Critter Travelogue – Southwest USA

My roommate and I spent the last two and 1/2 weeks traveling the Southwest. She has a goal of visiting as many National Parks as possible. When I informed Fur that I would be scheduling my Critter posts ahead of time while I was gone, he suggested I do a Critter Travelogue. Well, I really didn’t think I’d get enough critter pictures to do one, but I was surprised. Actually, I didn’t have enough room to show them all – and some people will be happy that I didn’t. Most of the icky insects were left on the ‘cutting room floor’!

From the top panel down:

1. Elk from Rocky Mountain NP. The males were in the process of gathering their ladies for the year.

The Longhorn Sheep were spied on our way out of Zion NP. They must have the same type of arrangement that Elk have – there was only one guy sheep for about 10 ladies. I don’t think I’d like that deal!

2. You wouldn’t know it by his profile, but that little chipmunk was quite well fed. Many of his friends were the fattest tub of lards I’ve ever seen. We were having lunch in Rocky Mountain NP picnic area and they sure cleaned up any leftovers!

The Squirrel was a little beggar, too. He was on the walk to the narrows (where you have to walk IN the river to finish the trek) in Zion NP. Signs warned visitors to NOT feed the wildlife. He didn’t appreciate that because he kept standing there waiting for handouts. BTW, we were there just less than one week after the flash floods that killed 6 people in the park. So sad.

3. These beautiful yellow flowers were all over the Southwest. They are a type of desert sage and the bugs sure loved them. The first frame shows a honeybee and below him was a bumblebee. This was at Mesa Verda NP. Next frame was a funny looking thing; more like a fly, but not sure. Its wings never stopped and the body was all fuzzy. He was in Canyonland. The last frame – the bug looked like a fly, too. I didn’t get too close to check if it had a stinger! I think this one was at Mesa Verda, too.

4. Lots of birds. First frame is a crow on a dead tree. The picture was all in silhouette because of the position of the sun. It was in the Grand Canyon. The raven was in Painted Desert NP. I “accidentally” dropped a piece of my sandwich while having lunch and he followed us for some time. Opps. The Magpie was in Rocky Mountain NP while we were watching the Elk.

5. You know when you cross the cattle barriers in roads and you see signs warning you to watch out for livestock? Well, this is the first time ever I have seen cows on the road. Talk about free range steak! They were all over southern Colorado. What were those cows smoking??

Mule deer in Capitol Reef NP. Having lunch in a picnic area and everyone stopped to take pictures. They look like they are posing.

6. Anthill in Arches NP but couldn’t get close enough to see the ants. Finally, in the Great Sand Dunes NP, I got a red ant. Didn’t like the looks of those pinchers!

7. What an adorable little lizard! He was rubbing his face on a rock but when he saw me he stopped to pose. This was in Zion NP. The next lizard was in Petrified Forest but he was on a real rock, not petrified wood.

The trout was in Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain NP. He was a baby playing in the stream that flowed into the lake. That night we had trout for dinner (not him!).

8. Bunny outside our motel at Great Sand Dunes NP. That was the night of the Blood Moon. We watched it come up over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Blood of Christ Mountain range). Pretty cool, huh? Blood Moon rising over the Blood of Christ Mountains. I took pictures but with the crappy point-and-shoot camera I have, you can barely see a slice of red moon. My roommate’s smart phone camera took better pictures!

The marmot was at the top of the pass in Rocky Mountain NP. We drove up the one-way dirt road (Old Fall River Road) to Fall River Pass (11,796 feet). This Alpine Marmot was gathering grass to prepare for hibernation.

9. More birds again. All three of these are Jays. Grey Jay in Rocky Mountain NP as well as the Stellar’s Jay. The Pinyon Jay was in the Grand Canyon NP.

10. Ok, this is really cool. I didn’t take this picture. It’s from the web at gardenofeaden.blogspot.com   But, if it hadn’t been in the middle of the night in almost total darkness, I would have snuck to the side of the ravine our cabin was on (the picture on the left) to get a picture. Living about 1/3 of a mile from a wetland area, I am used to hearing coyotes sing at night. But this night, we were woken up by what we estimated was 10 or 15 coyotes about 100 yards from the cabin. They started singing – and singing – and very loudly singing. I was so glad that we were in a building and not a tent!

11. Soaring birds. I can’t say for sure what they are. The first three pictures are of the same bird. There were two soaring above the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I have it down to either a buzzard (most likely) or a condor. The markings seem similar and my pictures are not that great. But they were pretty big.

The last picture is from the Grand Canyon. Again, I don’t know what it is and this is the best pic I got.

So, there you have it. Many of these National Parks blew my mind. I couldn’t believe they were so amazing. It was great being away from everything. I only watched the news once and it happened on the day Boehner resigned. I yelled YIPPIE! But I missed Zoe kitty. She has not left me alone for more than an hour nap; then she wakes up and yowls until I talk to her. Then I must hold her! Ah, it’s good to be back home!