Things started off quite warm in the City O' Sin, with temperatures around 100 degrees. I arrived in the evening on June 8 and had time to get some roadhunting in. This young Longnose was the only snake found that night.
On Wednesday I drove out to Lovell Canyon. Sometimes Horned Lizards can be tricky to find, but that morning, two were basking in the street - right on the blacktop pavement. Here's one:
Once in the Canyon, I hiked a wash.
A wet winter resulted in a lot of greenery and blooming flowers, like these orange ones, which appeared to attract Ladybugs.
There were Sagebrush Lizards and Great Basin Fences Lizards running about. Some of the Fence Lizards were almost completely black.
That night I went roadhunting in Arizona. Thanks to the advice of Vegas Billy, I went to a spot he recommended and saw a snake that I've been looking for for a long time, but is hard to come across in Nevada (hence the road trip to Arizona).
This Western Diamondback is the first one I've ever seen in the field and something I've always wanted to find, after seeing my first Eastern Diamondback in Okeefenokee Swamp 20 years ago.
The night wasn't over yet - although I've found California Kingsnakes in Nevada and California, this 3-1/2 footer was the first one I've ever found in Arizona. A low pressure system was moving through the area and this seemed to trigger snake activity. I saw 12-15 DORs in a relatively short stretch of road.
Next I found a bigger Longnose than the one I saw on the previous night. It was a bit "camera shy."
On the way back to Vegas, I decided to check one more road and I spotted this yearling Mojave Rattlesnake.
On Thursday I went to Corn Creek in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge aims to maintain and improve existing water sources in the desert.
Seeing a creek running through a wooded area reminded me of being back in Ohio.
Unfortunately some of the amphibian inhabitants also reminded me of being in Ohio.
They may not be herps, but they sure are cool - I dig crayfish.
This was the only Vegas trip I've been on (I've been to Vegas at least once a year for the past 21 years) where it seemed Whiptails outnumbered Side-blotched Lizards. Whiptails were everywhere - and often seen crossing roads.
One of my objectives was to visit a place within the preserve called Hidden Forest. This is the road to the forest. Free advice: Never, ever take a Toyota Yaris on this road (high clearance two wheel drive or 4WD is recommended).
Once at the outskirts of the forest, a four mile uphill hike takes you to a place where early settlers unsuccessfully attempted to set up a sawmill. The extreme remoteness of the location made me appreciate the toughness of people who tried to make a living in the desert. The starting point is very much like many other places in the desert and Side-blotched Lizards were regularly encountered.
After about a mile or so, the terrain became rockier and I began seeing Collared lizards.
This flowering cactus by the side of the trail caught my eye.
As elevation increased and the air became cooler, trees became part of the landscape.
It was then that I started encountering Sagebrush Lizards.
I also observed the coolest-looking Great Basin Fence Lizard I've ever seen.
It was a really great hike. That night I returned to the previous roadhunting location, but it was slim pickin's. This Mojave Rattlesnake (which had recently eaten) was the only snake that I saw that night.
On Friday I went to Christmas Tree Pass. Night Lizards were found in a variety of the places that I visited. Some were under artificial cover, while others were under decaying yucca trunks.
The lizard that I usually associate with being found in the same environment as Night Lizards, Banded Geckos, were rather scarce. I only saw one on the entire trip.
Though there was no shortage of Zebratails.
That night I spent several hours roadhunting and didn't turn up a single snake - I didn't even see a DOR.
On Saturday I went to Majave National Preserve in California. Saturday was a "record breaking" day weatherwise. The daytime high of 79 degrees was the lowest ever recorded for June 13. I've seen "Tortoise Crossing" signs before, but never one with a flashing light.
As the day went on, it seemed like a storm was about to set in, but in the desert there are often "false alarms."
But then the sky became really omnious.
It started to rain. The rain was steady and lasted about two hours. I figured it might draw tortoises out from their burrows, so I went to a place outside the preserve where I'd seen tortoise burrows a few years ago. Rummaging through artificial cover in the rain turned up several lizards, including this Spiny Lizard.
I also found my only scorpion of the trip.
I then took a drive down a nearby dirt road and saw something moving up ahead in the distance.
I've only found three Desert Tortoises in the past two decades and have never seen more than one on a vacation to the desert. So seeing this second one really made my day. It was about the size of a box turtle and still retained some of its juvenile yellow coloration.
On my final day, I went to Red Rock Canyon.
This group of Bighorn Sheep was out and about.
Creeks are often productive place to visit when in search of reptiles and amphibians. One creek in particular has a decent number of Pacific Chorus Frogs displaying a wide range of colors and patterns. I can spend all day looking at them...and that's exactly what I did. Here are some of the frogs.
I've never seen a butterfly like this one, maybe it's an anerythristic Red Admiral - and worth big bucks.
Eventually my vacation drew to a close. As the sun was setting, I went on one last hike. I turned my attention to some rustling that I heard under a creasote bush and saw the telltale pattern of a nice "desert phase" California Kingsnake. It was a great way to end the trip.
The End
Third Eye
