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We were driving through the park when we spotted the telltale sign of something special: a line of cars pulling over along the shoulder. Looking across a quiet roadside pond, I saw them—a massive female moose and her half-grown calf, wading through the shallows and feeding on the aquatic plants.
The excitement around the sighting was immediate. A park ranger was already on the scene checking on traffic, and as I stepped out of our Honda CR-V with my camera and tripod, he asked me where my car was parked to ensure the road stayed clear. I pointed down the way to where our CR-V was safely tucked into a legal turnout, grabbed my gear, and moved down to the edge of the pond. My wife soon tracked me down and joined me.
That first afternoon turned out to be the ultimate show. Even though the sun had already dipped behind the high mountain ridge—leaving the water in a beautiful, soft mountain shade—the half-grown calf began splashing and playing energetically in the water. It ducked its head and shook off the spray while the mother calmly kept eating, entirely unbothered by our presence across the water.
We were so captivated by them that we returned to that exact same pond at around 4:30 PM for the next two days straight, watching their quiet routine unfold in the late afternoon.
We were driving through the park when we spotted the telltale sign of something special: a line of cars pulling over along the shoulder. Looking across a quiet roadside pond, I saw them—a massive female moose and her half-grown calf, wading through the shallows and feeding on the aquatic plants.
The excitement around the sighting was immediate. A park ranger was already on the scene checking on traffic, and as I stepped out of our Honda CR-V with my camera and tripod, he asked me where my car was parked to ensure the road stayed clear. I pointed down the way to where our CR-V was safely tucked into a legal turnout, grabbed my gear, and moved down to the edge of the pond. My wife soon tracked me down and joined me.
That first afternoon turned out to be the ultimate show. Even though the sun had already dipped behind the high mountain ridge—leaving the water in a beautiful, soft mountain shade—the half-grown calf began splashing and playing energetically in the water. It ducked its head and shook off the spray while the mother calmly kept eating, entirely unbothered by our presence across the water.
We were so captivated by them that we returned to that exact same pond at around 4:30 PM for the next two days straight, watching their quiet routine unfold in the late afternoon.