6/22/07
My good friend Colby Wright and I just returned home from a quick trip out west. We left Houston around 9:30 or so that morning and headed west through San Antonio into Del Rio. We grabbed a few supplies in Del Rio and continued west into Sanderson. Shortly after 7:00 we checked into the Outback Oasis and spent a little time visiting with Roy, Ruth, Tom Eisele and his wife. With the sun setting we rushed out west of town where we decided to walk roadside cuts for most of the night. Soon after arriving we were joined by my good friend Rob Klockman from Del Rio.
Within an hour, the first snake of the night was observed; a nice trans-pecos ratsnake (Bogertophis s. subocularis) that Rob found crawling on top of the cut.
While the guys were getting a few quick pictures, I started out at the end of the cut making my way up to the top. Around 10:45 and not 5 minutes after the ratsnake was found, I observed a super nice male medium blair’s phase graybanded kingsnake (Lampropeltis alterna) slowly crawling around some boulders. Although finding them on the roads and by shining the cuts is nice nothing beats finding one while walking.
We continued on and were soon stopped by two game wardens while walking the bottom of the cut. The questions and exchange of words between the wardens was brief. They wanted to make their presence known and for us to be aware that they were now enforcing the new law. They were very polite, not giving us any kind of warning and making it an overall nice situation. They said goodbye to us and then talked to Rob who was further down the cut. They were equally as nice to him. With that over with, we continued to comb the cut for most of the night. It wasn’t but an hour later when the warden showed up again. Again he was polite, asking the same questions as before but seemed real determined to catch us doing something that would violate the new law.
He left and again we pressed on. A short time passed and Rob observed another large trans-pecos ratsnake (Bogertophis s. subocularis) crawling at the base of the cut. We took a few pictures and it went on its way. We walked the entire cut a few more times and then decided to head in for the night.
6/23/07
We got up, grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed west of Sanderson into Marathon and then south into Black Gap. There we met up with a friend who was giving us access to an 11,000 acre ranch just north up the road from the Stillwell’s store on FM 2627. Around noon, we walked a bit of the property to see if it was worth exploring that night. It looked good so we killed as much time as we could, driving over to Study Butte for lunch, through Terlingua over to Pepper’s Hill and back over to Black Gap down to La Linda.
Just west of Pepper's Hill, FM 170
Inaccessible bridge to La Linda, Mexico
Ghost Town in La Linda, Mexico
A little later we arrived back at the ranch and walked a few hours before sundown.
The ranch on FM 2627
Nice rocky outcrops
After scouting some of the area out we finally sat back and waited for darkness to fall.
Rob again found the first snake of the night, a small ground snake (Sonora semiannulata). The walk was treacherous. When being careful not to loose your footing while meandering around the rocky outcrops you had to be as equally careful not to place your foot down on an awaiting rattlesnake. Not to mention that and it seemed like every cactus there wanted to kill you too. Although a spectacular place to be with lots of potential, we decided to leave the ranch shortly after midnight. Since we were in Black Gap we decided to make one pass south to La Linda before making our way back to Sanderson. We quickly found 2 adult western diamondbacks (Crotalus atrox) and 2 adult trans-pecos ratsnakes (Bogertophis s. subocularis), all alive on the road. Black gap was busy that night, seeing 4 or 5 other cars in a single pass.
While heading east of Marathon, we came across an adult big bend milksnake (Lampropeltis t. celaenops) which was DOR and definitely a very disappointing find. It was my first celaenops after spending 10 years in that area of the Trans-Pecos region.
Once back in Sanderson, we split up and walked the west cut for a short while, observing one adult western diamondback (Crotalus atrox) crawling along the top of the cut. We headed east of town and spent a bit of time walking more cuts before calling it a night a little before 3:00 am.
6/24/07
We simply relaxed on our last day before heading home. We spent a little time talking to Roy and waited for the day to unwind. A large storm made its way into Sanderson before dark and it forced us to go east for the evening. We packed up the truck and made our way out to Palma Draw and Lozier Canyon.
Sanderson, after a bit of rain
East Sanderson
Being followed by some wicked weather
We walked for a few hours, finding one juvenile trans-pecos ratsnake (Bogertophis s. subocularis) crawling along a cut before 11:00 pm. With the approaching rains we turned our attention towards west of Langtry. We arrived there before the storm and walked cuts for a few more hours. Conditions seemed perfect but see didn’t see anything else for the remainder of the night. We arrived at the hotel before 3:00 in the morning.
6/25/07
We got up early, packed and made the long trek back to Houston. As usual, we had a good time, found some nice animals and enjoyed visiting with our friends who are as passionate about West Texas as we are. A special thanks to Roy and his wife for nicely accommodating us and for always making our stay in Sanderson pleasant. And also to my buddy Colby for taking most of the pictures during this trip.
Nathan Wells
......JF
