My advice is to hunt Colorado and put in for cow tags for 2017 or try to buy left over tags this year. There is a lot of elk along with open hunting land in Colorado. I am not sure 2K will cover a guided or drop camp hunt so you might want to try a DIY with tags amounting to about 1/4 of your budget for a bull tag and a little less for a cow. Living in KC area you are just down the road from good elk country. Our trips out to Colorado take 3 days. We found hunting elk to be similar to deer hunting in a lot of ways. Once you find them they are usually in good numbers but are very wary and if you do bump them they are gone. Getting them cut up and out is when the real fun starts. Good luck.