If I'm not posting here, I'm running. And I haven't posted here in quite a while, which means I've been doing quite a lot of running. In fact I've been running more-than-half-marathons almost every single Saturday for several months now - and almost as much every Sunday.
But the 11-miler I finished a couple of hours ago this morning had a twist. My favorite area for these long morning expeditions is a neighborhood called McDowell Mountain Ranch - in the McDowell Mountains, a couple miles north of my house. I especially love this area because it is not only a great cardiovascular workout with strenuous hills to run in, but it also provides over 500 feet of elevation and a spectacular view of the Scottsdale city lights when done in the dark - which it usually is as I do most of my running early in the morning.
Well this morning there I was rounding the top of the curve in the road at the highest point on my route when I noticed a big black lump just ahead of me on the sidewalk. Just as I was starting to conclude that this was a garbage bag that had fallen or been thrown from some vehicle, the "lump" heard my footsteps approaching, jumped to its feet, and scurried off into the brush. It was a javelina!
Now, there is a trail in this area which is called the Javelina Trail - but I wasn't on it. And I'd never seen a javelina just decide to take a nap in the middle of a sidewalk before. But I'm glad my footsteps apparently woke it up and scared it off before I got any closer.
Wonder if it's time to start tying some bells to my running shoes?
Oh geez....I can hardly look at that thing....and that upward pointing tusk....uggghh!
ReplyDelete