November 25, 2023 – Traveling with Rich & Julie
My Little Armored One
I couldn’t begin to count how many dead armadillos we have seen on the roads across America. They are usually small ones too.
Every once in a while, Rich will holler “armadillo” as we are driving 70 miles per hour down a highway. I always tell him to stop or turn around and go back to no avail.
I had never seen a live armadillo in the wild before and it is one of those stupid bucket list things – until today.
Today we drove to the Guntersville Dam on Guntersville Lake in Alabama. I wanted to see the Locks and spend a little time at the scenic overlook.
It was a gorgeous sunny day and the view was amazing. I packed us a picnic lunch and off we went.
According to the encyclopedia — The Guntersville dam generates 140,400 kilowatts of electricity with four hydraulic turbines and four generators. It stands 94 feet high and 3,979 feet wide. Water below the dam averages 20 to 30 feet deep.
After relaxing for a while, eating lunch, and watching the boats and birds, we got in the car to leave the dam and drive to the next scenic spot.
I spotted an animal in the yard on the side of the road to the left and hollered “Stop! That’s an armadillo!”
I think I opened my car door before the vehicle was completely stopped and jumped out. It was not just an armadillo; it was a huge armadillo.
The nine-banded armadillo is the only species found in the United States. These armadillos can be found in the southeastern United States, including Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, and Florida.
I took a lot of pictures and videos. I can now add armadillo to the list of animals I have seen alive in the wild and cross it off the bucket list. It was fun to watch it root around in the ground for bugs and insects. You can even count the nine bands in the photo above.
Did you know that I wrote a children’s book about armadillos? Specifically about one named Amelia.
Have you ever seen a live nine-banded armadillo in the wild?
Thanks for reading.
*all photos are taken by me unless otherwise noted.