The bear came to see what we were having for lunch -- he was downwind of our picnic, and I saw him or her in time to scuttle the kids into the car, call Lucy, and grab my camera. Lucy was smart enough to let the bear see her protecting us but not to bark or bait the creature. It looked like a yearling or two-year-old, not so big but not small enough to have a mama bear nearby (though I kept my eyes pealed), and it sauntered down to the creek when we waved some sticks and yelled (from the safety of the car, of course).
The rattler was on the side of a dirt "road" that we were "driving" on (more on that in a moment) and Antonio spotted it (good eyes!). I took this picture from, again, the safety of the car.
Looking at the map after arriving home, I was surprised by how close to home we stayed. We had intended to go further, but on the first leg of the journey we had already crossed over a creekbed that totally washed out the "road" we were on, necessitating a dogleg down the creekbed a bit to a gentler slope back out than the eight-foot cliff where the "road" formerly exited. With rain threatening and perhaps already filling up the arroyos upstream, we doubled back and then went east for a ways. I had been in this terrain before, due north of Magdalena in the Bear Mountains, but I hardly recognized it because it is so green now. Here's one of the "roads" we took, and I was shocked to find it on our DeLorme map:
I took many, many pictures of the wildflowers that somehow managed to survive the winter/spring drought and have emerged from the dust and rocks; I'm still processing them, so I'll put them up later. Here's a car-window shot for Mom and Dad -- you guys know this place (and will get to know it a whole lot better soon) but might not quite recognize it:
1 comment:
Wow, that is some serious wildlife. Beautiful pictures!
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