During the summer months at our whitewater rafting office in Buena Vista, Colorado there is non-stop activity nearly 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are rafting customers coming in and out of the front doors, guides loading boats in the backyard, music playing over the loud speakers, and rafting buses loaded with boats and guests pulling in and out of the parking lot. During this time we don’t get much in the way of visiting critters, with the exception of the mysterious and little seen raccoon that thinks our trash can is an all-you-can-eat buffet. During the winter, it is much different. No rafting guests, very few cars in the parking lot, and a handful of staff in the office. Needless to say, our outdoor friends are not as shy.
This winter we had a one visitor in particular that made his presence known. As we were sitting in the main office, we looked out and saw a full size fox taking his time roaming around the landscaping right outside the windows. As quickly as we could, we grabbed the camera and snapped a few photos of our new friend. As we took photos, the fox would not look at the camera…but then he jumped up on the wall just outside the front doors, gracefully sat down, and posed for the camera.
The next moment, he stood, jumped down and ran out of sight. Since that day, he hasn’t come so close, though we catch an occasional glimpse of him under the boat trailers at the back of the property. We don’t know what possessed him to show off for us the day he did, but we are grateful for his visit because it makes us stop for a moment and be thankful that we live and work in the beautiful Colorado high country…amongst the skunks, rabbits, deer and occasional friendly fox.
