MORE CRITTERS

The challenge of coming up with new material to write about seems to be increasing, as we approach 1 month of living and working at the Grand Canyon. On days like yesterday, we both worked, and except for a couple of pictures of this ground squirrel, most of the day was pretty routine.

The one thing that is fairly constant, is the expectation of seeing wildlife almost every day. My bus route yesterday was the Red Route out to Hermits Rest. While taking a short break at the canyon wall, this little ground squirrel came up to within a couple of feet, and started chowing down on some peanuts left by a previous visitor. Most of the wild animals in the park are almost fearless of humans, so up close and personal is more normal than not.

The rest of these pictures showing the Elk, Deer, and Raven are similar to those already posted, but not previously used. I'm still amazed at the size of the big male Elk roaming around the park. This is a good picture of the big boy, comparative to the size of the motor home.

I shot this picture just before this female Elk jumped over Sami's leash, in her attempt to get away from the domestic antagonist. While driving out on the Hermits Road yesterday, we ran across two female Elk, and one newborn that was less than a couple of weeks old. No pictures while driving, but we have been hearing reports of several Elk newborns in the area.


The ravens are all over the place. I took this picture at Yavapai Point a few weeks ago. No sightings of any CA Condors, but they are here in the canyon, and they are unmistakable when sighted, due primarily to their size. Full grown, the Condors have up to a 10 foot wingspan.

Also, no Mountain Lion sightings, and it's pretty doubtful that will happen. They are here, but not seen very often. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Today is my "Cover Bus" day, which means that most likely I'll be parked for the better part of the day. I guess I shouldn't complain about getting paid to do nothing. If the day is like last week, I'll be prepared with more reading material to pass the time. Then again, maybe I'll get lucky, and be needed to fill in where the system gets overloaded with passengers. In either event, it'll probably be an uneventful day.