Every morning I would watch the clouds rise from the valleys into the sky.

And every evening settle down into the valleys for a long rest.

Many of the mountains were very high.  These ones rise above palm plantations.

The trees were amazing.  I tried to hug a few, but they were too big.

Many of the trees have enormous buttress roots.  They help hold up the massive trees.  People used this strategy when building huge buildings before they were built with metal and concrete.

Is this where chocolate comes from?

Not only can the canopy be delicious, but also fun. The animals climb along the massive branches in the dark canopy.  We prefer to fly, zzzzzzzzzzip!

Down from the emergent layer in the sun into the dark unknown.

Under the canopy in the understory and forest floor, it sure is dark!  No wonder baby trees take so long to grow big.

Down here there is plenty of water.  Just not enough sun for many plants to grow on the forest floor.

Speaking of the sun, I think it is time it went to bed.  All of this exploring has worn me out.

Good night!

On October 19, 2010 I flew to Reno to meet up with my brother from Hawaii and my Dad who lives in Reno in the summer and Arizona in the winter. Our mission: drive from Reno, NV to Surprise, AZ via Colorado and visit as many National Parks as we could along the way.

We started our epic journey by packing up Dad’s 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. We had a lot of stuff, including two boxes of home-grown tomatoes plus three grown adults to take, but my experience loading vehicles for live animal shows has taught me a thing or two about how to pack!

Will and Dad and a Packed Monte Carlo

We headed out of Reno on I-80 east, along the Truckee River.

The Truckee River

We were following much of the Truckee River Route of the California Emigrant Trail. We stopped at a rest area that marked the Forty-Mile Desert.  This part of the trail was described as the most dreaded section of the entire route to California.  We decided to have lunch.  Too bad those emigrants in the mid 1850′s could not have gotten in a time machine to join us.

Lunch in the Forty-Mile Desert

We continued heading east until we reached Wendover NV.  We spent the night there and in the morning, we toured the historic Wendover Air Base. “Wendover Air Base operated primarily as a training site for the crews of B17, B24 and B29 aircraft, including the Enola Gay and Boxscar, the crews of which were responsible for the first deployment of nuclear weapons over Japan in 1945.” – (Tooele Co Website)

Wendover Air Base

The Great Salt Lake loomed ahead – and we stopped at one of its shores to explore and have lunch.

Great Salt Lake

CobraCaroline examines the Great Salt Lake

CobraCaroline wonders what will happen to her hand

The Great Salt Lake is too salty for most plants and animals to survive, however, there is one famous resident of the salty lake: Sea Monkeys! Sea Monkeys are actually shrimp that are able to exist in salty inland lakes around the world.

No reptiles live in the Great Salt Lake, however, many species of snakes and lizards live in the surrounding desert. Sadly, I found a juvenile gopher snake in the parking lot of the lake’s marina, but it had been squashed by a car.

Smooshed Gopher Snake

Next Posting…Arches National Park

Arches National Park

Our story begins with a foursome of herpers, Caroline, Charise, John W and Jon K, hiking to an undisclosed location near Washington DC.   Years before this journey began, former Reptiles Alive Wildlife Educator and Keeper Jeff Stryker discovered  a population of hognose snakes and eastern milk snakes (two awesome snake species that are not very common in the suburbs) living in this strange spot and named the place “Hognose Heaven.”

As the group’s journey began, they spotted their first herps of the day. There were many turtles and frogs living in the wetlands along the trail.

Nesting Eastern Painted Turtle

Soon, the  group of herpers veered off the main trail onto a little-used trail that led to the heart of Hognose Heaven. They began turning over logs and rocks.  A four-toed salamander was discovered!  The salamander’s creamy white and black spotted belly helped with its identification.

Four-toed salamander

After arriving at Hognose Heaven, something very unexpected appeared to materialize out of the rocks, sticks, and leaves – something that even four experienced naturalists could hardly see until they were right on top of it!

Newborn Fawn

The fawn was only a few hours old. Its camouflage was remarkable! The baby deer was nearly invisible – the perfect survival strategy for a small animal that can not yet walk or run. Its mother was nearby and would return as soon as the coast was clear. Even though the group was in a strange place, it is normal to find fawns alone in the woods without their mother. As soon as the people vanish, the mother deer will come back to care for her fawn.
After observing the baby deer, the group continued searching for snakes. Caroline quickly found the hognose snake’s favorite food item: toads.

