Animal Kingdom

"If I could walk with the animals, talk with the animals...."  Poor Dr. Doolittle.  Little did he know that all he would have to do to make this wish come true is to simply visit the high desert paradise of Sedona, AZ.  The animals here have been gracious enough to strike a balance with us humans and allow us to live in their world.  We sure have been lucky to get a peek at some of these guys that live here and have learned so much about them.  Here is a little peek for you guys too:

Spiders thrive in this climate.  We met this lovely lady on the trail one day.  She was walking up, we were walking down.  She politely moved to the side to let us pass.  Tarantulas look scary but are actually not (unless you are a male tarantula and you might get eaten by your female mate - not cool if you are the spider dude).  The venom of a tarantula is actually less potent to humans than one bee sting.

This is a javelina, which looks like a cross between an armadillo and wild boar.  They are called "javelina" because of their razor-sharp tusks, Spanish for javelin or spear.  We have encountered a gang of these guys in the wild but they wanted nothing to do with us and certainly did not want to pose for a quick picture.  Fine by us - they have a strong scent and it sure is best for Max to keep his distance from these guys.  Mikelle ran into one the other night looking for food in a parking lot.  Mikelle is not food.

This little guy is a horned lizard. Ancient American Indians of the Southwest (the Anasazi and the Mimbres) depicted horned lizards on pottery and in petroglyphs. It was a symbol of health and happiness to Native Americans.

We came upon this right on the trail in Flagstaff, probably at about 9000 ft. elevation.  

The magical red rocks in Sedona can invite the imagination to transform what you are seeing into something new every time.  This rock looked like a gigantic turtle to us...a different kind of animal sighting.

Of course, the most exciting animal sighting here is this rare species - a seemingly normal domesticated dog that has transformed into a laughing splashing wild beast.