Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've always wanted to know what has fooled other herpers time and time again when road cruising. It seems to me that no matter how many times I see this I am duped every time by this non herp. Sounds pretty stooopid, but I will do a 180 every time I see this on the road only to get out in excited anticipation to find...a freakin' banana peel! Man, I swear for some it is a fan belt or stick, but usually I can see that, but bar none, that dang banana peel gets me every time! LOL! What turns your eye?
Todd Hughes

NAKED WOMEN......I FEEL A STORY COMING ON....STAY TUNED

Well Bob???? Lets have it. lol
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Steve W.

Well I feel this was some kind of cruel joke from the snake gods. On my recent trip to west Texas my wife called out snake and we turned around to come to a screeching halt in front of a piece of orange and gray banded piece of rope. Maybe some of the locals are poking fun at us? Rope and bungee cables seem to always get me. Altought I've never come across a naked woman in the road, I'm sure I'd stop.

The best I have ever been gotten was with a rubber snake painted to look like a grayband. It was painted like a grungy dark phase which made it work even better because most of the time when people make fakes they look like screamin' light phases. The place it was set was important too. It was set about 10 feet up on a ledge on a cut where you could only see it if you stood a few feet back. Right below it it wasn't visible from the ground. I had the full alterna rush trying to find a way to climb the cut. I didn't know it was fake until I actually got a hand on it, one hand hanging onto the cut jumping and pulling myself up to make a grab. It was about 2 am and I got so much adreneline from thinking I had an alterna I was wide awake for the next 20 minutes. I have Shannon Brown to thank for that one.

I have you and Shannon to thank for some crazy stuff for a laugh.

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Steve W.

I think Hollister wins with what i recall he did to some of us on a SKINNED cal king or rosey boa and the skin later on somewhere out there either 277 or......But my biggest laugh and EYE openers were of perfectly spaced out carrots and a used condom ( condom probably wasn't meant as a joke type deal though ). BUT probably the funniest find and we didn't stop but some newbies did, was some spaced small white rocks on the big hill after the Longhorn going to Study Butte. I mean did these newbies think there was 50-50 cal kings in west Texas !
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I may be old , cantankerous, crabby, and cynical, but......

to avoid a ....deer yes a deer. the indians call me "runs with camera". always use safe driving practices, and never jam on the brakes of your rental car unless absolutely nessisary.

Some of these posts are good, but I meant what roadside debris "fools" you most often, not tricks or naked ladies, but I admit I am waiting for that story still, Bob!
Todd Hughes

Fanbeltis texensis highwayensis

One night about 2 AM 12.2 miles west of Langtry I was passing that rest area on the flat stretch and I saw a fan belt near the shoulder at entrance curve to the rest area.

I thought to myself "what the hell, I haven't seen a fan belt in a while". So I backed it on up, rolled down the window and put my flashlight on a nice male Blair's - not a fan belt at all.

Rarely do alternas shine true on the road, and it's usually when they are directly in front of you and your head lights reflect directly back at you off the snake. I've had a few instances where I said "Holy cow look at that Blairs!", but usually it's more like "What was that? I'm not sure. Let's take a look. Oh it's an alterna!".

Forky

I know what you mean-last year I was so certain that the head and neck of a juvie lepidus was a piece of fan belt poking out of the grass that I rolled on past, and only went back as an afterthought..."what if it isn't....." moment LOL!

You may laugh, but I'm often forced to slow by those nonsensical little white "slash marks" painted on the pavement at intervals along the sides of the highway. If somehow interrupted, or partially obscured by sticks or other debris, they can look momentarily intriguing.

Brad Chambers

Yup the banana peel has taken me many times. We have yellow rats here....
There's one spot in Osceola Nat'l Forest where the pavement has this sort of "stripey" thing on it. I can cruise that road back and forth 20 times and I hit the brakes 40 times. Once for each direction. I KNOW IT'S THERE DAMMIT!!!! but I can't help it - I swear. No clue as to just exactly what my mind thinks it is but......
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

LOL, Mark that is exactly what goes through my head! Man we don't have yellow rats here but when that 'nana peel turns a little brown and is humped up a little, all bets are off, and every so often on my favorite stretch of road they have a yellow squiggle painted on and the later it gets the more I swear I've discovered the next new morph! There ain't too many yaller snakes down here active at night but my brain always says Did you see THAT! LOL!
Todd Hughes

In the '70s and early '80s, I wore out many disc pads on clear plastic six pack rings.
Please someone tell me I wasn't alone????
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Regards, Bill McGighan

One time we rented a Honda civic and spent about 2-3 hours just driving from the tee-pees to about 2 miles west of the Big Hill. Back and forth. On about the 15th or so trip back down to the tee-pees, we noticed a smell and what seemed to be small flashing lights coming from both sides of our frontal part of the car. The brake linings were afire and smoking ! It wasn't so much as wearing the pads down but the heat incurred of constantly having the brakes applied and apparently the pads got stuck to the rotor ? After they cooled down they worked fine but the hunting of the Big Hill was out of the question at least multiple times in one night !
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I may be old , cantankerous, crabby, and cynical, but......

Too funny!!!! Now anyway...

When I'm out in that part of the country, anything different with the car worries me!
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Regards, Bill McGighan