Rattler Tails and Tales

Some skeptics (you know who you are...) felt that my rattlesnake might not be a rattlesnake, because they couldn't see the the... you know... rattle.

So, in the interest of full disclosure, here is a rattlesnake rattle.

Enjoy!

Seek and ye shall find... snakes!

Up until today, I hadn't seen a rattlesnake in... oh... over 20 years, even though I hike in prime rattlesnake territory on an almost weekly basis.

Well, today, as I stepped off trail to watch a mini-landslide caused by a deer, I almost stepped right on this beautiful 20-inch guy.

He was calm about it - never even rattling. We got a bunch of photos, and then I attempted to catch him. Despite all those Jeff Corwin episodes I've watched, this guy was just too fast.

Judging by my Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians (a must have for any amateur naturalist), it's a Northern Pacific Rattlesnake, a subspecies of the "excitable and aggressive" Western Rattlesnake.

Enjoy!

Baby Snake

How cool is that?

I caught this little snake in the Rocky Mountains, while visiting my brother.
Snake-catching is one of my favorite hiking pasttimes.

A hike isn't really complete if I don't get the chance to chase down and grab one.