On our trip to Utah we saw tons of amazing scenery. From Delicate Arch to remote places of the Needles to random slot canyons, we saw as much as we could get to. However, while everyone else was looking up at the scenery I was looking down. So, I probably couldn’t tell you what a lot of what the scenery was even like lol. The truth was that I wanted to find a rattlesnake. The sad part was that I didn’t ever actually find one. This fact seemed to be pleasing to my mom for some reason, but honestly I was kinda disappointed. If you are like my mom it is a good thing if you do not see any wildlife that is even remotely dangerous; however, it is important to be knowledgeable about the wildlife that could potentially be harmful in case you do see them. For example, if you are setting up a tent and there is a spider web, you might want to know what kind of spider it is before you decide to destroy its web to make room for your tent. It could also be important to know that scorpions sometimes like to crawl inside shoes during the night. It is always better to be prepared than to simply pretend they don’t exist. For those of you like me, it is important to have a healthy fear of dangerous wildlife. If you find a rattlesnake, first, you are luckier than me, but second, don’t pick it up. Living is always better than being dead. In short, just be smart. Pay attention to wildlife warning signs that are usually located at the beginning of trailheads so that you know what to look out for.

There are also many other animals to see that aren’t quite as dangerous, depending on where you are; you just have to keep an eye out for them. Here are some of the ones we found.

Mule Deer

These guys were everywhere. We saw them a lot throughout the trip, but they were cool every time we saw them.

Elk

We didn’t see many elk until we got to the Grand Canyon, then we saw them everywhere. It was crazy. They didn’t even care that people were driving by them as they grazed on the grass beside the road.

Cows

These aren’t exactly wild animals, but they are open range so it’s almost the same thing. You had to be careful, because you could turn the corner and end up with a new hood ornament, or become one.

Lizards

I don’t think it’s humanly possible to count the number of lizards we saw. It felt like they were literally forming out of the crevices of the rocks.

Fish

Fish weren’t as prevalent. At least in the areas we were. Utah is a desert after all. But anyways, we did do one hike that was beside a creek that was loaded with trout. I was really wishing I had my fishing pole with me.

Insects

Most of the insects we saw were annoying (e.g. mosquitoes, flies, gnats, and the like), but some of the ones we saw were pretty cool.

Scorpions

I turned over literally hundreds of rocks searching for these guys. I did find a couple so it wasn’t all for nothing.

Black Widow

This is the spider that happened to be the owner of the web that I mentioned earlier. So, yeah, that was a fun night for Gavin sleeping by the Black Widow.

Jerusalem Cricket

This guy is really cute. The funny part is that Justin was taking care of some business in the woods when he saw this guy staring at him.

Snakes

Like I said earlier, I didn’t find any rattlesnakes like I wanted to, but we did find a couple snakes. This one is a gopher snake. It often gets itself killed, because it will widen its head like a rattlesnake, make a rattling sound with its throat and rustle leaves. People mistake it for a rattlesnake and kill it. We knew better and left him to go his merry way (not that we wouldn’t have with a rattlesnake).

Well that’s all the pictures I have for now. If you’ve had any cool wildlife encounters in your travels please comment and let us know. We would be glad to hear about them.

Camden