An unexpected return home

After a failed attempt to return back to China, I arrived slightly unplanned in my hometown of Jasper, Canada a couple days ago, just in time for our first big snowfall of the year. Was great to get out and see the sights with that fresh dusting. I spent 18 years growing up here, but I think this was my first time photographing elk; as a kid we would just ignore them or avoid them depending on the time of year, and fortunately for me, this is the time of year where they are pretty calm, conserving energy for the long cold winter.

Whenever people ask what it's like growing up in a National Park in the Canadian rockies, I tell them that my version of 'traffic' was trying to walk to school in knee deep snow and being stuck behind a herd of elk and having to wait for the wardens to arrive and chase them out of town with hockey sticks. Real Canadian. Completely true story.