Spiny Lizard

A spiny lizard, shot on a sunny day while on a hike at the Gila Cliff Dwellings in Southwest New Mexico. I encountered several of these lizards sunbathing along the way. This one was particularly calm and let me get really close for a few photos. Having lived in Arizona for over a decade I’ve seen quite a few reptiles and lizards, but never one quite like this. I found the spiky scales to be very interesting.