Coyote Friend

 The short story is I entered RMNP around 9am and proceeded to drive up Old Fall River Rd in little Audi. Nope... I don't have good clearance. Nope... the road is not nicely graded any more.  

But driving 10 mph and avoiding most of the large holes and deep ruts, I was able to use little Audi's stellar AWD capability to pull myself slowly around hairpin bends, driving only on the high parts of the dirt road. It helps to be kinda small.

It made keeping an eye out for wildlife damn near impossible but staying in the present, eyes forward, was vital for also staying on the road and not bottoming out!

Just before the final push up to the Trail Ridge visitors center, I stopped for a what looked like a steep hike up a ridge. (Audi was telling me that I had been driving 2 hours and needed to take a decent break. She's good like that.)

It was BREATHTAKING - in too many ways!

All of a sudden, there he was. A fluffy coyote, taking a break on the tundra. Admiring the view and the nice weather, just like me!

At one point he saw something yummy scurrying by and make a half-effort to catch it. But otherwise he was super-chilled. 

Animal sightings were slim. If it wasn't for the next guy, the coyote and a chipmunk would have been it for the day.

The adult males have chased off their juvenile male competition and are waiting for their harems to reunite at this time. I didn't see a herd all day and definitely heard no bugling. 

You betcha I'll be back in a week or two. This place is magical!