We headed over to the Snake Road, and very shortly I spotted  a big Black Rat Snake, out on the crawl. This beauty was in excess of four feet, and was exhibiting the 'kinked' behavior often seen in rat snakes on roads. Trouble was, this snake was in the leaf litter! I can't remember seeing one do this 'off-road' before. We took some pictures and left the snake alone - it never moved and we never touched it.

About this time we met Curt and Ian, a father and son walking up the road. Ian looked to be nine or ten, and was big into herps. His dad, maybe not so much, but he was making sure the boy had a big time. I should have taken their picture, but I was off my game that morning, still blue about whole copperhead affair. At any rate, Ian was in the right place at the right time, and got three veteran field herpers to accompany him on his first 'real' herping experience. The kid had a sharp eye and found a number of snakes and salamanders as we went along.

I fell behind while photographing a Dwarf American Toad, and missed the Southern Black Racer that Kurt had spotted on the hillside. I caught up just over the gang had found a young Spotted Salamander under a log alongside the road. We turned up some Slimy Salamanders and a big Bullfrog, but didn't see much in the way of serpents. The road was flooded in places, and the shallow water was peppered with thousands of little black 'toadpoles'.

Eventually we turned around and headed back. By now the day had warmed up a bit, and a few snakes were out - Ian found several small Ribbon Snakes, and we found a large specimen stretched out on the road. She didn't move while we snapped pictures, and remained still when Ian touched her.

We passed by a low area, where the water crossed the road, and I said "I've always thought this was a good spot for Stinkpots."  Jeff validated my statement a short time later by spotting a neonate Sternotherus odoratus hiding in the muck under several inches of water. It was an amazing spot - Jeff is really dialed in when out in the field.

We hadn't seen a single Cottonmouth, and I really thought we might get skunked for the first time ever, but a small group of mushroom hunters saved the day for us, spotting a small adult. A biology class was in the vicinity at the time and they also got a good look at the snake, which posed very nicely for us.

Our last day herping drew to a close, and we stopped in town for a Mexican dinner before heading our separate ways. I needed to get home, but Jim and Jeff were heading up to the Illinois sand prairies. Unfortunately our good luck with the weather did not hold, and bullsnake country was cold and rainy for the guys.

Another successful trip!