More Elk Viewing

Sunday August 25th 2019

The weekend crowd departed the RV park this morning. The park is back to its sleepy mid week form. The park is far from empty, but there are fewer people out and about.

I was bored with sitting around this morning, so despite knowing it would be very busy on the roads, I ventured out. As soon as I reached US 101, the main coastal highway, I knew it was a mistake. It was necessary to merge into a long line of vehicles. Every third or fourth vehicle seemed to be an RV or a trailer with ATVs. Traffic was heavy enough that every hill and intersection caused a backup. During the week you can go for a mile or two without seeing another car. It was not fun traveling today.

My original plan was to drive up the coast to the high cliffs north of Florence, but the traffic changed my plans. Instead I turned east at Reedsport to check for more Elk at the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area. I found a herd of 8 or 9 elk in front of the main viewing area. Many cars were stopping to get a closer look at the animals. The elk are wild, but they get a lot of help with their habitat from the Bureau Land Management and conservation groups. The meadow area is very well groomed.

When I arrived three of the elk were lying down. The rest were grazing. After a few minutes one of the grazing animals laid down and all the remaining standing elk followed the leader. Once on the ground the elk are statues. I didn’t see any movement before I decided to return to my RV home. I wasn’t going to resume my battle with the traffic for any longer than necessary to get home.