A Bobcat, Camel & More

I got in with the Cactus Club group ride in Oro Valley on a beautiful, fall morning. Here, we enter Catalina State Park with the western edge of the Catalinas looming over us.

The route included the climb up Magee Road.  These pics were taken by ride organizer Mark M.  I'm always panting too hard to organize my phone and take a pic.

I'm standing in my kitchen and a bobcat strolls by.  I grab my phone, go outside and begin trotting toward it.  Just before it turns into some bushes, I snag this pic.  I thought better of rooting around in there for a better picture.

I was on Redington Road where there is a well known camel but rarely can you get a good pic of it because of the vegetation blocking the view or the time it spends in its covering.  Today I was in luck!

A front came in but stayed well north, depositing a few clouds on this morning.

One of my ping pong buddies, Bill, wanted to check out the same canyon I visited a few days ago.  

Wow!  My first snake sighting in this canyon.  Bill grabbed it, a harmless snake.

And then this happened.  While bending over, my lone water bottle slipped from my pack and plunged into the water.  I climbed down, coaxed it to the shore and retrieved it.

Bill acquitted himself well throughout.  A couple of times he pioneered his own route rather than follow mine.  Sometimes it worked, sometimes not.

The water level was so low beneath the 80' falls that I was able to climb and explore what turned out to be a very shallow cave. Fun times continue in southern AZ!