Why the dogs were barking

We live only about 2/3 of a mile from town. From houses. People. Plenty of 'em. When the dogs bark, there might be kids in the woods who shouldn't be there but are. Or a coyote maybe. Or another dog. Usually, though, the horses don't canter up to the top of the field to see. Unless, of course, the dogs are barking at (and then judiciously deciding to share the field with) these:
Can you see what those are?
Elk.
Those are elk.
In my yard. I have elk in my yard. At this elevation! 13 cows and a huge bull with a giant rack of horns, and I just BET the dudes in the mud-splattered pickup that came up my driveway "took a wrong turn." I just bet they did. I'm sure there wasn't a gun in that truck. No sirree. They weren't going to shoot elk on my property. Nossir.
ELK!I need a new camera for Christmas. People are going to stop believing me unless I have proof of this sort of thing.