Maine Moose

I'm fortunate to be able to take vacation in Maine almost every year. When it's uncomfortably hot and humid in Northern Virginia, it's great weather in Maine.

When we (my family) and I are in Maine, we always look for moose. They're unlike any animal that I see in Virginia. There's a highway between Stratton and Rangeley. Moose frequently graze along the side of the road as the sun is setting. This year we saw three moose during our trip on this road.

The first moose disappeared into the woods almost immediately after we saw her. The second moose was down in a ditch, partially obscured, hard to get good shots of. Here's the best of the sequence.

Cow Moose Looking at Me

Cow Moose

We drove away, leaving this moose behind. Farther down the road, we saw a bull that was standing in a shallow stream. By the time we saw him, we were already past, so I found a safe spot to turn around and went back. By this time the moose had moved closer to the road. We had several minutes to observe this animal as he came closer to the car. I even had the impression that he was going to come close to the car to check us out. As he crossed the road (we were stopped on the opposite side of the road), another car approached and spooked him. He ran into the woods.

Bull Moose Crossing the Road

Bull Moose

On another day, my son and I also had a rare middle of the day sighting while we were scouting the trailhead for a hike we were planning. We rounded a bend in the road and saw a bull on the road. I stopped the car and he went into the woods. As we passed the spot where he disappeared, we saw another moose in the woods with him.

On yet another day, as we were driving back to the vacation home, we had a brief glimpse of another moose next to the road.

So, the total for this trip is six. Most years we see no moose at all.