2008.08.19
Holy smokes ! Check out this big rattlesnake!
John Palecki of Roanoke just sent me this shot of a big rattlesnake he and his wife encountered on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Peaks of Otter this past weekend.
They actually drove past it, turned around and drove back to get shots.
"And, no, we did not get out of the car!" Palecki pointed out.
In addition to making me shudder, this picture makes me realize that I'm not always as careful as I should be when I'm out there knocking around in the woods -- often with my two little girls. I've never encountered a rattler out there but, obviously, they're out there.
I hope my wife doesn't decide to check out my blog anytime soon or I won't be taking her or the kids hiking for a loooooonnnnnngggg time.
Biggest one I ever saw was on the rocky part of the trail near the top of Macafee's Knob. My wife and I were headed down the trail and the snake -- at least four feet long and fat -- was across the trail. Normally, we would simply walk around it, but we knew a father with a small daughter would be coming down the trail later. I found that if I slowly approached to about the snake's lengh of it, it would move but not coil. So we hearded it about 25 yards off the trail. When you looked away and looked back from 10 yards or so, it practically disappeared against the leaves!
Comment by Bob Pitner — August 19, 2008 @ 2:20 pm
WOW!!! What a beautiful snake, unfortunately, guys I love snakes and respect them. The best way to deal with them is leave don't bother them yet if you have one in your home or yard and you need to get rid of it call a professional.
The Eastern Diamond Backs I had encountered in Florida is of similar size but,Florida Rattlers are quite a bit bigger reason climate.
Comment by Backlash — August 21, 2008 @ 2:55 am
Oh. My.
My kids and I HEARD a rattler one day but we didn't see it, which is even scarier. But yikes, what a snake!
Comment by Heather Froeschl — August 21, 2008 @ 1:45 pm