Arizona: Grand Finale!

Carl woke up an hour early again (thanks Iphone/ATT).  My alarm hadn't gone off and I didn't question him and started getting ready.  I realized my mistake a few minutes later and lay back down.  Poor Carl had been up for a while, had his coffee and was stuck waiting for us to catch some more z's.

We were still on the road pretty early, and attempted some morning roadcruising for a few hours.  It was unfortunately less than productive.  We saw DOR coachwhip, whiptails and a hit mohave.  We were hoping for desert box turtles, hognoses and horned lizards.  We enjoyed a relaxed all you can eat breakfast at a truck stop that was actually quite good before setting off for the Tuscon airport.  Brian and I bid Carl a good day and set out for our next leg.

We arrived at a place Carl and I had luck at on the previous trip later that afternoon.  We were feeling lazy and there were some road issues so we hung our during the heat until a couple hours before dusk.

Elegant Earless Lizard Holbrookia elegans

Brian is probably less than thrilled about this picture...

Not all was lost as a good sized gopher was crossing the road slowly.

We tried hiking some talus for an hour without much luck, and then met up with an old friend from the midwest, Terry C.  Terry had lived in Ohio and Michigan, so we had met up a few times over the years and I was bummed he moved to Arizona about the time I moved to Michigan.  We roadcruised with Terry for a few hours some luck, all actually before dark.

This large atrox was crossing the road very near the gopher snake.

As well as this very large, and attractive molossus that was crossing the road just at dusk.

We cruising for a few more hours after dusk without any luck.  Oddly, it seemed to be great conditions and we know things were moving...

Brian and I slept on the mountain, one last night under the stars.  It was a great night, but I had ants crawling over me most of the time which made it a little hard to sleep soundly.  Luckily, it was very easy to get up early and we were soon on the road.  We had decided to try another new range for us, with the hope to get twinspots for Brian and to try and take another stab at cerberus.  I refused to give up. On the way up the forest road that morning I commented how excellent the boulders looked for a basking collared lizard.  It wasn't a few minutes later that I spotted one.

Eastern Collared Lizard Crotaphytus collaris

It was a first for both of us and we were pretty excited about this.  We hiked a small canyon with running water and were pleased to see the abundance of lizards that were out.

Gila Spotted Whiptail Aspidoscelis flagellicauda

I had just caught up to Brian after stopping to photograph the lizards when he yelled snake and dove.  He looked defeated on the ground as I ran up to him. Evidently I spooked the snake back to him and a little half dive from the ground (heroic some might say) by him provided a new species for the trip!

Striped Whipsnake Coluber taeniatus

We hiked a bit more with just a few more lizards so we decided to head up the mountains.  Walking out near a small talus slide at high elevation quickly turned up the 9th rattlesnake species of the trip.  I was glad Brian spotted this one.

Price's Rattlesnake or Twin-spotted Rattlesnake Crotalus pricei as spotted by Brian in situ

We checked some more of the rocks in the morning sun and were suprised to not see more.  Feeling real good, with 2 of our 3 planned targets for the day down, we decided to head back down a little lower in elevation.  We enjoyed the nice weather and great vistas with sammiches and a cold beverage.  We found a nice hillside a bit lower and we worked it hard for those pesky Arizona Blacks I keep talking about.  I spotted another whipsnake but we let it continue on its way. 

Acorn Woodpecker

We noticed nasty storm clouds on the horizon and dust storms blowing across the desert and we called it quits to make some decisions...  We could stay here and take our chances with rain all around and probably have crappy cruising with rapidly falling temperatures, or we could head back to Tuscon, try to out run the rain and hope for drier conditions.  Our plan was to head home to Phoenix from here tomorrow, and Tuscon is a bit out of the way.  We checked some satellite imagery, and opted for the drive.  The race. was. on.  We hauled it to the freeway and headed to the location we had hiked a few days earlier with Carl hoping for cerbs.  We we had tried to roadcruise the area that night there had been tons of rain and we of course didn't see much.  Well we got to our road an hour before dusk with great temps, dry conditions and thunderstorms all in the distance.  Of course, on the first pass through all of our persistence and hard work payed off and I went beserk.

Arizona Black Rattlesnake Crotalus cerberus or "cerb"

Do you love it?  I do...

We cruised another pass or two without any luck and decided to try a little bit lower.  Still no luck.  I didn't care.  We decided to just book it to Phoenix for a good nights sleep in comfy clean beds and relaxing day before flying back.  Of course I couldn't resist hitting a road on the way home and stirring up another sidewinder.

