A jeep or other SUV would have more suitable for some of the roads we traveled on, which were rutted and potholed to the extreme. We slowly and carefully picked our way along, holding our breath every time we hit a really bad spot. We took a turnoff to visit Barfoot Park. Under an overcast sky spitting rain, we clambered up to the enormous talus slide. What was once part of the mountain top now lay shattered all around us, large irregular chunks of rock and to what depth no one could know. This was one home for the little rock rattlers, but none would be poking their heads out on this cold and wet afternoon. Lightning smacked the ground nearby; we thought it the perfect excuse to head back to the car and let the clouds and rain chase us west towards the Huachucas.

Down the other side of the mountain we went. We stopped once to photograph some large Mountain Spiny Lizards, stopped again when a bird that looked a lot like an Elegant Trogon flew in front of the car. We could only catch a second distant glimpse of it as it disappeared into the pines. I knew Steve was very disappointed that we got nothing more than the south end of a Trogon flying north.

Finally we reached the flats and headed south and east towards the Huachucas. The land here was mostly given over to grazing, but it was a good place to road cruise at night and find Desert Kings and Diamondbacks and Mojaves. Coming around a curve at the right place and time, we saw a large snake in the road, a large rattlesnake in the road. a Mojave!  We pulled off quickly and got out the snake tongs; this was a busy two-lane road and we didn't want this snake to become another road casualty. We got the snake under control and off to the side, plopping my hat over it to settle it down while a number of vehicles passed. With all of the traffic, this snake would have been a goner for sure.

Tracey's first scutulatus was a nice looking adult, a little over a yard in length, and with a greenish tint to the ground color. It never rattled, and like most other rattlers caught out in the open, it only wanted to get away from us. It was a handsome serpent and we took time to get some pictures before easing it off into the grass. It glided away from the road and I hoped it would stay far away from the asphalt.