Quite often, when people decide to buy property and move onto the Santa Fe Trail Ranch (SFTR), their only previous experience with wildlife is seeing replicas of deer and bunny yard ornaments decorating some neighborhood lawns where they used to live. Living on the SFTR can be a transformative experience. The deer and bunnies here are live action yard ornaments that will visit your yard nearly every day.
Besides the mule deer, there are elk and they are nearly as common. Much of the SFTR is on migration trails for the elk. In spring and fall, it’s very common to see small groups of elk if you are driving the canyon roads near sunset or early in the morning. Seeing these majestic ungulates up close can take your breath away. One day, I saw a group of elk “bachelors” in front of my house, eight or nine of them, leisurely strolling by. Seeing those huge racks of antlers on those huge animals up close is spell binding. I was borderline overwhelmed when along came the alpha elk with a rack so immense, it spanned the entire length of his back. Living on the SFTR you don’t even need to leave your house to have a wildlife experience.
