Visit Jerry Blank's New Blog Page!

To My Readers:

I’ve moved my blog page to my “Beyond Boundaries” website. I think you’ll like the new look!

I always look forward to sharing my adventures and images with you.

You can still read and enjoy all the weblog entries I posted prior to September 2012, below.

To visit the new blog, click here.

Mountain Goat Kids On Mt. Evans, Colorado

Last week I shared some of the mountain goat images I captured at Mt. Evans in Colorado, at the end of July. As promised, the yearlings and kids are in the spotlight this week.

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The goat herd was not large, but it did have many youngsters. There was a stiff chill breeze blowing down the mountainside, and four of the kids decided to tough it out atop a large rock by huddling together as close as possible.

To view this image in a larger size, click here.

Nearby, a yearling paced to and fro at the base of another rock while working up the nerve required to leap up to join a couple of kids. As the yearling placed its small hooves against the rock, one of the kids was peering down at it. If not for the wind, I’ve no doubt I would have heard it telling the yearling to circle uphill around the rock, to access it from above as the kids had done. “Jumping’s too much work, you dummy! Go around!” Humiliated, the yearling summoned its courage and easily made the leap to the top of the rock.

To view this image in a larger size, click here.

Meanwhile, the other kids in the herd rested with the grownups on the patchy tundra, in a small sunny space with a nice view of Mt. Bierstadt and the Abyss Lake drainage. Meanwhile, another kid napped near a less-exposed rocky niche as my camera clicked softly but steadily, capturing its every movement.

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While we avoided making sudden movements toward the herd, the experience was fun because the goats were used to gawkers and didn’t mind being watched. That doesn’t diminish the respect I have for those who specialize in capturing wildlife images. We got lucky on that morning late in July. Good wildlife shots normally require a thorough knowledge of the animals and the paths they travel...and even more patience.

— Jerry Blank

Mountain Goats On Mt. Evans, Colorado

On July 28, my son and I traveled to Mt. Evans, a 14,264-foot peak located about 1½ hours west of Denver. The route is paved the entire way, ending just short of the summit, and is the highest paved road in North America.

The highlight of our morning’s journey was a small herd of mountain goats right near the highway, at about 13,600 feet.

To view this image in a larger size, click here.

I pulled off the highway as far as I could—at that elevation, the pavement is narrow and shoulderless—grabbed my camera, and scrambled down the rock-strewn slope with my son. Thinking back upon it, as dizzy as I felt in the thinner air, I was fortunate not to have tripped over my own feet, to say nothing of all the rocks!

To view this image in a larger size, click here.

It turned out that there was no need to rush. We soon realized the mountain goats were soaking up the bright morning sun at that particular area, and weren’t in the mood to move away just because some two-legged creatures wanted a closer look at them.

To view this image in a larger size, click here.

As you can see in these images, the goats were the picture of contentment; in fact, their expressions were amazingly humanlike when compared to animals I had seen on previous trips to the northern Rockies.

In my next post, I look forward to sharing photos of the young kids in the herd with you!

— Jerry Blank