This year's rut was particularly unsatisfying. The weather was all cloudy and rainy for the prime rutting action during the last week of September, and gloomy photos of wet elk don't look too great. If you have ever tried to photograph elk in RMNP, you know the elk's favorite spots are all backlit. This year the park has installed lots of fences in the prime meadows to keep the elk away from the aspen shoots and stream banks. Good for the aspen, bad for photos. Keeping a shiny metal fence out of the background presents yet another complication in composing a decent elk photo. Oh well, not every year can be wonderful.