The Coyote always wins.... Sort of.

Well I promised you a Roadrunner and a Roadrunner you will get!

First I must thank all of you who submitted some very creative ideas on how I

might capture the elusive bird.

We had Hayden suggesting that I use my hunting Doodles covering the

right and left flanks while I charge up the middle....

Theresa - ever true to tradition - suggested that I call ACME...

Seems like when all else failed in those old cartoons ACME came to the rescue.

But the best suggestion came from Bob.

Leave it to the Marines to figure it out.

Bob said to paint a tunnel on a rock and when the road runner ran into it and got knocked

unconscious I would be able to snap the photo.

So Bob...   I took your suggestion.

Only problem was that when I painted the tunnel...  and I chased the Roadrunner...

he ran thru the tunnel..   but when I tried to follow him..

 I hit the rock and was knocked unconscious!

Go Figure.

This morning we departed our home for the last week..

Dead Horse Ranch State Park

I had given it one last try this morning.  I was up at the crack of dawn

(which comes very early here in Arizona)

I scoured the desert...   no Roadrunner to be found.

I could hear them calling and taunting me...

Finally we broke camp, hitched up the coach and started to drive out of the park.

All of a sudden what runs in front of the truck...?

You guessed it...  those same 2 Roadrunners from the other day!

The little rat bast...ds were out to taunt me one last time.

So I hit the brakes and yell to Kate...  get the camera....

She yells: "Where is the camera"???

But he stopped in the road....

Looking at me....

Standing all alert...

then he ran for the bush..

And we got this shot of him running.

Suddenly...

He stopped at the side of the road and took one last look at me...

It was like I could hear him saying:

"Go ahead...  make my day!"

Here he is looking all alert.

finally he charged into the bush.

I could hear the shutter on the camera clicking constantly.

I asked Kate - did you get any pictures...  she yells back...  

I don't know.

You can see from the above shot just how hard they can be to find in the bush.

So...  Now I realize that these photos are not going to make it into National Geographic,

or win me the Pulitzer Prize for Animal Photography...

But we got him!

After 2 weeks of constant stalking...  We got him.

It wasn't 30 seconds prior to this that I had just said to Kate that since we

were leaving prime roadrunner country, that I would have to google the

bird to see where else I might continue the hunt...

Now we can go to Grand Canyon in peace!