Mark Igel doesn’t check the calendar to know when to expect the annual influx of amorous elk and the first September cold snap in Estes Park. Both events always seem to coincide with the beginning of the Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival, which began Friday and runs through Sunday.
“I’m not kidding,” said Igel, owner of The Taffy Shop on the town’s main street, Elkhorn Avenue. “The elk are abundant. They’re not as amorous yet as they will be, but they are everywhere. This weekend is always like Mother Nature and the elk watch the calendar for the Scottish festival. We’ve been running the air conditioner for weeks, and we turned it off this morning because the Scottish festival starts today.”
Sure enough, overnight temperatures in town dipped into the lower 50s Thursday night and are forecast to drop into the 30s Friday and Saturday nights.
