This is Elivs, the camel who lives over on 7th Avenue.

                                       

Doesn't he look like a cigarette ad?

Now, you might wonder why those nice folks over on 7th Avenue would name their camel Elvis, but - before I inquired after that bit of info - I'd be more interested in the question why do these people own a camel in the first place?

Sure, this is a desert -but it's not a desert like the Sahara. There's water to be found - if nothing else, at any of the outposts of civilization. You wouldn't need a critter that could go all day without a drink of water here in central Arizona.

But I've never seen these folks ride Elvis (or the other camel, that you can see behind him in the next corral)- as far as I can tell, Elvis' whole purpose in life is to stand in his corral by the road and entertain the passers-by.

Obviously some of those folks feed Elvis (whatever it is that a camel eats) because he came over and tried to find out if cell phone cameras were edible:

                                     

(they aren't).

See that pink glow behind him? You might think that that's sunrise, and you'd be correct - but when I took this shot, I was facing south-west. Around here, when the sun comes up, the entire horizon - all the way around, 360 degrees - turns bright pink. I don't know what causes that, but I do know that I like it.