AmericanXFowlers Toad

As Caroline approached John W to inform him of her find, she noticed he was holding something in his hands. Something about 3 feet long, with orange spots on a black body and a pointy, upturned nose. “Hognose! Hognose!” she yelled with joy!

John W and Caroline yelled for Jon K and Charise to come and see the spectacular serpent. When they arrived, however, the snake was acting strange.

Does this Hognose Need Help?

As the group excitedly discussed the behavior of the hognose snake, the snake in question seemed to miraculously get better!

Its a Miracle! (or maybe just a Hognose)

After making his miracle recovery from his apparent death, the snake made his move and slithered back to the safety of his rocky home.

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Now, the group needed to make a decision. Continue the search? Or have lunch? Caroline suggested having lunch after a short hike over to a nearby bizarro-world she called: CACTUS ISLAND!
Believe it or not, (believe it), the prickly pear cactus is native to the Washington DC area. Much of its habitat has been lost to urban development, but it can still sometimes be found in certain micro-habitats around our nation’s capital. That day, the cactus was in bloom!

Wild Prickly Pear Cactus Growing Near Washington DC

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Does the story end here? Did they find an eastern milk snake? Did they have a good lunch? Only they know the answer to those questions. Questions from the Hognose Heaven Zone.

We started the day around 8:30 am.  We were divided into 5 teams that were given 5 different sections of the area to survey.  Our team was assigned to the areas of the Wildlife Refuge that are closed to the public.

We drove to the end of the main Refuge access road to an area that used to be a farm.  Five foot tall grass, poison ivy, and millions of deer ticks awaited us.  We were not deterred!  Almost immediately an eastern box turtle was found.

Eastern Box Turtle

And then in a very short period of time, we found a brown snake, multiple worm snakes, more box turtles, two spotted salamanders, and giant native millipedes (I know – they don’t really count on a herp survey, but they were so cool!)

Brown Snake

Spotted Salamander

Worm Snake

Millipede

We also found two black racers – snakes that are known for being fast.  One of the racers was in a somewhat odd micro-habitat.  It was about 5 feet off the ground hanging on a small tree growing on the edge of a cliff.

Northern Black Racer Snake

We continued herping (searching for reptiles and amphibians) throughout the morning.  It was hard work hiking through the brush, lifting logs and turning over rocks, but we were dedicated to our mission.

Jon the Dedicated Herper

We drove a few miles down to an area of vernal pools, marshes, and wetlands.  We found more herps, including cricket frogs and green frogs.  One of the green frogs was also in a somewhat strange spot (for a green frog), he was about 3 feet up on the side of a tree stump.

Green Frog in a Normal Green Frog Place

Green Frog in a Not So Normal Place

Cricket Frog

While in the wetlands, we also found some frog predators.  Many painted turtles were spotted basking on logs.  A large snapping turtle was found in a pond under a log – but he foiled our attempts to take his picture.

Many people believe the myth that venomous cottonmouth (water moccasins) live in the Washington DC area.  They do not.  Our area is too far north for them to survive.  We do, however, have harmless northern water snakes which are often confused with both cottonmouths and copperheads.  Like many snakes, northern water snakes will flatten their bodies and heads to appear more “viper like” when they are threatened which can lead to their mis-identification as a venomous species.

Tough Looking But Harmless - The Northern Water Snake

In the same wetland location, we also found beautiful ribbon snakes.  Ribbon snakes are similar in appearance to their close relatives the garter snakes, but the ribbons are much more slender.

Ribbon Snake

Whew – after all this success we started to get a bit hungry.  So we decided to head back to the meeting site,  eat lunch, and find out how the other teams were doing.

Hungry, Hungry Herpers!

After our short lunch break, we headed back out into the field for more searching.  We discovered more worm snakes, more box turtles, lots more green frogs, more spotted salamanders and we had an encounter with a rarely seen in Fairfax County lizard species, the ground skink.

The Elusive Ground Skink

Deep in the woods, far from any roads or trails, we also discovered a sign of the past.

Dial S for Snake

No copperhead snakes were found during the entire survey.  Over 40 dedicated reptile specialists searching a large area of protected forest and no copperheads.  This is actually normal.  Copperheads are not nearly as common as some people believe.  Copperheads are also shy and afraid of humans.  They will only bite if they feel threatened.  So, you know, leave snakes alone.