It was a little tough getting home when the highs of the day wore off.  Evidently I swerved once on the highway when Brian was sleeping and got pulled over again.  Carl got a speeding ticket earlier in the trip and we had talked with so many border patrol agents by this time.  Many encounters were very reasonable, but we had our cars searched twice at check points, once with the full over with the drug dog.  Anyway, this cop was talking to me about swerving and I just mentioned I was tired after a week of camping.  He said "smells like you guys have been camping for a week!"  That was enjoyable...

The last day Brian and I were lazy and hung around the house and swam in the pool.  We had some friends over for a beer and some homemade tacos, which really hit the spot.  I couldn't drag Brian out for one last night, so Marisa and I tried roadcruising around near the house and where we had luck earlier in the trip. 

More blacktail!  Crotalus molossus

Red-spotted Toad Bufo punctatus

We unfortunately also found a DOR gila monster.  I was bummed thinking it might be the last herp of a really great trip, but I soon spotted this large king crossing the road in a cool and damp area.

California Kingsnake Lampropeltis getula

We were working our way back and I decided to try cruising through a neighborhood I think should have tigers (rattlesnakes of course). I accidently turned up a driveway instead of a road and payed visit to a multimillion dollar house.  45 seconds later on the way back down I saw a flattened gila monster in the middle of the driveway.  Mortified that I had been the one to hit it, I was very pleased to see it start to move off the road.

I wish I could brag that was the last herp of the trip, but we also saw a stinking gopher snake right by the house.   All in all, it was an amazing trip.  There was great company, highs and lows, and awesome animals.  It was a pleasure to to spend time with Carl and Brian again, as well as run into some old friends in Mike, Terry and Marisa.  I can't wait to do it all again another time.  There are still tons of animals to see!

BH

Click here for Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV.

Arizona: SE Continued

Today we woke up and got on the road nice and early.  It wasn't the best night sleep in the world.  I can't remember which exact days it happened, but around now Carl's stinking Iphone kept switchin over to NM time (we were hours from the border) and he would wake up to his alarm and start getting ready for the day.  This time Brian and I stirred a little and noticed something wasn't right.  It was pretty dark outside. We told Carl we would see him in an hour.

We had a little drive in front of us and we wanted to be sure to have most of the day available for hiking.  We were hoping to check out some areas of the Chiricauha Mountains.  We were really still hoping for a pyro, and they turn up pretty regularly over there.  The Chiris had been ravaged by the fires that roasted areas of Arizona all summer.  Most of the roads, campgrounds and hiking trails were actually closed to public use.  Carl and I had hiked a trail in 2007 that we thought looked excellent, although it didn't produce anything other than lizards at the time.  It was open, and although fires had torn through there, it was already turning green after the rains.

We explored an excellent looking hillside for the few hour or two and were frustrated to not turn anything up.  I think the lack of sleep and close quarters was getting to wear on us a bit, and there was a bit of a snafu regarding the ID of a Sceloporus...  We needed some finds and fast.  I had spotted a talus slide up the hill and a bit up the trail.  While working to it we started to wander through an ever increasing rocky hillside.  I was extremely pleased to be buzzed by a Rock Rattlesnake Crotalus lepidus klauberi.  This seems to be my specialty,  where Carl excels at finding willardi. Today was looking up!

I have heard people discuss and argue about the greenish coloration of klaubs and how hard it is to get it to show up in photos like it did in person.  I am extremely frustrated to admit my experiences are similar.  This animal had a very nice green stripe running down the back which I failed to truly capture.

You can seen the burned ground with some shoots of green starting to poke through.

We ended up in a system of extensive talus.  I was hoping for twin-spot rattlesnakes, but I wonder if we weren't high enough in elevation.

I ended up being buzzed by 2 more klauberi in the rocks, which quickly disapeared, and Brian also was buzzed by one as well, making our total for the day 4.  The second one we saw briefly and it was more of a dark/reddish color.  I think Brian might have been the only one to get a shot of it.

At least the talus was dry today.

Fall off your bike?  Gotta get right back on!

I am suprised we didn't see more.  It was a pretty awesome day and snakes were out.  Love ya Chiris!

We cruised a bit that night with minimal success.  I was real happy to pick up the Green Toad Bufo debilis though.

