I saw a mountain lion today!!! How cool is that?

I was riding up to Saguaro National Park, and about 1/4 mile from the entrance. The area is a neighborhood of low density housing with a lot of desert vegetation. The lion walked across the road as I was riding toward it, stepped into the desert brush and stopped 30-40 feet off the road. It turned and looked at me as I passed.

I was so excited, it gave me an extra burst of energy for that last 1/4 mile.

I was a field biologist before I was a teacher, and I have spent countless hours in appropriate habitats birding and working as a biologist, and though I've seen tracks I've never seen a lion.