Monolith Trail (caution: image heavy)

Just outside of Kingman is a set of trails at Coyote Pass.  Corey and I had explored a little bit of it on our own during one of our days off while the kids were at school.  We decided to take them there yesterday.  We took a picnic lunch and set off down the trails to show the kids a couple of places that we thought were particularly spectacular, and with the desert being in full bloom, it gave us ample opportunities to get some good photos.

These little flowers are smaller than the head of a tack, but they’re very pretty when you get up close:

I tried to catch this vulture while it was perched on the rocks, but he took off mid-shot on me:

My Arizona pineapple (barrel cactus with a yucca springing up behind it):

While we were stopped to eat lunch, Mercedes glanced down at the space between the rock she was sitting on and the one next to her, and saw this guy:

We’re still not sure whether it’s a snake or lizard, but we took another picture of him on our way back up the trail:

Either way, it’s a good reminder as to why you don’t stick your hands in dark places in the desert!

Tags: desert, hiking, mystery monster, spring