That is NOT a horse!

Last week I was able to take my spring girl trip to Colorado. We slipped away from her home and husband to revisit a wonderful ranch south of Lake City called 'The Oleo.' It refers to itself as 'The Poor Man's Spread.'

We were in a different cabin closer to the entrance, so the walk down to the trail heads was a longer distance than I had walked on previous visits. I left my friend, by her request, to sleep in as I left to take my morning walk. When I had finished the long trek to the trail heads I turned back towards the cabin. The morning light on the huge valley with a wide swath of stream and willow down the center was a sight to behold. I was hoping to spot a moose amongst the many interesting colors and shadows playing around the rippling stream's course.

Due to the extreme size of the valley I decided to walk closer to the fence that kept the horses in. I heeded my husband's request that I watch where I am stepping. The stones and snakes could pose a great danger if not careful. I would take four sure steps while watching my feet, then pause to look up and scope the willow. On one upward glance I saw a few of the horses gathered at the fence. The next glance up I saw another horse had joined them. Quickly, my identification was changed to the new guy being a MOOSE! He headed toward the fence and easily cleared it. I clicked the camera and he looked at me. Mind you, I was quite a distance away, but he heard it and turned his head to look straight at me. I stood still, amazed as he turned back and sauntered uphill into the forest.

At about the time the gorgeous moose entered into the forest my friend came driving up just in time to get a glance. I was short of breath from the altitude of 10,500 and the fact that my heart was racing and the adrenaline from seeing the moose was freshly coursing through my veins. I was glad to get a ride back to the cabin, and delighted that we had both witnessed such a beautiful animal!