Mexican Spadefoot Toad  Spea multiplicata

Mohave

We got up early and explored a new range for us a little into New Mexico.  It had poured the day before, but we had phenomenal weather.  I am shocked we didn't turn up more.  I heard this range is hard to hunt, and I think we did pretty well.  The holy grail of US herps eluded us.  All the more reason to go back another time.

Aspidoscelis sonorae  (could be uniparens?)

Aspidoscelis exanguis

Sceloporus sp (cowesli vs virgatus)

Hard work out there.  Who said herping is easy?

Prior to this trip my mom kept freaking out about us going to close to the border.  I never told her we were hiking within a few miles of it.  Huge immigration/drug trafficking site right here.  We were scoped out by numerous border patrol cars during the day, one helicopter and there was even a jet fly by.

We broke off for lunch and planned to explore some new areas.  I was still sitting by the car looking up the local whiptails in the guide when Brian started jumping for joy.  He had just made THE snake find of the trip.

Crotalus lepidus klauberi

Yowsa

It started to rain and Brian made like a wuss and hid in the car for a while.  The rain let up, the sun popped back out and I thought for sure we would see more.  (Nasty storms were in all the ranges around us while we had a little patch of sunny paradise to ourselves).  Brian dragged himself out of the car and it was a good thing he did because he found another new species for us.

Mountain Patchnose Snake Salvadora grahamiae that had just shed after the rain.

"Namesake"

By this time it was starting to get a little late.  We were gassed and yet pretty happy with the day. Shortly into the drive back to civilization, this beast was crossing the road.

Crotalus molossus  I told you when it rains, it pours.

We drove quite far that night to try and roadcruise for Arizona Black Rattlesnakes.  This would be our 4th or 5th effort to get in their habitat.  Skunked again.

Token mohave.

Still wouldn't want to be tagged by this cute little guy!

Breeding Bufo cognatus

This would be our last night with Carl as he was flying back in the afternoon tomorrow.   We turned in back to the hotel and got some rest with a plan to try and roadcruise during the morning before taking him back...

BH

Click here for Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV.

Arizona: SE

Brian, Carl and I were now a few days into our Arizona trip.  We had been doing pretty well, but we had missed out on a few targets.  Morale was a little low from a tough couple of days near Sedona.  We orchestrated our exodus from Phoenix and the north well though and were in location to cruise about 30 minutes before dusk near Tuscon.  We met up with an old buddy of mine who moved out to Tuscon this year, Mike R, enjoyed a quick car sandwich and hit the road.  I had been a little worried about running into masses of other herpers because the Biology of Rattlesnakes Symposium was currently underway in Tuscon.  We chose a less traveled location hoping traffic would be low...

A couple of passes were not fruitful, and we couldn't help but worry about plummeting temperatures and blustery winds.  Finally, a snake was spotted...

Gopher Snake Pituophis catenifer

We also noticed 2 or 3 other cars joining us on the road.

I spotted a stick-looking snake and called out to stop and check it out.  I wasn't too confident, and as we were backing up, I couldn't find what caught my eye.  Luckily, Mike saw it and yelled out "It's moving!"  Game on!

Tiger Rattlesnake Crotalus tigris

We kept at it and noticed another car pulled over on the road.  They were photographing a tiger rattlesnake of their own.

A little bit later we quickly photographed a WBD moving across the road.  One of the other cars pulled up and we told them what we were photographing.  A few of the cars inhabitants had never seen a WBD before so they filed out to get some pictures.  We were anxious to move on so Carl and I hopped in the car and started it up.  Brian and Mike stayed back...  I was being abnoxious, saying things like "Time to go!" and "Snakes are moving!".  Turns out none of the 4 people from the car (1 guy driving and 3 girls) had a flashlight.  They were all stupidly holding their phones out to try and light the snake with their "light apps".  It would have been funny if it wasn't so stupid.  Who in their right mind cruises at night in Arizona, basically for rattlesnakes, without a flashlight?  Mike and Brian are luckily nice guys and ignored me long enough to assist them with pictures. 

A bit later another group was photographing a young gila on the side of the road.  It was content to just sit on the side of the road and cooperate for pictures.

"beaded" lizard

The road was producing nicely, but it was getting late and we had some other targets on our mind.  Later, we hit pay dirt and got to see some very awesome amphibians.  Numerous border patrol interruptions later...

Sonoran Desert Toad Bufo alvarius

Kiss it.  I double dog dare you.

Great Plains Toad Bufo cognatus

Sonoran Green Toad Bufo retiformis

My favorite toad of the trip.

