Rambling Wanderer

It was a beautiful Sunday morning and I decided to make a list of all the events I plan on attending in northeast Oregon for the year 2012 for www.northeastoregononline.com. It is a hefty list, and I will add to it often as the winter months click by, making way for a spring, summer, and fall filled with travel, people, and fabulous food. A great place to learn about all of eastern Oregon is the Eastern Oregon Visitors Association website. On this site is a wealth of information about the area, and right at the top of their events page was a listing about horse-drawn elk viewing tours from T&T Wildlife Tours. A road trip instantly popped into my mind. I could go to the Elkhorn Wildlife Refuge at Anthony Creek, look down from the viewing area and get some great pictures of this tour, but I also know this has been one of those strange winters with little snow in the mountains. The chance the elk were still wandering around in the wilderness and not needing to come down to the feeding stations was high, so I knew I needed to call and make sure the tours were actually happening. I called the number (541-856-3356) and sure enough Susan Triplett confirmed this has been a strange winter indeed, but the elk were coming in to eat, and the tours were still on, but they were doing things a little differently than they ever have before. One of their Percheron horses was not feeling well, so they would not be feeding from the back of a trailer pulled by horses, instead the trailer would be pulled by a pickup. This might scare the elk, so they weren't sure how well it would turn out for the visitors who came to see the elk, but they were hoping for the best. They believe their horse will be well enough to be back to work this coming weekend. Tours will continue on Saturdays and Sundays through February 26. She told me if I decided to come over, they would let me climb up into the barn and watch over the feeding field and leave me there between the time they brought one group of people down to see the elk and the next group. Sounded like the day was created just for me, so I grabbed my cameras, my husband, and my car keys and bolted out the door. The tour would begin in about an hour, or so, just enough time to drive from my home to the elk viewing sight in Haines. The weather was amazing for an eastern Oregon February Day. The sun was shining bright against the beautiful blue sky, and we made it to North Powder in record time. We warmed ourselves by the fire alongside the road as we watched the elk in the distance. After a brief introduction to the day by Alice Trindell and Susan Triplett, the owners of T&T Wildlife Tours, we were led down a long muddy hill then down the road to the barn where all the rich alfalfa is stored. Once at the barn my husband and I broke away from the crowd, climbed up the bails of rich smelling alfalfa, and planted ourselves right in the middle of it all. What a view! Right in front of us, maybe 50 yard away, were about 200 elk, mostly cows and yearling calves, but several bulls were also mixed in the herd. A great sight to see. We watched as the boss cow of the herd came to investigate the alfalfa flakes dropped from the pickup and trailer. She was a stately cow, with a large radio collar of some sort. Once she felt it was safe, she turned, walked back to her herd, and then led them to the alfalfa. They trusted her instincts more than their own it seemed. The elk relaxed, even though, right inside the barn were a dozen, or so people watching their every move. Alice and Linda both talked to the group, educating them with probably just a fraction of their knowledge on these elk that they have been feeding for 21 years now. Mike Moore is also involved with the feeding of these elk and stood up in the barn with my husband and I as we listened to his knowledge on these grand creatures. It was a great experience. We met some great people, saw some beautiful animals, and were able to walk away from the experience "life richer". Thank you Alice, Susan and Mike. I look forward to visiting with you all again.