Even the animals we've seen were so friendly toward humans it seems unusual. Rabbits wouldn't hop away unless we
approached. Antelope allowed us withing 30 or 40 yards before they would flee. Some wouldn't budge no matter how
close we got.
On temple square, for instance, there are tiny little birds that are so friendly they've landed on the table we sat at on the
patio. They were begging for food. I'd throw them bread crumbs from the sandwich I was eating all their friends would
come begging. I think they were sparrows.
We took lots of photos of animals on our way west and after we arrived. Here they are. I hope you enjoy them.
This and the next few photos are rabbits we saw at Martin's Cove.
Two rabbits that let us take their pic. They were less than 20 feet away.
This is the first little guy we met on the long trail toward Martin's Cove. I think he didn't
see us because he darted across the road soon as he spotted us. I watched as he went
down a rabbit hole. I tried to get a picture of him in the hole and missed the shot.
Here's the same rabbit right before he darted down the rabbit hole.
The next 6 photos are of antelope. They were everywhere.
All of these are from Martin's Cove because the pics we took of them along the highway
were all blurry. But there were just as many along the roadside -- herds of them.
The antelope in Martin's Cove seemed almost tame because they wouldn't flee until we
got within 100 feet or so.
Sometimes they would just stand there as if to say, "You talkin' to me?"
"Not in this lifetime, buddy. I'm outta here and I'm takin' my friends with me!"
All except this guy. He was laying on the hillside that shields Martin's Cove from the open
range. We got closer and closer but he never budged. This photo was taken about 20 or
30 feet away. He seems to be saying, "Leave me alone will ya. Can't ya see I'm trying to
take a nap. Oh -- TOURISTS!"
This animal is called a rock chuck (marmot). First I've ever seen. It looks like a beaver
with a tail like a rat. It was about the same size as a beaver, too. He never got close. A
friend from Utah tells me these are plentiful here in the west.
Fortunately we didn't see any of "these" critters. The guide told us he did spot one
earlier but it must have slithered off the trail. We kept our eyes peeled.
Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam . . .
Where the Emu . . . EMU! Wait a minute. That's not the way that song goes!
Ok, ok, so these animals are domestic. Far as I know, there aren't any more buffalo left
to the open range for the simple reason there's just no open range to speak of. There's
government land that cattle ranchers are allowed to use but if there are any free buffalo
there, they're probably all on reserves or national parks.
Speaking of domestic animals, what d'ya think of these cows? We thought they were so
interesting eating hay through a fence that we had to take a couple pics of them. This is
the best photo. The ranchers just broke up several bales of hay and scattered it at the
base of this fence. Well, maybe it's not called a fence. Maybe they call it something else.
Looks like a fence to me.
That lyric doesn't include Emu's, does it? So how does the song go?
"Oh give me a home, where the buffalo roam ...
" . . . and I'll show you a dirty house!"
NOPE! That's not it. Seems it has something to do with deer and antelope. And we saw
both. It's just that we only saw a couple deer and the one I got closest to was too fast
to get a picture of. I think I got his hind end on video. But at least it proves that both
deer and antelope play here (as well as the occasional Emu).
Ok, I digress. That's because there's only one more photo. It's another bird. And what
a bird. I thought it was a partridge. It was too small to be a pheasant. We saw a couple
pheasants along the way but we never saw a bird this strange looking until we got to
temple square. They run in front of you like chickens with their heads outstretched. Really
strange. Finally several people told me this is a quail. I looked it up on the net and it's
called a "California Quail." Ain't like no quail I ever seed afore. This thang is plum nearly
unusual.
Well I hope you enjoyed the photo tour of western critters. Until next time. . .
