Desert Spiny Lizard

(backie)

Like many desert lizards, desert spiny lizards adjust their internal temperature by changing color so they are darker during cool times, which allows them to absorb more heat from the sun, and become lighter during warm times so they reflect more solar radiation. The desert spiny lizard also uses camouflage so it is not so easily seen by predators.

Usually, during the morning hours, it will be out basking in the sun on rocks or any hard surface that is in direct sunlight, but like many desert reptiles, it will seek shelter, usually underground in burrows or any suitable cover that provides shade, during the hottest part of the day in the summertime, as shade provides cooler temperatures than on the ground's surface. It hibernates in late fall and during the cold months of winter before re-emerging in spring.
h/t Wikipedia

The highlighted selection above explains why I spotted the lizard when I looked out my bedroom window. Pretty gnarly in large. You can get a better sense of its size.
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What do you call a lizard that tells damaging lies about you?
A slandermander