -- critically -- photogenic.

Fortunately, I won my prize.  :)

There were a number of young ones at the summit.  Not as playful as I'd hoped, so I didn't get any action shots to speak of.

But what they lacked in movement, they made up for in enchantment.

If I didn't know better, I'd call this one's expression cheeky.

And this one's very nearly rude.

But of course those are human emotions.  Human motives.  We tend to anthropomorphize other creatures in the hopes of better understanding them.  Or at least, thinking we do.

The wind and cold conspired with some mild nausea brought about by my poor adjustment to the altitude to drive me from the summit sooner than I had hoped.  I had plenty of kid portraits, but didn't capture any of the behavior I'd hoped.  A goal for 2019.

One final stop at Echo Lake, reflecting the distant Mount Evans brightly in the mid-morning sun.  The switch from wildlife to landscape is simple when the subject is this inviting, but no less rewarding.

Related Links:

• Mount Evans: July 2018, Part I
• Mount Evans: July 2018, Part III