Jacqueline wanted to head back to the Virgin River Gorge to do a hike, so I found 4-wheel drive track
that went out to an overlook of the Virgin River from Starvation Point. It was a warm Monday morning, but not to the point of what the low desert area can reach as far as temps. The flower's were out and so were the animals. I was shocked to see a very large lizard ahead of me. Luckily I had my interpreter fiance with me who exclaimed, "It's a Gila Monster!
They are really rare and also really poisonous." We kept our distance, not learning until later that while being poisonous and lizards, they just so happen to also be really slow. We probably could have figured it out from the way that it walked where it seemed to be walking on
its fist, similar to that of a crocodile or some kind of amphibous lizard. The main difference being that this thing lives about as far from the water as possible. It was awesome, something out of the Cretaceous. Around the corner, we were able to find an arch. I am sure that it has a name, but we are
not sure so we'll name it Gila Monster Arch in honor of the rare desert creature. Not too far away from this, we spotted another interesting creature. The Leopard Lizard has spots like a leopard. We actually
saw three total, but they were very awesome. It moved so quick. Supposedly they are very aggressive. Good thing it is only a few inches long. After all of this we finally arrived at our destination. Truly, I am usually not the type to go on a hike hoping to spot wildlife, but this one was sure a good one so far. We sat down and enjoy
ed the view of the Virgin River. I did not wonder why this was called Starvation Point because of the bare, dry landscape. There is most likely a good story behind the name, but topographical maps usually do not come with stories. We headed back since our road dead ended. Jacqueline looked up and pointed out a unique sight in the sky. There was barely a cloud in the sky, but the one that was right in front of us was basically a rainbow.
It is a sight I have seen only one other time hiking toward Lyell Pass in Yosemite. On the way back, I looked to try to find the interesting little insect that we saw during the morning before all of the other interesting animals. Unfortunately, we did n
ot get any more glimpses of the Arizona Blister Beetle. To round out our animals, we found one that was more familiar. The Horned Lizard can shoot blood out of its eyes at approaching predators, but this was one that we see in Zion frequently. It turned out to be a short half day hike of 8-10 miles with so much wildlife. It just shows the need to go to places where others do not go as this was right off the freeway, but still we could see with the diverse flora and fauna that it sure helps to enter the pristine zone.
that went out to an overlook of the Virgin River from Starvation Point. It was a warm Monday morning, but not to the point of what the low desert area can reach as far as temps. The flower's were out and so were the animals. I was shocked to see a very large lizard ahead of me. Luckily I had my interpreter fiance with me who exclaimed, "It's a Gila Monster! 
They are really rare and also really poisonous." We kept our distance, not learning until later that while being poisonous and lizards, they just so happen to also be really slow. We probably could have figured it out from the way that it walked where it seemed to be walking on 
its fist, similar to that of a crocodile or some kind of amphibous lizard. The main difference being that this thing lives about as far from the water as possible. It was awesome, something out of the Cretaceous. Around the corner, we were able to find an arch. I am sure that it has a name, but we are 
not sure so we'll name it Gila Monster Arch in honor of the rare desert creature. Not too far away from this, we spotted another interesting creature. The Leopard Lizard has spots like a leopard. We actually 
saw three total, but they were very awesome. It moved so quick. Supposedly they are very aggressive. Good thing it is only a few inches long. After all of this we finally arrived at our destination. Truly, I am usually not the type to go on a hike hoping to spot wildlife, but this one was sure a good one so far. We sat down and enjoy
ed the view of the Virgin River. I did not wonder why this was called Starvation Point because of the bare, dry landscape. There is most likely a good story behind the name, but topographical maps usually do not come with stories. We headed back since our road dead ended. Jacqueline looked up and pointed out a unique sight in the sky. There was barely a cloud in the sky, but the one that was right in front of us was basically a rainbow.
It is a sight I have seen only one other time hiking toward Lyell Pass in Yosemite. On the way back, I looked to try to find the interesting little insect that we saw during the morning before all of the other interesting animals. Unfortunately, we did n
ot get any more glimpses of the Arizona Blister Beetle. To round out our animals, we found one that was more familiar. The Horned Lizard can shoot blood out of its eyes at approaching predators, but this was one that we see in Zion frequently. It turned out to be a short half day hike of 8-10 miles with so much wildlife. It just shows the need to go to places where others do not go as this was right off the freeway, but still we could see with the diverse flora and fauna that it sure helps to enter the pristine zone.
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