Eastern Chipmunk (Dale, perhaps)

After a quick snack (12:45 p.m.), I walked to another side of a small wooded area at Boyertown Park.  It was June 7th, sunny and warm (73 degrees Fahrenheit), with a nice breeze.  I was looking for a chipmunk.  I knew they had to spend time in the area, given the size of the park and the fact that the area I was searching had trees that were somewhat closely packed, bushes, and the ground was covered in forest debris.  I finally started to see them; this was the best picture I could take:

Eastern Chipmunks blend into their environment so well, I had to add an arrow into the picture.  They are a relatively small rodent (not quite a food long and weighing about a quarter pound) with reddish-brown body fur.  They have alternating dark and light brown stripes running along their pack, parallel to their spine.  Their dark tails are not as long or bushy as a squirrel's.  Their face has distinct light brown stripes of fur--one pair running from their nose to ear, the other pair running along the lower eye lid and back to the ear. 

My favorite experience with Eastern Chipmunks occurred while camping.  My daughter (4 at the time) left some art supplies on a picnic table while she went to the restroom.  When we got back to our campsite, two chipmunks were grabbing her markers.  She screamed "no!" and approached the table.  They carried as many markers as they could and ran up a nearby tree.  A few days ago, my daughter (23 now) told me that she felt guilty about losing her markers because she had stuffed candy into the ends of the lids, and she thinks that's why the chipmunks wanted them.