Camping 6/12-14 at Reynolds Creek

We went camping last weekend with the Kolbergs at Reynolds Creek. This is the second year in a row we've gone, and 10+ years for them. They started a journal when they bought their pop-up and the 1st entry was the same weekend, at the same campground, exactly 10 years ago! The area is beautiful, it's about a mile high in elevation, in a pine forest, in the Sierra Ancha Mountains. I highly recommend checking out this area there is a lot to see and do. We might go back next weekend to explore some more, we missed a 200ft waterfall, Indian Ruins, abandoned uranium mines, and a hike to Aztec Peak. Plus a firetower on the peak, where author Edward Abbey worked and wrote some of his books. Also there is rumor of a large stone living room complete with thrones (with cupholders) and a large fireplace in the area. Here's someone elses description of the area:

"Aztec Peak is the highpoint of the Sierra Ancha Mountains. This relatively unknown mountain range is located in the Tonto National Forest. Aztec Peak is also located in the Sierra Ancha Wilderness Area. The Sierra Ancha Mountains have some precipitous box canyons, towering vertical cliffs, and pine-covered mesas. Elevations range from 4,000' near Cherry Creek to 7,748' atop Aztec Peak."

Back to my ramblings the weather was great, 80's during the day and high 40's at night. Lucy had a ball, she chased squirrels up trees, swam in Reynolds Creek, and caught a Horny Toad. I can't accurately gage his horniness, but he was not a toad. He was a medium sized lizard, flat, sandy colored, and covered in spikes. When Lucy caught it I was afraid she'd killed it because when I pried her jaws open it was bloody and not moving. When it ran off I thought that the blood must be Lucy's. Neither animal had any obvious wounds and when I told Theresa what had happened she explained that they shoot blood from their eyes to discourage predators ! I looked it up when I got home, check this out:

"Horned lizards (Phrynosoma) are a genus of the Phrynosomatidae family of lizards. The horned lizard is popularly called a "horned toad," "horny toad", or "horned frog," but it is neither a toad nor a frog. The popular names come from the lizard's rounded body and blunt snout, which make it resemble a toad or frog. (Phrynosoma literally means "toad-bodied.") The spines on its back and sides are made from modified scales, whereas the horns on the heads are true horns (i.e. they have a horny core). There are 14 species of horned lizards in North America, 8 of which are native to the United States. The largest-bodied and most widely distributed of the U.S. species is the Texas horned lizard (P. cornutum)."

"Horned lizards use a wide variety of means to avoid predation. Their coloration generally serves as camouflage. When threatened, their first defense is to remain still and hope to avoid detection. If approached too closely, they generally run in short bursts and stop abruptly to confuse the predator's visual acuity. If this fails, they puff up their body to cause it to look more horny, making it appear larger and more difficult to swallow. At least four species are also able to squirt an aimed stream of blood from the corners of the eyes for a distance of up to 5 feet. They do this by restricting the blood flow leaving the head, thereby increasing blood pressure and rupturing tiny vessels around the eyelids. This not only confuses predators, but also the blood tastes foul to canine and feline predators. It appears to have no effect against predatory birds. To avoid being picked up by the head or neck, horned lizards duck or elevate their head and orient their cranial horns straight up, or back. If a predator tries to take it by the body, the lizard drives that side of its body down into the ground so that the predator cannot easily get its lower jaw underneath this lizard."

This is the coolest animal ever !!! Around the campfire one night there was a little girl who was very interested in Lucy. She harrased her for close to an hour, petting her, putting her pom-poms on her, hugging her, and Lucy never growled or nipped at her...she barely even woke up. Here are some pictures, we would have taken more but my battery died very early on. Enjoy !