Salamander

I must interrupt the cruise to bring you an image of a creature Hans & I encountered on our Bear Valley walk yesterday, an animal new to us. It sat so still as we photographed it that we finally wondered if it might be plastic; but a little tickling with a piece of dried grass caused a slight movement. Some passing Park Rangers identified it as a Pacific Giant Salamander and told us it can get twice the size of this 10-inch specimen. It's unusual for it to be on the dry path in daylight, so we scored yesterday! It eventually scampered off into the grass.