Hoary Marmot

Sometimes a "5" Star Photo can be a simply thing. You just get very nice detail, very nice coloration, nice composition -- oh, and its an animal not frequently seen. The Hoary Marmot is just the case. It lives near the treeline (10,000 feet or more) in the Rockies and Cascades of the US. It's a fun little animal, just like our ground squirrels here in Arizona. Curious little fellows.

Hoary Marmot

Winding down from the Colorado trip, there were a few other photos I wanted to share with you. The first comes from Mount Evans. Once you get past the timberline, the first animal you notice is the Hoary Marmot. While there aren't "herds" of them you see one every couple hundred yards or so, darting in and out of rocks, sometimes posing for a photo:

The next photo is from Colorado State Forest. This Mule Deer was along one of the forest roads. I loved the wildflowers, puff ball, and aspens. It made for a truly lovely photo:

There was also a bird or two I noticed. Even though my primary focus this trip was the large mammals, when a beautiful little patch of blue flies by and lands on a post 20 yards from you ... and, your camera is sitting right next to you ... its hard to pass up:

Mountain Bluebird

Tomorrow, the final photos.