We found out where Colorado bighorn sheep go when visitors to Garden of The Gods aren’t able to spot them on the mountains surrounding the park. After leaving the garden yesterday, we took a tour of the Glen Eyrie Conference Center that is located right next door and after stopping at the gate and getting our car pass, we drove around the grounds and noticed what looked like animatronic, kind of fake looking bighorn sheep laying in the grass in front of Bighorn Lodge. Only, they weren’t fake.
When Jean first spotted them there was a herd of 15 to 20 sitting under some trees in front of the lodge and even after watching them for about 3 to 5 minutes, I still thought they were fake. Amazingly, several looked as if they were chewing in unison and turning their heads from side to side just like that fake Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer you got last Christmas to make your kids happy. It wasn’t until a couple of the bighorn sheep got up and walked over to a larger group under a tree that I was finally convinced they were real.
The only other time I had seen bighorn sheep was in Washington state and that was probably from a half a mile away, so it was amazing to see these regal looking creatures up this close and not in a zoo. They appeared to be undisturbed by people walking about the conference grounds and my frenzied activity trying to get to my camera and switch lenses. They were serenely grazing and lounging on the front lawn of Bighorn Lodge and appeared not to have a care in the world.
Besides Glen Eyrie Conference Center being a beautiful and secluded place nestled amongst the same red rock outcropping that forms Garden of The Gods, it was truly a sight to behold getting within 50 to 100 feet of a herd of 15 to 20 Colorado bighorn sheep. Take a tour of Glen Eyrie next time you visit Colorado Springs and maybe you will be fortunate enough to see the bighorn slumbering under the trees in the late morning.
Tags: Photography