Lowland Burrowing Treefrog  Smilisca fodiens

Brian was pretty darn happy to see this!

On the way back a few more snakes were moving.

Our first Mohave Rattlesnake since Carl joined us, Crotalus scutulatus.  Unfortunately, we called this an atrox for some silly reason and Carl never got out of the car to look at it.

Long-nosed Snake Rhinocheilus lecontei

Carl and I saw a DOR long-nose, (we won't mention that Mike and Brian drove over it twice...) and an atrox.  We were all dozing off at the wheel, and decided to call it a night.  Many thanks to Mike for everything, and letting us crash on his floor.  I wish we could have spent more time hiking together.

The next morning we set out for a nice long mountain hike.  The weather looked sketchy, but we were ready for anything.  This would be a very memorable day for me...

We saw quite a few Canyon Treefrogs Hyla arenicolor

It started to rain, and true to form, Carl found his specialty crossing the trail.

Ridge-nosed Rattlesnake or Willard's Rattlesnake Crotalus willardi

We got poured on for the couple of hours and my camera gear and flashes started to act a little funky.  Carl came through again though, with another willardi out in the rain.

The rain finally let up and I decided to hike some talus.  Talus, or scree, is fractured, loose rock that has been worn off of a cliff face and can form fields of bare rock.  It is probably not the safest of materials to walk on dry, but soaking wet was just stupid.  I quickly realized my mistake, and was trying to get off the rock when I slip and fell on a large rock with an upward facing pointy edge.  I jumped up immediately to prove to myself I was ok to watch blood spray out of my shin.  Luckily, it didn't bleed that much after or really hurt too much.

Gore Warning:  If you don't like blood, scroll ahead quickly.

War wound

Many thanks to Carl for taking these shots!

I cleaned it out on the mountain and tried to stop the bleeding with a sweaty bandana.  This of course did not work.  The rain picked back up again and darkness was creeping so we started the long walk back to the car.  It was cold and rainy and Brian and Carl decided to call it a night.  I took this wonderful opportunity to get stitched up.  A bunch of stitches later it still looked like crap.

Might as well have done it myself...

And just for good measure, after a course of antibiotics and then a week or so of wet to dry dressings, here it is, now a little more than a month later.

We were feeling refreshed and ready to go the next morning after a good nights sleep, a warm shower and some tasty breakfast.  We got to our site early and quickly started finding stuff.  I was having some major camera problems from the rain and condensation, but after removing all my gear and leaving it in direct sunlight for 30 minutes or so things started to dry out for pictures.

We noticed a lizard rustling through the grass and we were able to use the 3 person corral method to capture it.  

Madrean Alligator Lizard  Elgaria kingii

As I went back to get my backpack from the car, I heard the tell-tale sound of a slither through leaves.  Again, trapping the snake from all angles was useful.

Sonoran Whipsnake  Coluber bilineatus

While looking hard for Arizona Black Rattlesnakes, Brian noticed a turtle a little way from his pond.

Sonoran Mud Turtle Kinosternon sonoriense

We would see a few of the sonoran whipsnakes today.

As well as a couple Black-necked Garter snakes Thamnophis cyrtopsis

Carl was checking out some boulders when we all heard him get buzzed.  Finally another one of my Arizona curses was broken.  Of course, when it rains... it would pour.

Black-tailed Rattlesnake Crotalus molossus

We hiked around a bit more and I went back for my backpack that I had set down to see our molossus had crawled into a hole.  I noticed an obviously dead rat laying for his consuption.  Carl must have spooked him on his way to finish his meal.

I tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to photograph lizards on the way out.  We enjoyed an early dinner with grilled brats, beans and a beer or two waiting for the hour or two before dusk.  It cooled off quickly, but we did see a gopher crossing the road.

Red-spotted Toads Bufo punctatus were numerous and a new species for the trip.

We tried crusing a few other roads as well and just saw more atrox.  It was still one of our better days and we added a bunch of new species to our totals for the trip.

We finished out the night by finding a nice campsite.  Thunderstorms could be heard in all directions and Carl and I were up for doing a motel (remember we didn't think to bring tents?!!?).  Brian assured us the rain wouldn't come for a few hours, if it was going to come at all.  About 10 minutes after we all were tucked into our sleeping bags it started to rain.  I wanted nothing to do with a cold, wet, mildewy bag so I quickly bailed.  They followed a little bit later and we rolled into a motel pretty late this night, tired and cranky...

Stay tuned for more from Arizona soon!

Click here for Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV.