West Texas Report 5/28/04-5/31/04



5/28/04

My girlfriend, Christina, and I just returned home from our annual Memorial Day weekend trip to West Texas. We were also accompanied by two of our family friends who would be enduring the experience with us. We left Houston around 10:00 in the morning and headed towards Del Rio. Skies were overcast and the humidity was high as we drove into San Antonio.



1 sub-adult Elaphe o. lindheimeri (DOR), Guadalupe Co.

1 adult Elaphe o. lindheimeri (DOR), Guadalupe Co.

1 unid (DOR), Medina Co.

1 adult Crotalus atrox (AOR), Uvalde Co.



Once past Brackettville, the clouds opened up and the heat wave broke through. We reached Del Rio around 4:00 and settled into the hotel. Once evening came, we grabbed a quick bite to eat, some gas, and headed north of town towards Hwy. 277. Temperatures were pleasant and stayed warm for most of the night. I was surprised to only see one other group of hunters but was pleased that it wasn’t too busy. It allowed us to pick and chose the cuts we wanted to walk and concentrate on. We hunted until 6:00 the next morning before cruising back into town.



1 sub-adult Masticophis f. testaceus (DOR), Val Verde Co.

1 adult Masticophis f. testaceus (DOR), Val Verde Co.

1 adult Pituophis c. sayi (DOR), Val Verde Co. (absolute monster at 82”)

1 juvenile Elaphe bairdi (AOC), Val Verde Co.

1 adult Tantilla cucullata (AOC), Val Verde Co.

1 juvenile Rhinocheilus l tessellates (DOR), Val Verde Co.



5/29/04

With the high temperatures during the day and the dropping pressure by that evening we decided to hunt Hwy. 277 again. We headed out and hit the cuts a little before dark. We drove up to Loma Alta, walking the large cuts there, and then made our way up to Buffalo Creek before turning around. Just north of Loma Alta while spotlighting some cuts on the west side of the road, we came across a rather peculiar sound. We stopped to listen as I shined my light in the direction of the strange buzzing noise. It was only moments before a horde of pissed off bees screamed from out of a rock crevice and engulfed the inside of our vehicle. Like a pack of crazed banshees we jumped from the vehicle, turning off the lights and leaving all of the doors open. It was ten minutes or so before the last angry bee left the car. Although it was a pretty scary situation at first it made for a good laugh afterwards.

We continued on, making many passes along the entire length of Hwy. 277. While walking some cuts I ran into my good friend Rob Klockman, from College Station, Texas. He had hunted Juno Rd. earlier in the evening, only seeing a few snakes. Besides the two of us, there were no other hunters out on Hwy. 277 that night. We hunted until 5:00 in the morning before heading back in.



2 adult Masticophis f. testaceus (DOR), Val Verde Co.

1 adult Elaphe bairdi (AOC), Val Verde Co.

1 adult Hypsiglena t. jani (AOC), Val Verde Co.

1 adult Tantilla cucullata (AOC), Val Verde Co.

1 juvenile Thamnophis c. ocellatus (AOC), Val Verde Co.

1 sub-adult Bogertophis s. subocularis (DOR), Val Verde Co.

1 adult Elaphe bairdi (DOR), Val Verde Co.

1 adult Rhinocheilus l tessellates (DOR), Val Verde Co.

1 adult Pituophis c. sayi (DOR), Val Verde Co.



5/30/04

The next day, we grabbed some lunch and headed out to Seminole Canyon for some late afternoon hiking.



1 adult Masticophis t. girardi (DOR), Val Verde Co.



When evening came around we drove up to Hwy. 277 for our final night of hunting. Temperatures were still fairly warm but cooled off quickly. There were several groups of hunters out early but as the night wore on it was again only Rob and I playing leap frog around the cuts. The night was very slow and we only found a few animals. However, at 12:00 in the morning I did come across something pretty wild while walking the cuts at Carruthers Creek. I had just come down from walking the cut on the west side of the road when I heard this voice come out from behind me. Not realizing who it was or what they said I spun around holding my spotlight as if it were a gun. When I came to my senses I saw a little Mexican guy standing not 8 feet from me. He asked for the time and wanted to know where he was at. I threw him a couple bottles of water as I answered him. He said gracias and walked in the darkness. A little stunned, I checked my shorts to see if they needed changing before getting back into the car. Over the years I have had only a handful of run-ins with illegal aliens but, none so nerve racking as this one. We turned in a little earlier than the previous nights, heading back into Del Rio around 4:00 or so.



1 adult Gopherus berlandieri (DOR), Val Verde Co.

1 adult Masticophis f. testaceus (DOR), Val Verde Co.

1 adult Hypsiglena t. jani (AOC), Val Verde Co.





5/31/04

The next morning we packed, grabbed some breakfast and headed east back home to Houston. Although we didn’t come across any alterna or annulata we still saw a nice assortment of animals and overall had a wonderful trip. I will be back out that way in two weeks and hopefully by then the “alterna gods” will be smiling down upon us.



On the way home.

1 adult Elaphe g. emoryi (DOR), Kinney Co.

1unid (DOR), Kinney Co.

1 adult Masticophis f. testaceus (DOR), Uvalde Co.

2 unid (DOR), Uvalde Co.

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