Before I get to the creeping and crawling, I wanted to
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| A celebratory treat to mark the occasions. |
On my first workday last week, as I rounded the corner and reached the dwellings, I encountered this critter on its back in the middle of the trail.
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| What the—?! |
It appeared to be dead, but it wiggled its legs when I gave it a gentle poke with my radio antenna, so I gently righted it. I had never seen one of these in real life, but I knew what it was – a vinegaroon! They look a whole lot like scorpions, and while they are arachnids like scorpions, they do not have stingers and are pretty much harmless to humans. As their name suggests, however, they have the ability to spray acetic acid (vinegar) from a turret on their rumps as a defense mechanism. This particular specimen found respite in the shade of a downed tree at the side of the trail, and I had fun the rest of the morning showing off the “really cool bug” to visitors.
Our big hike this week was the 7-mile EE Canyon Loop.
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| Guest-hiker Joseph assumes sign-duty. |
The trail climbed up to the top of a ridge, from which we got a good view of the VC and our residential area.
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| and a great perspective on “our” cliff dwellings! |
A small lunch guest came for a visit.
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| Pleasing (blue) Fungus Beetle |
“Pleasing” is actually its name, although I would say the blue color is definitely pleasing even if that wasn’t its name.
After another mile on the ridge, the trail dropped down through EE Canyon proper.
We seem to be averaging two hikes per week, and our second of this week re-traced some of the first one. After returning from the first, we were told we’d passed by an old grave marker with an interesting history. TBG pinpointed the location, and we were off!
Not knowing it was there, we passed right by this location the first time, since it looks like the shining top of a tree stump from the trail. But once we knew what to look for, we wondered how we ever mistook it for a stump!
The inscription was hard to read and photograph in the bright light, but this is what is written:
WILLIAM GRUDGINGS WAYLAYED AND MURDERED BY TOM WOOD OCT. 8, 1893 AGE 37 YEARS, 8 MONTHS
The trek out to the marker was only one mile, and knowing this ahead of
time, we wore our water sandals in order to make the return trip
(almost) completely in the river. 
It was slow-going and slippery at times, but such a fun way to hike on a
hot day. It’s also a pretty darn good resistance workout for the legs.
Again, what the—?!
TBG guy spotted this…thing…darting amid the rocky river bottom. Neither of us knew exactly what it was, but I did know that those mini marshmallow-looking bumps on its back were likely eggs. I love a good critter mystery to investigate and discovered that the creature is a giant water bug, those are indeed eggs, and it is a male! The female deposits the eggs on his back, and he takes it from there. That made its hideousness manageable.
I was going to add a picture of a cicada since they are everywhere making a huge racket throughout the day. I read that they can be loud enough to damage human hearing, and having heard a few protest when I’ve tried to shoo them off the screens, I believe it. However, when I went to take a picture of one, suddenly they were nowhere to be found, their sound mocking me from tree to shrub. Instead, I will post a different insect photo that TBG took a few weeks ago.
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| Eastern Comma Butterfly |
It’s a prettier way to end this post, anyhow, wouldn’t you agree?
COMMENTS
This is a creepy post but would you make your anniversary cake when we see you? That looks sooo yummy!
Did you know that the Pleasing beetle just wanted to compliment you for wearing his colors?
Cheers for another milestone, it gets better by the year!
Chasing Dirt But, but they looked like marshmallows! Sorry for almost making you puke — I said eeewwwww too when we saw that thing. I think my next post will have birds and should be more to your liking.
Yes, I will be happy to make you a (the) cheesecake when we see you! 🍰
Good to know Pleasing Beetle was happy with my color. I try to blend in with the locals 😁
Here’s to 21 more for all of us!
I mean, if William Grudgings messed with poor Tom Wood’s emotions like that, maybe Tom was justified, ya know? I’m just thinkin out loud here….
Anywho, Happy Anniversaries! Time sure does fly, huh?
Chasing Dirt I tried to give clues by titling it “bugs” and saying “creeping & crawling” — fair warning: many of these will show up again at year’s end in the Critter Round-Up😁
Time does indeed fly, faster the older we get. It’s sort of a mean trick that as we get smarter and more appreciative of life, it starts to zoom by. Who can I speak to about this?!
Chasing Dirt Thank you, Mutti!
Happy Anniversaries, and we wish you many more years of glorious adventures together! Is that a homemade cheesecake, or am I just wistfully remembering that delicious treat you made for us at Christmas in Tucson?
Chasing Dirt Bugs are not my favorites, either, but they can be fascinating. It doesn’t seem possible that beautiful butterflies are bugs, too, does it? Youll be happy to know that I did get a pic of a cicada yesterday 😄
Yep, that is a homemade cheesecake! This time it was a peanut butter chocolate chip version. We took care of half and shared the other half with co-workers. 🧡
Chasing Dirt We ate half that little cake in one sitting, and believe me, it was hard to share the other half! If I could survive on cheesecake alone, I would be happy.
I don’t know that we are doing more for the NPS than they are doing for us, but it sure is fun and rewarding. You folks are the inspiring ones with your HforH work. I will make you a cheesecake of your choosing when our paths eventually cross!☺️
Chasing Dirt Thank you, Brenda! I wouldn’t say I love the crawlies, per se, but they surely do add an interesting dimension to our adventures. The more I learn about them, the less scary they become. Except for poisonous bitey ones. Ain’t nobody got time for those!