Happy Vernal Equinox everybody, and welcome spring!

Last week I had to spend a little bit of time in Colorado Springs, CO. I was there with someone who had never been to Colorado, and who really wanted to get out and into the mountains, but we had almost no time for anything fun. Best we could do (and it’s not a bad option), was to go to Garden of the Gods, a popular park featuring multi-colored sandstone fins and other formations, for a quick hike.

Wouldn’t you know it, no more than thirty seconds from the car, we walked up on a small herd of bighorn rams who were clearly not perturbed by all the people standing around taking pictures.

I’ve never seen them in previous trips, I’m not sure if they’re normal residents of the park. I do know that seeing bighorn sheep is not exactly easy to do… so my first-timer friend was particularly lucky, and I was by association.

Bighorn Sheep 1
This was the guard of the group, positioning himself between gawking crowds and the rest of the herd.
Bighorn Sheep 2
He would have had an easier time hiding if there were springtime leaves on these bushes!
Bighorn Sheep 3
Looking majestic on the high ground.
Bighorn Sheep 4
The rest of the herd, grazing peacefully.

Get Out There!

7 thoughts on “Bighorn Sheep… Of The Gods?”

    • Flying Squirrel's avatar

      I didn’t really know they did that – I know several animals have “bachelor groups”, but it did surprise me to see a bunch of rams hanging out. Too many documentaries highlighting the one time of the year they’re fighting all the time, I guess!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Curt Mekemson's avatar

    I have a fun story about bighorn sheep. There is a small park outside Boulder City, Nevada near Lake Mead (Hemenway) that is famous for its herd of bighorn sheep that come down out of the mountains to feast on its green grass in the summer. I’ve been there a couple of times. Once we were taken by a local who told us this story: The trail the bighorn sheep follow down to the park goes by a person’s house (which is right next to the park). The owner put a new metal garage door on his house. The lead ram of the herd was walking by when he saw a large ram staring back at him. What was he to do. He referred back and charged the ram butting it with his big horns… several times to make sure the other ram knew who was boss. The garage owner had one heck of a time persuading his insurance agent what had happened to his garage door.

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