Top photo: Two young elk joust playfully in preparation for the real battles that they'll have in the future.

Bottom photo: I was sitting by the road waiting for my buddy Paul to meet me for a backpacking trip to Mt. Sterling, and dozed off before the sun came up. I was awakened when the car started rocking. A cow elk was leaning inside the car, licking the headrest on the passenger side. I started to hit the button to raise the window a little to scare her away, then realized that she might just take the window with her. Ever tried saying, "Shoo Elk!!!" to a 350 lb. animal that's trying hard to climb into your car? I finally slapped her with my hat and she reluctantly moved away.