We were driving downhill from our RV resort on the way to get a few things at Marcos grocery…reluctantly on my part, when we saw something about to cross the road.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “start with a question.” Begin your post with the first question that comes to mind when you sit down to write your post. Bonus points if you end your post with a question too. Have fun!– Linda Hill

”Was that a cat?” I asked Dave. Problem was, it’s head was obscured as he was flattened to the ground as he scurried back the way he came, into the yard of a farm from which he came.

He said he thought it was one of those prairie dogs or groundhog or something. I didn’t think so. It was the same color as a yellow tabby cat, big-looked to be about 10 pounds at least, with a yellow bushy tail.

It bugged me so much, I came back to the RV and looked up animals of southwest Colorado. The closest thing I could match it to was this cute little guy.

To me, the tail doesn’t look bushy enough, but maybe they flare up like cats when scared. It was sort of colored like the picture on the right, but more sable than red.

Want to know what he is? A marmot!!

This thing looked big enough to be a housepet, and since he went back into the yard, I was sure it was a cat. He was doing that thing cats do when they’re hunting…slinking across the ground as he approached the street. He saw the car and spun back around, running flat still, back into the yard.

We’ve seen chipmunks, and those funny looking squirrels, but this was the biggest thing I’ve seen yet. The articles I read on them said they get to 15 pounds and are in the same family as groundhogs. They use summertime to scrounge for food, needing to gain all their weight before they burrow in with their brood of females for the winter.

They are social, but should not be taken in as a pet. They and their razor-sharp front teeth would simply destroy your house because of their insatiable need to chew. Kind of like a beaver. They live at high altitudes, which fits, since we are at 7,000ft or more, and can be found in the rocks of the mountains to open habitats. The latter would be a lighter color for camouflage.

They are the heaviest members of the squirrel family. They have short but robust legs and large claws suitable for digging. They aren’t seen during the winter because they are underground in their burrows for protection against the cold. They whistle loudly when alarmed and when communicating. They eat grasses, berries, lichens, mosses, roots and flowers.

I hope I get a chance to see one again with time to snap a photo. I’m still waiting for an opportunity to catch one of those cute little squirrels with my camera phone as well. They’re just too fast!