More than 300 elk live on and pass through the Ranch all year long. With a little patience and quiet stalking, most elk sighting expeditions have great success. So, bring your camera, good hiking shoes and quiet clothes. Elk have few predators in this area—there are no grizzly bears, very few wolves, and the few black bears that are nearby are very shy and seldom seen. Nevertheless, elk have excellent sight, especially for movement, an outstanding sense of smell and the ability to disappear quietly if they sense danger. The best viewing is soon after dawn and during sunset when the elk are on the move from their beds to grass fields.

Many mule deer and antelope live both in our irrigated alfalfa fields and on the mountain adjoining our upper ranch. Daily sightings are common and seeing up to a hundred deer or antelope is a function more of the amount of time spent looking than good fortune or stealth.

Lots of small critters call Red Reflet Ranch home—foxes, marmots, prairie dogs, coyotes, raccoons and even an occasional skunk. Many raptors also frequent the area.

The wildflowers start early in the Big Horn Mountains and the elevations, from 4500’ to 8300’, allow for a long flower season from May through July and longer in the nearby Cloud Peak Wilderness area (up to 13,000’). Some of the more beautiful species you will encounter are Spring Beauty, Lupines, Buckwheat, Yellow Bell, Columbines, Alpine Wallflowers, Balsam Roots, Black-eyed Susans, Larkspur, Showy Fleabane and Blanket Flower to name but a few. We also have books and postersto help you identify many more of our local wildflowers. Like the wildlife, they are great to photograph, so don’t forget your camera and film!

The Ranch has a large pheasant population living on Spring Creek. The population is supplemented annually, but the pheasants also breed naturally. Hungarian partridge and chukkas are mostly seen at the lower ranch, and grouse and prairie chickens live on the upper ranch.

We are lucky to have as our neighbor the Nature Conservancy Preserve of Ten Sleep, an 8,500-acre parcel. Their literature and self-guided tours give us a special opportunity to better appreciate the wildlife and flowers in our neighborhood. To visit the Ten Sleep Nature Conservancy Preserve click here