Arizona is the Australia of the U.S.

If you don't get what I mean by the title, let me explain:

Australia is known for it's critters/wildlife. Have I been there? No. But I internet enough to know. Google Earth people. It's just like traveling in real life, without the million hour plane flight. (Yes, this is called sarcasm. Chill.)

I'm not a huge fan of critters. In Minnesota, all we have are some wolf spiders, frogs, bees, and mosquitos. (My experience is based on what's in my backyard.) Don't get me wrong, there are snakes, but none that want to harm me. And I haven't seen a snake in the "wild" since I was 6.

I knew there was a chance of seeing some critters in Arizona, but did I know I would see 3 of the scary ones within 30 seconds of each other?

No. The answer to that is a clear NO.

We stepped outside the door and a giant spider skittered across the path. Jalon stomped on it for me. But I still freaked a bit.

Then we take 3 more steps and a frog jumps out from a bush.

Alright. Fine. I've seen frogs before. No big deal.

Then, 2 more steps, we discover a snake, chilling in the rocks, right in front of us.

I'm done.

Time to go.

Arizona, it was nice knowing ya, but I'm out.

Here are some pictures I was able to grab of the "critters" we saw. I did not have my camera for the dead scorpion we found in a garage. Missed opportunity. Part of me wanted to take it home to scare the kids. The other part of me wanted to learn to hover so my feet never touched the ground again. (Ever get that feeling that you want to curl up in a ball, so nothing can touch you, but you realize that you share the same ground as the bugs and no matter how small you curl up, they can still get you? Do I sound a wee bit paranoid?)

Do you see his little head poking out?

So adorable!

I don't know what the heck this was. Sorry.

I left my wildlife dictionary at the hotel.

I wanted to take him home...but the kids would squish him.

I know that this doesn't really show the size of the ant, but it was huge.

I promise.

We don't grow them like that up here.

This ant was so large, that those rocks you are seeing are actually boulders.

(You can trust me...why would I lie? No, I'm not overly dramatic, Jalon. This ant could have worn my shoes.)

I do not know what this is.

But it's huge.

I did not squish it.

It looks like it would have a HUGE crunch factor.

Nothing worse than hearing/feeling the crunch of a bug. Bleh. 

Do you see it?!

THE SNAKE!

(I keep spelling it snack, it's driving me crazy. I might need to eat something...)

He didn't try to attack us or anything, but I can't say I lingered long after this to find out.

A very blurry picture of the frog.

I'm not typically afraid of frogs.

But in Arizona, I have a feeling that a healthy dose of fear with ALL wildlife is a smart thing to carry around with you. You never know which one will kill you eventually.