We did, however, find a venomous species of arachnid hiding under a log:

Black Widow Spider

Around 5 pm, we headed back to meet up with the other teams and share our data collection for the day. The VHS president Kory Steele was there adding up all the numbers from each team. Soon, we would learn which team found the most animals.
Guess which team won? Well, as Kory reminded me, this was not a contest. Our mission was to collect data to assist with the conservation of reptiles and amphibians. (Ok, but our team won – we found 57 individual herps representing 17 species – woo hoo woo hoo!)
All of the animals we found that day were left in the spot we found them. Well, except for two animals – alien invaders were found in a turtle sampling trap.

The mouth of an ALIEN!

The aliens were the Frankenfish – the Northern Snake-head! Apparently, there is now a large breeding population of these introduced exotic fish in the Potomac River and its tributaries in the Mason Neck/Pohick Bay area. This new invader could cause unknown consequences on our native fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects and possibly even birds and mammals. Surveys such as the one the VHS teams completed at Mason Neck are crucial for the protection and conservation of our wildlife.
We had a sssssssuper ssssssssuccessful Ssssssssssaturday. It was snaketacular.

Information on the Virginia Herpetological Society: http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/VHS/
Information on Mason Neck State Park: http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/mas.shtml

To see more pictures of our herp search at Mason Neck, visit our Facebook page.

Hmmm, I wonder if he will become Prince Charming?

Located nine miles east of Sarasota FL, Myakka River State Park is one of the oldest and largest Florida state parks and protects one of the state´s most diverse natural areas.  On April 19, my Dad and I headed out for a day of hiking and picnicking with the hope of seeing a few cool Florida herp species.

We were in luck!  Wildlife was everywhere at this beautiful park.  At the picnic grounds, however, it was obvious that a few people had broken the rules against feeding wildlife because we were mobbed by cunning gray squirrels and even vultures as we enjoyed our delicious chips and sammies.

Vulture at the picnic!

Squirrels and vultures were not the only non-herps we saw that day however.  A Florida invader made his presence known as Dad and I hiked through the jungle.

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Next, we found an animal that is native to both Florida and Virginia.
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Florida’s most famous herp was abundant in the lakes and ponds in the park.
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We also saw tons of anoles – mostly Cuban anoles which are an introduced species that has been displacing the naive Carolina anole from Florida.
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After spending time hiking around the forest floor, it was time to head up, up, up into the canopy. We took a walk through the treetops and then climbed a 74-foot tower for an eagle’s-eye view of natural Floridian hammocks and wetlands.

Dad and Caroline at the top of Florida

Whew, after all the hiking and climbing, we were both pretty tired. So we headed back to the house for some relaxing. And I found one more animal.

Caroline and Catfish

For more information on visiting Myakka Lake State Park, visit http://www.floridastateparks.org/myakkariver/default.cfm

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Both of us have been primitive camping and hiking since before we could walk.  We were well prepared with several layers of clothes, first aid, compass, water bottles, map, flashlight, knife, multi-tool, emergency fire making equipment, water purification, extra batteries, a German shepherd, and a gps.

We decided to do a loop known as the Oakridge trail.  Download a trail map here: Congaree trail Map page.

A simple 5 hour hike through the swamp.

Bad Decision #1

It was in the high 40′s with a bit of chilly wind as we were hiking through behemoth cypress and tupelo trees. When a bit of swamp crossed our path.  No problem, just take off your shoes, cross the water, wipe off your feet, and return shoes to proper location. The crossing was slippery, cold, and wet.  The dog didn’t care.  This was our first bad decision. Thus:

Bad Decision #2

Several miles after the short crossing, something a bit larger got in the way.

The other side could not be seen.  The smart thing would have been to turn around now.  We looked at the map and found we had nearly completed the entire loop.  Turning back now would put us back in camp several hours after dark in near freezing temperatures.  We would also be crossing the water in the dark.

It was decided to continue along this mass of water in hopes that we would find a narrower crossing or the other trail that it should meet up with in a half mile.

Continuing North with the water on our left, we came face to face with the major creek running through the park, Cedar Creek.  Several hundred feet wide and over our head deep.  This became impossible crossing number two.  Even in warm weather I would no brave this as swamp mud can sink you down over your head.  A person could become immobilized under water and dead very soon.

