If you drive west along Interstate 70 in Colorado, approximately 20 miles west of Denver, you will see this road sign before exit 254 advising you that there is the Buffalo Herd Overlook at that exit. My husband and I pass this sign whenever we head up into the Rocky Mountains from our home, and we were always curious as to what we'd see when we got off this exit. (All photos in this post will enlarge for easier viewing if clicked on)
This is what we saw at first when we drove off the exit--a pasture of grass and trees, surrounded by a twelve-foot high, barbed wire-topped fence.
There were warning signs on the fence, that the bison that lived within were owned and managed by Denver Mountain Parks. Denver has 46 mountain parks, with over 14,000 "pleasure acres" for the use of hiking, picnicking, and sightseeing in the Front Range foothills and the Rocky Mountains, all within an hour's drive of Denver.
This sign on the fence has been severely weathered and it's hard to read, but it tells the sad tale of the American Bison--the true name of the animal which is often incorrectly referred to as a Buffalo. The North American Plains were once roamed by as many as 60 million wild Bison. As westward expansion occurred in the 1800s by gold prospectors, homesteaders, the US Army, and railroads, there was wanton destruction of bison. They were slaughtered for their hides, as a sport, and as a way to control the Native American population which relied upon bison as a major food source. By the late 1880s bison were nearly extinct, with less than a few hundred left. Fortunately, conservationists, such as President Teddy Roosevelt and William T. Hornaday, founded the American Bisom Society to help prevent the total extinction of bison. The last wild bison were contained in Yellowstone National Park and the Denver bison are direct descendants of this herd. Two bull bison were brought to the Denver Mountain Parks system in 1914 and mated with bison cows from the Denver City Zoo. They have thrived over the years.
Since we did not see the bison in the meadow on the north side of the interstate, we drove back to the south side towards Genessee Park. There is actually a tunnel that the bison can use to travel under the interstate from one side to the other. It connects the south and middle pasture to the north pastures.
Genesee Park is Denver's first and largest mountain park at 2,413 acres. We began to drive up Genesee Mountain which ascends from its base at 6,000 feet to its 8,284 feet summit.
As we drove, we finally saw the bison herd! Twenty new calves were born this past spring, and if you look closely you can see them, as they are lighter in color.
The bison were eating machines, enjoying the wild grasses in the meadow. The Bison is North America's largest land animal. Males can stand six feet high and weigh between 1,000 to 2,000 pounds. Females stand up to five feet tall and weigh 800 to 1,00 pounds. They are herbivores, grazing on grasses and sedges.
We enjoyed watching the bison for quite a while. The bison have about 743 fenced-in acres to roam, and the herd numbers are kept under control, in order that they will have enough to eat. Excess bison are auctioned off to help pay veterinary and maintenance fees. Today, wild bison number around 19,820 nationwide, according to the Denver-based National Bison Association. An estimated 250,000 heads are raised on ranches for hides and meat, although many bison have been interbred with cattle, or carry cattle traits. The largest herd of free-roaming bison today is in Yellowstone National Park, with approximately 3,500 bison.
After watching the bison herd we then took a drive up towards the summit of Mt. Genesee. The day was overcast and threatening rain, but we could still see some of the distant mountain ranges.
When we arrived at the parking area near the summit we saw this couple enjoying the peaceful view and cool mountain air.
This photo collages of some of the berries, flowers, and grasses we saw along Mt. Genesse's summit trail. Photo upper left: Baneberry, photo upper right: Smooth Goldenrod, photo lower left: Golden Aster, photo middle bottom: Alyssum. The last photo bottom right is of wild grasses.
The word Genesee is a Native American word for "shining valley" and seeing bison roam relatively free in this park was a shining moment for me! I'll be looking for them again on future trips to Genesee Park.
Come back next blog post where I'll show you our exciting drive up to 14,000 feet on Mt. Evans. It's the highest paved road in North America!
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