Chuckwalla Crossing

I hiked up Camelback Mountain this morning, and saw my first Chuckwalla. I was hiking along Cholla Trail, along the spine, up near the summit, and I came across this giant lizard (probably 14-16 inches1). The thing really startled me as I looked up just in time to see him scurry into a crevice not 3-4 feet in front of me. I probably would have put my hand on that crevice had I not seen him lurking there.

I kept going up to the top, but returned on my way back down, and to my surprise, he had come back out, and was sunning himself on the rock. I got a few good pictures of him on my cell phone, but I don't know how to transfer them to my computer (where's Colman when I need him?). The Chuckwalla pictured here is a little smaller, and less colored than the one I saw today.

I will say this - I have yet to see a Chuckwalla at the rock gym!