Puerco Mountains Report #14

Roger Repp?s Puerco Mountains Report

submitted 28 July 2008

Why did the snake cross the road?

Howdy Herpers,

Well, things are not all that great in paradise lately.

But we will stick with one theme at a time. The negative part can come later..........

I tracked CA55, Doublenickels, on Saturday 26 July, early morning.

I was able to find him on the edge of "the big road," which he has crossed twice this year. I had always hoped that he was utilizing one of the culverts that go under the road. I was about to learn otherwise.

I have never heard of what I'm about to show you being done. I've certainly never done it myself. We'll just let the photos do the rest of the talking:

Photo 1.

Photo 1: My first look at CA55. At this point, a five foot high NASTY barbed wire fence keeps me five meters from doing anything about this. So, I gritted my teeth, and decide to let nature take its course.

Photo 2.

Photo 2: There he goes.

Photo 3.

Photo 3: He pauses in the middle for a full two minutes, tongue flicking the pavement. I'm dying a thousand deaths inside, knowing how busy this road can be.

Photo 4.

Photo 4: He eventually moves on, and yeah, he makes it!

Two minutes later, a pickup truck came roaring by. Total time it took to cross the road: four minutes. That pause in the middle should have cost him his life.

More later this week, roger