That led me to:

Bad Decision #3: Trusting the GPS

My gps claimed the trail crossed to our side of the water about a mile from where we were stading.  This was easy to believe as we had crossed many bridges throughout the day.  I confidently headed straight ahead with Cedar Creek on my left.

Giant wild boars grunted and dashed through the leaves as the sun sank.  We had nearly completed another loop inside the first one made by the trail and should be back to where we crossed the water earlier in the day.  My husband stopped at a creek stretched in front of us insisting the trail was just on the other side of this very steep banked deep water crossing.  I did not believe him as my gps said the trail was somewhere on THIS side of the water. A giant tree had fallen across the water, he wanted to brave it.  A fall in would have left a person drenched and exposed to hypothermia on the hike back.  The map said a large bridge crossing was to our south, if we could just get to that we could see it in the dark easily and get back to camp.

I marked the fallen log on my gps and we continued. We were nearly back to were we crossed the water earlier and would find our trail again when, yes another bit of water was in our way.

Trusting Intuition

We could be weaving our way around fingers of water all night long just to get back to the water crossing to be made in the dark and bitter cold. Once found we would have a two hour hike back to camp. My husband mentioned the log crossing. For the first time that day, I made a good decision.  I trusted him.

We crossed in the dark with our amazing german shepherd between us.  The trail markers were less than 50 feet ahead of us.  We were saved.

What We Didn’t Know

We could have died.  It was 30 degrees that night.  My husband was quickly becoming an expert fire maker with his flint and magnesium.  If the trail was not on the other side of that log, my husband was going to make a fire and we would camp for the night.  Hypothermia can kill at temperatures well above freezing.  With a fire, we could live.

What was it that we didn’t know?  That the swamp was in flood stage from rains days before in the mountains to the northwest.  The spot we were stuck in the night before was underwater by the next day.  Our fire would have been drowned, we would have been soaked, lost, and very possibly dead by morning.

What We Learned

Gps’s give only a vague idea on where you are.  Do not trust it, but use the information it gives WITH a paper map.  Learn to use a map and a compass.  Note where you are at all times by paying attention to the distance you have walked, your surroundings, the distance you will need to walk back, and reference this with what you see on the map.  As prepared as we were, we were just lucky. Very, very stupid, but very, very lucky.

The Wiki on Hypothermia

You might not think about it, but poison ivy is still around in winter. Poison ivy is deciduous, so it loses all its leaves in winter – but BEWARE – the bare stems and vines still contain the poisonous oil that can cause itchy rashes in many people. This fuzzy looking vine might look fun to touch, but trust me, don’t do it!

Stay away from Poison Ivy!

Lichen is a combination of plants and fungi living together. You can find lichens growing on rocks and branches throughout the forest. The gray tree frog is a native frog that has camouflage to look like a lichen. The tree frogs are hibernating now, but lichens are out for you to enjoy.

Lichen growing on moss

There are many native plants that produce berries, but there are also certain landscape plants that have escaped and begun to grow in the wild. Some of these exotic plants can out-compete native plants, which can create problems for native wild animals.

Exotic winter berries

We had a GREAT time at GREAT Falls! The winter is an awesome time to get outside and take a hike in the woods.

Caroline and her brother Will overlooking the Potomac

Black lichen doom

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/southern/calvertcliffs.html

With only a two mile hike to the fossil filled beach, it was a treat.

We saw many frogs and other critters along the boardwalk. Caroline looks like she is about ready to go skipping. Tra-lah-lah-lah.

It was in the perfect 80′s. The boardwalk comes to an abrupt end. We have two miles ahead of us. Some fantastic scenery. And something possibly never seen before!

Can you find the turtle on the log in this picture?

Can you identify that turtle?  Me either, that little guy is WAY too far away.

Keep your eyes peeled on the other side of the walk or you might miss a HUGE worm snake.

Worm snakes (Carphophis amoenus) have tiny little eyes and look very much like a giant worm. The worms know the difference though. These snakes dine on worms! They even have a little spike on their tail to help push those wiggily-iggly slimy little worms in their mouth. Sssssslurps up!

Caroline fondly calls the worm snake and the next snake, LBS’s “little brown snakes.”  They may look the same, but they are very different.

