5-13-2006
Lake Roosevelt, Arizona
My drive home from the Lake Roosevelt area on this night turned out much more exciting than most others.
But first......flowers and other desert plants regrowing a burn zone.
A Long Nosed Snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei) at the lake.
A sizeable Lyre Snake (Trimorphodon biscutatus) near the dam. Lyre snakes get their name for the lyre shaped markings
on the backs of their necks. These nocturnal snakes are rearfanged (or opistoglyphous) meaning
that they have fangs towards the rear of their mouths. They are not considered dangerous to humans
and are often very docile as well. They are nocturnal and their venom is specialized for subduing
and paralyzing the lizards that comprise the greatest part of their diet.
I am quite often fooled while road cruising by things such as rope, tire, chain, and bungee
cord snakes.
So I come around a bend with my eys set on the road looking for snakes and find this.
These two weekend warrior guys had been out at the lake jet skiing, and no, they were not drunk.
I gave them a ride to a payphone to get a to truck. Luckily te car stayed put and did not lose its grip
on the edge of the road burm and continue its journey down the shallow ravine.
What happened you ask? Their pack of cigarettes flew out the window while they were
driving and they drove back in reverse to retrieve them. Reverse on dirt windy mountain
roads does not work well. They ended up over the side and needing rescuing. Upon
returning them to their car we found that the pack of cigarettes they went back for was
in fact already empty. Wrecked the car for the empty box. I found this entirely more
amusing at the time than they did.
And of course insisted that in return for their tow truck phone call ride they must pose for me
with all of the incriminating evidence. Unfortunately slightly blurry but the hilarity is captured
nonetheless. The following day I was back at the lake and found the drag marks indicating
that they were carried away by a tow truck rather than by predators.
Apparently after I left them they saw a rattlesnake on the road. I found only inverts and
amphibians. This is a Red Spotted Toad (Bufo punctatus)
A male tarantula crossing the road. Usually these Aphonopelma tarantulas are fairly slow
moving and rather docile, as can be seen in most other pictures on this website in which they occur.
You can put them on your face, do all sorts of crazy things.
This one however expressed an early and uncharacteristic desire to murder me which I decided to photograph
And then I sent him on his way.
