Elk Fest drew hundreds of people to the Town Square this weekend. The fest marks the end of this year's feeding season on the National Elk Refuge. A few weeks ago the public could ride horses or walk the refuge looking for the fallen antlers. People lined up days in advance for the opportunity to hunt them.
This weekend vendors bring their antlers, along with any other wild life horns or racks (such as the big horn sheep in the first photo, and moose rack in the third) for sale and auction. The Boy Scouts are the big winners because they have a first shot at collecting on the refuge. Then they host an auction selling bundles by the pound. The Boy Scouts use most of the money to buy feed for the elk next winer.
The crowd was a diverse one – a combination of second homeowners looking to decorate their places or wild mountain folk hoping to make a profit on their collections.
A big international story a few years back was that many dealers bought up antlers and sold them to the Chinese. They would grind up the antlers and use the powder as an aphrodisiac.
