Walter at the Grand Canyon
On my last trip across the US, I thought it might be fun to have a mascot for my travel blog. Nothing real elaborate, just something that I could easily take with me on hikes and that would show up in pictures of wherever I hiked. The answer was Walter, a bright yellow-and-black-spotted lizard I picked up at Wal-mart a few years ago. So, Walter traveled with me in my camera bag on all of our hikes, and although I forgot to take pictures of him on every single hike, he shows up in my pictures of most of the places I went on that trip. I have uploaded these pictures, which will give you an idea of what parks I went to on this particular trip.
I thought it might be best if I let Walter introduce himself. He’s quite an outgoing sort of guy who loves to travel as much (or more) than I do. He also has a sense of humor, which is good: I don’t think he’d be a very good traveling companion unless we could both laugh when we’re hopelessly lost in the middle of the desert!
Walter at Bisti National Wilderness Area
“Hi! My name is Walter, and as Anne said, I love to travel. My first trip was this past May, and I was so excited I could barely wait to get out of the camera bag and into my first picture. I really don’t mind being in the bag for most of the trip; it’s nice and cozy, if a little cramped, and a great place to sleep when we’re not on the trail. On my first trip, we went to a variety of parks in the Southwest US including Grand Canyon, Bryce, Bisti, and Grand Staircase-Escalante. Check out the pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/65713167@N07/sets/72157627172895635/!
“I love to be in the sun, so my favorite times of day are sunrise (soaking in the first rays of sunlight) and sunset (soaking in the last rays of sunlight). You’ll see me in a lot of photos at those times of day. I also enjoy seeing the view, but I’m so short that I have to get up on top of things to be able to see very much. Thankfully, there are a lot of tall rocks and bushes around that I can climb on. One person even let me climb on his shoulder, although the pictures of it didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped.
Where’s Walter
“The worst thing about being in so many pictures is that I don’t know how to smile. Anne says that’s ok, she likes me the way I am; but I do wish I wasn’t grimacing in all of her pictures. The best thing about being in so many pictures is that Anne takes me with her wherever she goes, so I get to see so much of the US.
“As some extra fun, Anne has hidden me in some of the pictures…see if you can find me! Each of these pictures is named “Where’s Walter?” I hope you enjoy the pictures of my trips as much as I enjoyed traveling!”
~Walter Thelizard