Maybe it was the crisp mountain air, or maybe it was just being with mom and dad (and Edna too, of course.) Most of the time we just stayed around the house, which was fine because my brothers and I finally persuaded dad to get a new computer, and there was some work involved with getting that in place. But we did drive a few miles out of Los Alamos to check out one of my favorite spots, the Valle Grande. This is a giant volcanic caldera that for many years was a private ranch. Once when I was in high school my dad managed to arrange a visit with the ranch manager, who showed us around a portion of the 89,000 acres, and that stands out as one of the highlights of my young life. Now it is Forest Service land and there is some limited access to it.

The most interesting feature of the caldera, aside from its stunning unspoiled beauty, is that it is home to enormous herds of elk. Generally they are well away from the road that runs adjacent to the property. That was true when we first drove by one afternoon. You could see them in distant meadows as brown dots. But knowing that it was possible to drive in to the ranch a mile or two to the visitor’s center (pretty much just a shack at this stage) I resolved to come back early the next morning. My dad came with me, both of us setting out well before daylight to drive up into the Jemez mountains.

Turns out we saw a lot of elk close-up, but all of them before the sun came up. Right at the edge of the Los Alamos National Lab property, at the stop sign where we would turn to start our climb up from town, a group of perhaps 30 crossed the road right in front of us. It was pitch dark. Further up in the mountains we saw them grazing in large numbers among the aspens not 50 yards from the highway, just as the first blue light of dawn began to show. We tried to stop for a quick picture, and I found myself wishing I had a better compliment of gear with me. But surely if they were in such abundance here they would be supernumerous in the caldera where they normally hang out. So we continued on to the ranch entrance and to the visitors huts. But by the time we got there, the nearest elk could barely be discerned with a pair of binoculars. So maybe I’ll have to go up there again next summer, which looks like the earliest I might get home again.