During a past holiday season, a group of unexpected guests made their surprising arrival to a small store in the Rocky Mountain area. Interactions with animals are fairly commonplace here, for tourists and locals, but some encounters prove more memorable than others.
Lori Jones is a gift shop worker at the Horsetooth Inn and RV Park in Fort Collins, Colorado – a scenic spot at the base of the Rockies, according to boredpanda.com.
It was a regular winter day before Lori noticed a new visitor – a doe standing in the doorway. Although not incredibly unusual at first, the doe then confidently walked into the store, as if finishing off some holiday shopping.
“It was hilarious. She was looking at the sunglasses and the chips. I was laughing so hard,” Lori explained to The Dodo.
This same deer has actually been sighted regularly on the grounds on her way to a nearby field to graze. She is no stranger to those living in the area. She has never, however, entered any of the nearby buildings, and she has never been known as a shopper.
After snapping a few pictures, Lori appropriately led the doe outside through the use of a peanut bar as bait. It seemed like the unique exchange had completely ended…
But soon enough, something even more ridiculous happened. Lori recalls the details, stating “about 30 minutes later, here comes the deer again with her whole family.”
A group of deer gathered in the doorway, while the original visitor again made her entrance.
“I’m in the office doing inventory, and I come out to find her there. This time she brought back her twins, and this one young buck that she adopted,” Lori told The Dodo.
Jones did her best to keep the kids in the doorway and out of the store, successfully. The rest of the family stood waiting with extreme curiosity. Lori’s wonderful pictures indicate that she made some very close encounters.
Lori – quick on her feet – again grabbed a peanut bar. She led the mother and family outside to the nearby fields. Although she generally refrains from feeding the local wildlife, here she made an exception, giving pieces to the group as a reward for their good behavior.
“It was just a lovely thing to see,” Lori said to The Dodo. “The population of wildlife here is just astounding. We have mountain lions, bighorn sheep, deer, raccoons — you name it. They have to fend for themselves. That’s nature. But I think they’re all wonderful.”
Denver’s local CBS news even covered the story at the time. Jones mentioned that the family has been back to the store a few times, probably because she fed them. She was adamant that visitors should always follow policy and never feed the animals for this reason.
Generally, the tourists visiting the store leave with a feeling of excitement having obtained a token of their travels. This time, on a seemingly average winter day, the storekeeper herself experienced something unforgettable. Fortunately, for all organisms involved, it was a group of deer and not a mountain lion.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
