Unfortunately for us, the cabin we rented to hide from COVID-19 has been rented by other people who presumably are also doing their best to avoid the virus, and we are now forced to return to our sweaty, pox-filled hometown.
To entertain you while I drive across the broad empty plains, I present something a little different than usual: my cute animals today are a collection of creatures I saw up close on this trip in the Rocky Mountain National Park:
The place is lousy with adorable, fearless and photogenic chipmunks:
This little guy is a Wyoming ground squirrel and he was completely unbothered by me:
Here are some bighorn sheep — from a bit of a distance, I’m afraid — frolicking on the side of a mountain:
The most charismatic animal on the mountain: the fat yellow-bellied marmot:
Here are two turkey hens with a bunch of turkey chicks. I’d never seen a turkey chick before. They are very cute:
But the most magical experience my family and I had involved some elk. As we drove up Trail Ridge Road, some 12,000 feet high, my younger son demanded that we listen to “Rocky Mountain High” by John Denver for the umpteenth time on the trip, inspired by views like this:
And just as we turned on the song, we spotted this elk mother and baby casually walking up the side of the road by our car:
My husband, expecting to see elk down in the valley meadow and not at the top of a mountain noted that it was strange to see them up so high. Note: My husband is not a zoologist. Had he checked the elk Wikipedia page, he would have learned that in the spring and summer, elk tend to migrate to higher elevations to follow the melting snow.
So there they were, alone on the top of a mountain, clearly looking for something. And that’s when we saw what Momma was searching for: her herd. As we watched, stunned, dozens of elk ran down the mountainside and Momma and Baby went to meet them.
But it was only when we returned to our car and drove up the road a bit farther that we could see what they were all running towards: a large patch of snow and ice where the herd began to cavort:
Y’all, it was the most unreal, Disney movie-esque thing I’ve ever experienced. Tomorrow I’m back in elk-less Houston where the most interesting animals I will come into contact with are my children’s pet gecko and snake and two stubborn Ridgebacks, and the most exciting adventure I will have is going to the store every few days to attempt to buy groceries without contracting a virulent virus. HUZZAH! See you tomorrow!
WATCH THIS
Tough As Nails: This new competition series, “celebrates everyday Americans who get their hands dirty while working long, hard hours to keep the country running.” A welder, firefighter, farmer, roofer, and a Marine Corps veteran, among others, compete … somehow. Series premiere. 7 p.m., CBS
Mucho, Mucho Amor: A documentary about the muy fabuloso Mexican psychic, Walter Mercado. Netflix
Stateless: Four strangers’ lives intersect in an Australian detention center in this series directed by Cate Blanchett. Netflix
The Soup: The clip show is back. Season premiere. 10 p.m., E!
| WEDS. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | The Goldbergs (repeat) |
black-ish (repeat) |
The Conners (repeat) |
American Housewife (repeat) |
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (new) |
| CBS | Tough as Nails (new) |
SEAL Team (repeat) |
| CW | The 100 (new) |
Bulletproof (new) |
Local |
| FOX | MasterChef (repeat) |
Ultimate Tag (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | Chicago Med (repeat) |
Chicago Fire (repeat) |
Chicago P.D. (repeat) |
Hey, even better, it’s approximately eleventy-thousand degrees too. Welcome back to Hell!