Fence lizard?

I guess it's a fence lizard since it was sitting on a fence post. Had a visit today from an old friend so I had such a late start bike riding that I just had a short 8 mile ride up the Susanville Ranch Park trail system. It was nice, a little windy but nice and cool and I didn't see even one person. I love that, being so anti-social and everything. Since it was a Saturday I really expected to see somebody, but I guess there must be a football game on or something, nobody was out there but me.

Tomorrow it's off to my 30 mile ride up on Diamond Mountain. I love that one and by the time I get home I'm usually ready to get off of my bike for a while. Go figure!

Crystal

Crystal Peak, that is. Yesterday my friend Chris and I did a little bike ride from Frenchman Work Center up to Crystal Peak and back. It was a pretty good climb, around 2000 feet from the lake level to the top of Crystal Peak. The weather was about perfect for that ride, a little windy but cool enough so that the exertion didn't overheat us. Crystal Peak is right on the escarpment between the mountains and the desert. Nice views in every direction. Of course the downhill part was pretty cool, and a nice payback for the climb.

Ya just had to love a day like yesterday, and needless to say, I did.

Wildlife sighting!

Ok, it's not like I don't see my share of wildlife when I'm out and about. I came around a corner on the Babcock Peak road a while back and there was a bear walking down the road about 100 feet away. I stopped my bike and said "whoa" out loud and it stopped, turned and looked at me for a minute. Now I've seen bears in the woods before and I usually try to get as close as I can to get a good look at them, but I also usually have a large amount of metal around me from the vehicle I'm in. When you see an animal like that and you have nothing between you and it, the perspective of the situation changes. Fortunately after looking at me momentarily, this bear ran the other direction. (Which is exactly what I wanted it to do.)

Anyway, today the wildlife was a little smaller and slimier. Heard some big bullfrogs calling in this beaver pond today too. Oh, no picture of the bear, unfortunately.