Depending on the speed of your computer one of Larry's songs should start by the time you finish reading the page. If not click at the bottom to listen.

It was the winter of '92 and '93 when the Jones's had four unexpected visitors. Heavy snows had driven four big bull elk into their barnyard. It wasn't long until Larry and Debby realized they could have a couple of serious problems on their hands: One, feeding four bulls the size of horses takes alot of hay. Secondly, a horse could get hurt ... and that's exactly what happened! One of the bulls stuck a horse in the shoulder with an antler. Larry knew he would have to feed the bulls off to the side in order to keep the peace.

At first the bulls would dash back into the timber whenever the Jones's went outside to feed the horses. But by spring the fearful foursome got to where they'd let whoever was feeding get to within fifty-yards or so.  They'd stand back and watch until the feeder went back to the house then they'd move in on the hay. In March the bulls started shedding their antlers. Larry was hoping he'd find some of them to help pay for the added expense of what the bulls had eaten. One morning right after a fresh snow he was shocked to find a set of antlers in their driveway near the house. What was really freaky is the fact that they were side-by-side! They had belonged to the seven-point, "the royal". Actually the bull had seven points on one side and eight on the other. Larry could hardly believe his eyes! It was as though the bull had gone out of his way to shed them near the house. Weird!

With the arrival of spring the four bald-headed bulls eventually drifted away. Fortunately the Jones's found several antlers on or near their property. What they found they sold for six dollars a pound. With hay at a hundred dollars a ton, and a nice vet bill to boot, it was still a losing proposition.

The next winter one of the bulls, the one that had shed his antlers in the driveway, came back. This time it wasn't about bad weather, it was about alfalfa hay. Larry didn't want to feed the bull unnecessarily, but he didn't want to get a horse hurt either. He decided to go ahead and throw hay out for the big mooch. That's when he got the idea of coaxing the beast to eat from his hand.

Night after night at feeding time Larry would position himself behind a metal gate and coax. He'd talk to the bull like you talk to your animals around home. Over a period of a few weeks the bull cautiously eased in for a nibble. Thankfully Larry had the foresight to have a video camera running. Sometimes he'd have Debby film from a distance; other times he would just set the camera on a fence post. After weeks of coaxing the bull got to where he would meet Larry at the gate to get fed every morning and every evening. Larry started calling the bull Elvis because he'd snarl with his upper lip whenever he got irritated. The name seemed appropriate. After all, a seven point bull elk is called a royal, a king.

One day without warning Elvis jumped the fence. Larry didn't know what to do; he didn't have time to run. As a reflex he stuck the hay out to Elvis like he had over the gate. Elvis thought nothing of it. It was no big deal to him. He just stood there munching what he'd been fed. From then on he seemed to prefer eating hay out of Larry's hand instead of off the ground. No one else, including Debby, had the priviledge of feeding Elvis. From time to time Larry would dress others up in his clothing to try to fool him, but he always caught on and retreated.

Then things got really strange! Sometimes while Larry was out walking his dogs through the forest he'd run across Elvis. His herd would run away, but Elvis wouldn't run. He'd just stand there. Eventually he got so comfortable with them hanging around that he would lay down and take a nap. Sometimes a dog would lay down beside him and take a snooze. They were like one, big, happy family. Larry tried to feed Elvis grain from a bucket one day, but he curled his lip and spit it out. The king preferred alfalfa hay.

Most of the time Larry carried his video camera along to document the strange connection. He told his elk hunting buddies what was going on but they had a hard time believing it. Seventeen hours of video footage made believers out of everyone. The strange connection went on for four consecutive years. Sadly, Elvis didn't show up the fifth winter. By then Larry had quit hunting elk and had taken the video footage into a studio and edited it into a family entertainment video. It made an amazing human interest story. Elvis had changed a hunter's life. There was no denying it. Larry who had killed nine elk with his bow and arrow had been changed. Elvis had messed him up for good! Even the book that he'd been writing went a different direction than what he'd originally intended.

Larry wrote and sang several songs for the video soundtrack. CNN News picked up on the story that was televised out of Boise, Idaho, by Channel 7 News. Within minutes the Jones's phone was ringing off the hook with people wanting the video. It was no time until thousands of people from all over the United States were ordering their copy of "Rocky Mountain King," which, by the way ... received the Dove Seal for Family Entertainment! The Jones's and fans everywhere were hoping that Elvis wouldn't be killed by a hunter. But after four winters Elvis quit coming around ... it took a couple more years to convince the Jones's that he was gone for good ... but they finally gave up  on him ... Elvis had left the forest...