Feeding the road runner

9/13/09: Here's a great little story about a fellow I met hiking. On the trail up to the South Rim, (Yes, back to the trail up to the South Rim), I made friends with a little road runner. Here's the tale: I was hiking uphill, clunking along with my hiking poles. They make quite a racket if I'm putting a little of my weight on them. That relieves a bit of weight from my feet which is nice if my feet are sore. So I'm clunking along and suddenly felt something land on my pant leg. Looking down, perched on my pant leg, was one of the biggest insect creatures I'd ever seen. It seemed to two large bugs mating. They were at least 4 inches long and looked like grasshoppers, or two. I gave them a quick brush with my hiking pole and they flew away. Then, just a moment later, I saw the road runner ahead of me on the trail. He was eating. He was eating what could have been a large bug, or two! Surprised, and always interested in any critters I meet on the trail, I set down my hiking poles and pulled out my camera. I've had an affinity for road runners since I'd first seen one outside of Flagstaff several years ago. They're splendid creature. And not very skittish. I snapped a couple of pics and ventured closer slowly. But he wasn't frightened at all. He was very interested in his meal, and when he finished, he wasn't bothered by my approach. I snapped this pic as he was leaving. Maybe he was waiting for me to conjure up dessert? Indeed, roadrunners are rather large birds, and make their way down the road very quickly, running. Quite a sight to the unfamiliar. Be sure to click on the picture to see it full sized on your screen.