Locals and tourists alike have begun to flock to the eastern side of Rocky Mountain National Park and areas surrounding Estes Park in northern Colorado for the annual elk rut.

One such visitor is Stephanie McAndrews, who has traveled to both the town and Park to photograph, experience and admire the elk, deer, moose and other wildlife for nearly 50 years.

“I think the first time I came here was in 1976,” McAndrews said while photographing four bull elk on the southern slopes of Deer Mountain, just off U.S. Highway 36 inside the park. “And, I’ve been coming ever since.”

McAndrews moved to the Blackhawk area in Gilpin County within the last year but has been making the annual migration to RMNP from Arizona since the Carter administration.

“You know, I used to do a lot of backpacking in C

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