Smooth Earthsnakes (Virginia valeriae) spend most of their time underground, they are fossorial.  They love to snoop under logs, boards, and rocks for yummy earthworms.

Does that sound like another snake?

Wormsnakes lay eggs like typical snakes.  Earthsnakes give live birth.  Visually, wormsnakes have pink bellies and a blunt snout.  Earth snakes have longer snouts and their scales include black specks.

Ringneck snakes are one of my favorite snakes to find.  When you first see them, they look like just another LBS.  If they get nervous, you get a surprise!  A brilliant yellow, orange, or red belly flashes into view as the snake flips and coils on the ground.

So far we have had amazing luck.

Now we are at the beach.  I am amazed at how blue the water is here!

Gorgeous!

These two pictures were sent to all my friends at work, to taunt them.

We get to play during the normal work week when there is no one around.  I love being alone out in the wild.  I imagine during the weekends, the beaches are filled with people looking for fossils.  You can have as many as you find on the beach.  Cool!

One guy we met found several shark teeth and even a few fossilized dolphin teeth.

Back on the trail, this little skink ran right out in front of us.  What is with these lizards?  Every time we see one I swear they are playing chicken on the hiking trail.  Are they making bets with other lizards to see how close they can get to a hiker without getting stepped on or caught?  Three worms for three inches!

Check out the huge ear on this guy!

On our way back, several people going the other way told us to watch out for the copperhead in the middle of the trail.  It was battling another snake, we swear!  Yeah, right.  For one it is most likely a non-venomous brown snake.  We doubted there was even another snake in the vicinity. Boy were we wrong!

Racer eating a copperhead

A northern black racer has wrestled and killed a bone fide copperhead snake.  Then, he began to eat it.  We stared in amazement until he slurped down the last of his tail.  Down like spaghetti.

Whoa!

It is the best time to spot amphibians by the hundreds coming out of hibernation to lay eggs in vernal pools. The best day to look for amphibians is on a warm day right after a good rain. Listen for frog song the night before. If you hear a racket, the next day is a good day to go out. (Of course if you are willing to brave the rain and dark, that night is a great time to see some frogs.) Don’t forget your flashlight.

This is a picture of an egg mass with the tadpoles already hatched. The eggs are encased in a gross, gooey, slimy mess to protect them from predators and the elements.

One of our favorite places to look for animals is along the Occoquan River. In addition to reptiles and amphibians, you are likely to spy a hawk, turkey, beaver, and various gorgeous plants.

Our adventure started a short walk from the parking lot at a small pond. Hundreds of red spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridiscens) were breeding in the water and even walking right across the path.

The female you see here still has her cloaca decended. (That is the yellow spotted thing under the tail behind the back legs.) She may have just bred. The male entices the female in the water with undulating vibrations of his tail, wafting a beautifully smelling hormone into the female’s nostrils. Then he deposits a spermatophore or sperm packet in front of the female. The female will carefully pick up the spermatophore with her cloaca and use its contents to fertilize her eggs. Females may mate with up to thirty different males in a season!

She will attach the mildly toxic eggs one at a time to underwater vegetation. The tiny tadpoles will hatch in a few weeks, but they don’t stay tadpoles for long. Babies quickly metamorphosis into aquatic adults.

Then things get strange. Some of the aquatic newts will change again, into a land-dwelling creature known as a red eft. The fire engine red efts look nothing like their aquatic parents. The little creatures will boldly amble across the forest floor for many years with little concern of danger. They secrete a nasty tasting toxic mucus if anyone dares to tangle with them! Efts finally will change back into their aquatic form once they are done exploring the world above the water. (Hold on to shorts everyone, I am still looking for a red eft to take a picture.)

Be prepared for a bit of adventure. Sometimes trails and bridges get washed out with early spring rains and flooding. Looks like we took a bit of a wrong turn here. Shortcut!

Shimmy Jeff, shimmy!

Boy that water sure looks cold.

Also be prepared to check out some awesome remains of old houses. Usually only chimneys and foundations survive. I am always impressed when I find a partially organized pile of rubble. What would it be like to live in such a small stone structure?

(Come to think of it, it is probably a lot like my dorm room in college. Except, bigger and with better heating.)

Hours of a nice hike, crisp air, and lots of mud were rewarded with a fit body, huge appetite, a two lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata) I think, and a friendly cat.

Cheers!