Ringtail? Check

If you spend any time in the outdoors, you probably keep a list, at least in your head - a list of wild animals you've encountered. My family's unofficial list starts off with mule deer and elk, and continues on with dozens of birds and animals we've spotted, watched or photographed through the years. (Among our favorites: a badger and an ermine, at two separate locations.)

Now we can add the elusive ringtail to that list (or at least my daughter can). She's a tour guide at Cave of the Winds, where ringtails, nocturnal members of the raccoon family, have been known to hang out. She spotted one of these little lemur-like animals in the sinkholes next to the gift shop. Cave of the Winds long-timers say the ringtails, easy to recognize because of their very long ringed tails, are great cavers.