A winner, almost

Somebody figured out what was in the contest photo of the previous blog. Unfortunately, he didn't send his entry until yesterday, which is after the deadline. Since he (Justin) is the only person that got even remotely close, I'll have to think of some sort of consolation prize to give him.

Oh, BTW, the answer is "snake track". The wet sand was fluffed up by an ATV, and when a snake crossed it, it left a trail. You can see the faint trail near the center of the picture, going from the lower right to the upper left. I don't know if that's the direction the snake was going, though.

Rattler

I didn't just seize the day today. I throttled it. I'm worn out. I'm not going to have my pictures ready to post before I fall asleep. I did get a video uploaded, though. This gave me a shot of adrenalin that got me the rest of the way back to the truck. Listen to it rattle as it slithers away.

While I'm posting videos, here's Cameron. Do you know what he's saying?

Curses, foiled again.

I tried to get to the top of the Goldfield Mountains using the route shown on my map (it's in yellow). Halfway up, I realized I had been up there in almost the exact same spot before. I didn't make it to the top last time, either. It was too steep and too hot. I went in the morning this time because I didn't want my hike to be cancelled by storms again. I had forgotton how brutal the sun is, even on days that are just a little warm. It was about 92 out there. Seemed warmer, though. My water was getting too warm to drink. I didn't make it to the top, but I did see lots of pretty things. Here are some of the pictures.

BC_2007_04_29

I think the snake is a coachwhip, aka a red racer. Click here to read about the coachwhip snake. Here's a short video of the snake making his getaway.