Hey; I'm back from AZ and thanks to all you guys who replied to my post, it was a ton of help. Got some beautiful pics of scenery with my Pentax ISTDS and of the herps that'd stay still. Otheriwse, on the more strenuous hunts, I carried my smaller konica minolta, which seemed to be having minor malfunctions every once in a while, so pleaseexcuse any inperfections in over exposure, etc.
1 full day in phoenix (where we flew in): Phoenix's morning mountainside hunt came up with a beautiful Chuckwalla.
1 and a half days in the grand canyon came up with a bunch of ornate tree lizards and a spiney or two, but the prizes were two wonderful horned lizards.
7 days in sedona brought much herps. Monsoon rains were keeping the rattles in hiding a bit, but I did find 1...DOR(mojave??)...which kinda spat in my face after finding a great place for them and a few shed pieces of definate rattler. A few great scorpions (one loaded with well over 30 babies on its back), and terrantulas. A bunch of awesome greater earless lizards, lesser earless lizards, zebra tails, collards, side blotches, spineys, ornate tree lizards, and two beautiful banded geckos, one of which (most beautiful and very broken pattern) I wasn't able to photograph (into a sharp yucca plant that had cut me up enough already...those hurt!) A few canyon tree frogs, red spotted toads, and a western spade foot. I found what seemed to be a lined snake(???) DOR that was very recent. The only non-DOR snakes were garters...which kinda frustrated me. 1 narrow headed garter spotted coming from under a rock by my brother was a beauty. One of the pics is over exposed but those were its exact colors, at first I didn't know what it was! It was quite beautiful. Last of all (Im sure there is more I'm forgetting but...) were many beautiful Madrean Alligator lizards in lower shaded rocky area next to a beautiful, small stream (flowing with white and pink roots that gave it a mangrove-like exotic look). I found them nowhere else. I was really interested to see them moving without their legs through the leaves.
I wish I saw some more diveristy in the snakes (especially a live mojave rattler and a sonoran racer) but all around I found some interesting life.
-Sean
