Surprising Sights at the Grand Canyon

As we drove the couple of miles from the canyon rim to the park exit on the afternoon of day three, we spotted a bull elk and several cow elk grazing less than 50 feet from the road. We had seen the elk crossing sign on our way to the park, but we really didn't pay it much attention. We thought we wouldn't see any animals until we got to Yellowstone.

As we drove back in on the morning of day four, we saw several more animals. We saw another large bull elk (the fourth picture down) closely following seven or eight cow elk, a few mule deer (including the monster in the top photo who was hiding in some dense pines), and two coyotes who were eating a deer carcass off the side of the road. All the photos above were taken within 24 hours and within a mile. Even thought the shotgun and bow were in the car top carrier above us, I didn't have the room (and I didn't want to spend the next few years in jail).