Cuchara Wildlife

This was a great year for seeing wildlife in Cuchara. We were treated to several deer visits to the cabin and a large bear even strolled by on the hillside for an afternoon snack. JP and I spotted a couple of foxes on the road and we were also lucky enough to see a Mama Bear and her cub cross the highway. 

The day we climbed the peak we also saw several Ptarmigan and Marmots; the latter were very entertaining. We always see many chipmunks but we had one on our climb that day that followed my sister-in-law and I very closely as we went down the mountain. JP took this picture of an interesting butterfly on our climb as well.

Ptarmigan

The best surprise on our trip was seeing this regal Big Horn Sheep which we have never seen before in this particular area. We briefly saw him on our way to town that day but were not able to stop and investigate. When we saw him again on the way back in the exact same spot we were sure he was a fake and just a ruse to trick the tourists, but we took the time to stop and watch and photograph and did see him move his head to know he was real.