Texas
April 2005
Part II - West Texas and Big Bend
After getting our fill of Texas History at the Alamo, we left the hill country and it wasn't long before we were greeted by the fantastic scenery of the Rio Grande Valley.
My favorite piece of West Texas scenery
As night fell we found our first West Texas Snake, the ubiquitous Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)
The next morning we hit the road and it wasn't long before the mountains of Big Bend came into view.
After a quick trip the the visitor center and a stop to secure our camp site, we decided to take a short hike into the Chisos Basin
Although the scenery was beautiful the only herps seen were a few Prairie Lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) and whiptails
The next morning we woke early and set out on our long hike of the trip, heading strait up into the Chisos Mountains
As we ascended the views got more and more spectacular...
After missing a fleeing Coachwhip at the start of the hike, cool temperatures in the higher elevations made herps somewhat scarce. We did manage a few lizards, though, and one snake.
Crevice Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus poinsettii)
Prairie Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus)
Black-Necked Garter Snake (Thamnophis cyrtopsis)
At the end of the hike I made the find of the day, a Texas Alligator Lizard (Gerrohonotus infernalis). Unfortunately, I was in the center of the spikiest agave plant I have ever seen and I was not able to even get a photo. We were greeted back at our camp site by a herd of Chisos Mountain Whitetail Deer.
With dusk approaching, we headed down towards the river in hopes of finding warmer temperatures for nocturnal herps...
On the way down we stopped to attempt a photo of a Javelina along the road... sadly the attempt was only marginally successful. Soon after we began to see snakes. Most were atrox but there were a few other interesting finds mixed in...
Ground Snake (Sonora semiannulata)
Texas Longnose Snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei)
Texas Banded Gecko (Colsonyx brevis)
We spent the next day in the lower elevation desert along the river. We were amazed how lush the desert was after recent rains...
While walking a trail towards the river I spotted a snake streaking through the scrub. I was elated. Although we had already seen several DOR's, this was my first coachwhip of the trip. I can't get over how pretty these snakes are.
Western Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum)
We finally made it down to the Rio Grande. More gorgeous scenery...
We also managed a couple of new herps along the river...
Big Bend Slider (Trachemys gaigae)
Rio Grande Leopard Frog (Rana berlanderi)
After a quick swim to Mexico we set up shop at some natural hot springs for an afternoon of relaxations, the perfect remedy for our sore muscles...
We also turned up a couple of new lizards at the springs...
Great Plains Skink (Eumeces obsoletus)
Side-Blotched Lizards (Uta stansburiana)