In Native American folklore, the coyote is a "trickster" and “shape-shifter” character who participated in the creation of the world and gave names to many of the other creatures and things of the earth. Sometimes the Coyote character was so mischievous and involved in his own trickery that he would trick himself. According to Trickster myths, this is why there are so many mistakes in the way things are in the world. In the Native American way of thinking, Coyote medicine is in the world to teach us to laugh at ourselves and not take things too seriously. He reminds us that no matter how many difficult situations we may find ourselves in, as we "shape-shift" our personality and evolve, we can always see another side. That may sound contradictory, but that's the crazy-coyote way. There are thousands of stories about Coyote, the Trickster.

I caught this guy at the Grand Canyon North Rim and here is a funny story about the old Trickster...I spent about 15 minutes following this coyote with my Jeep nearby, and thankfully it was not a busy road, however another car showed up and was curious what I was shooting, and when the other driver realized it, he started getting in my way. I gave him some time to catch a shot with camera, and then jockeyed my position back in front of him, so I could continue my shoot. So then the guy comes rolling back up on me and asks me the following: "Is that a Mountain Lion?" I replied, "No, its a Coyote"...at this point the guy let out a snort, gave me a weird look, and left as though I had just been horribly wasting his time.