As we were leaving Mammoth Hot Springs, we noticed a solitary bull elk standing on a ridge on the edge of town. It was sounding its mating call again and again, trying to summon a mate as snow flurries changed the green forest in the background to an overlay of soft gray swirls. The elk looks backwards, ready to run, yet is watching and waiting for an answer to its call. Its isolated lofty perch on the hillside implies a sense of haughty grandeur. It must stand alone to win a mate or fight a foe, seemingly unmindful of the coming of night, the cutting wind, or the freezing snow.