I spotted a big female Broadhead Skink basking alongside a crevice about seven feet up, turning a snake hunt into a herp trip.  She was a monster, way too big to be a female Fivelined Skink.

The going was rough now, with a lot of small trees and shrubs growing up close to the bluff.  In this area I came across an adult Black Rat Snake heading towards the ground, with the back half wrapped around a small sapling.  About three and a half feet in length, this snake was warm and not cooperating with the photographers.  I took a couple of shots and moved on; Mike tried for a time to get the snake to pose for a shot, without success.

Not long after we ran out of bluff - that is, the bluff ran down into the river.  It was late afternoon, and time to turn around anyway, having more than an hour's walk back ahead of us.  We continued to find numbers of Green Snakes, and also turned up another juvenile Black Rat Snake close to where we started.

We made it back to where we parked just at sunset.  Bone-tired, I'd say, but well worth it considering how productive the day had been.  This may prove to be the last trip of the year for me, and if so, it ended on a high note and in good company.

Species Observed:

Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma)
Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta)
Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis)
Western Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus proximus)
Southern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor priapus)
Broadhead Skink (Eumeces laticeps)