I am happy to report that this past weekend over 70 herpers from all across the United States stood together around a campfire drinking, telling stories, and marveling over the fact that other people who love herping actually exist. At one point we each took turns saying who we were, what our handle on Field Herp Forum is, and what animal we would most like to find. I felt a great deal of pride in this forum when about 90 percent of the folks in attendance were FHF members, and the few that weren't, pledged to sign up on Monday.

I also felt an overwhelming feeling that the true nature of NAFHA was finally realized. It is clear to me now that camping, herping and friendship are what will make this organization thrive, and it was a relief to see no sign (actually, not even a mention) of the squabbling, and turmoil we see online.

To many, (myself included, normally) the idea of 70 plus people herping shoulder to shoulder in one area during a wicked cold snap which made the herping TERRIBLE, is just about the worst way to spend a weekend. But if you were there, you would have been pleasantly surprised to find that the love of herping, the beauty of the spot, and the opportunity to meet people who have existed only as posts on this forum up until then, was enough to sustain us all, and then some. I found 1 snake the whole weekend, and yet this is one of the best herping trips I've ever been on.

I am so proud to be part of this community, and I literally can't wait to get into the field with all of you some time soon.



Thanks to everyone,

Dan Krull

P.S. I took Zero pictures, so if anyone would like to post some pictures of us all hanging out, here would be a great place!

That is great. Wish I could have attended.

scott

Dan,

I took some pictures of the people that I will work on and post in this thread. It was great to see you again, and even better to hang out with Fischer who is a cool kiddo. I can't wait to have my boys on a big trip like this.

I also only personally found one snake--baby western ribbon--but by golly, if I walk up on a group of people huddled around a snake, I consider that as "counting" for my purposes, since if there weren't so many folks out and about, I conceivably could have discovered it on my own.

At these sorts of things, I tend to focus more on the social aspect than the actual herping anyway. Plus it helps to have young eager types willing to run around doing all the flipping of the heavy stuff.

It was terrible weather and I was contemplating not coming because highs in the 50s, lows in the 30s, rain, and clouds did not promise to be one of the best trips to herp, but I am glad I came and was absolutely amazed to find snakes moving in 45 degree, rainy weather. I didn't find as many species as I have in the past, but the ones I did find were more on the rare side, which was really cool.

I think my favorite finds were a timber in 45 degree rain, and a newt that unked for me. It was a really cool trip and great to meet a number of people I've only had interactions with on the forum (and/or admired their photos).

HA! I'm sorry, but this does make me feel a little better. The Ark Herp Society had our fall field trip in southeast AR and daytime temps on saturday were like 48, cold and rainy. Needless to say, our species list was a little light as well. Glad so many folks showed up...I bet it was a good time. Cant wait to see everybody's pics of the same snake!

Bummed I missed it but my son and his team did WIN the Colorado Shootout Soccer Tournament so I had a great weekend too. I cannot wait for all the stories and photos!

Cameron

This weekend will be forever immortalized in song, lore and dance.

i particularly want to see the dance. make sure you post yourself doing said dance when you choreograph it.

-ben

70 herpers in one locale.... That's like a jamboree!

Can't wait to see some group photos.

That's simply awesome. Can't wait to see some pics.
I really regret that I had to back out.

Next year, but maybe somewhere out of the snow belt?

Sky Islands?

Sounds awesome guys. Wish I could have hung out longer down there to make the meet-up.

This was my first time meeting anyone beside Mike Pingleton and Marty Whalin and a group that was at the road a week earlier. I was welcomed with open arms into this awesome community!! I live a mere 22 miles from Snake Road and never once regretted sleeping in my freezing cold tent under two sleeping bags in the fetal position all night for four nights I'll post a few pics that I have and a few group shots I'm in. I'll start with Friday morning where I led a small group of awesomness to Missouri to search for unicorns

It took a while to warm up but when it did the weekend took a turn for the FREAKIN' UNBELIEVABLE Not one, not two, but THREE of these 'lil buggers were found!
Dusty Hognose snake (Heterodon nasicus gloydi)

That's me looking at my shirt instead of the hoggie (I believe Chad Harrison took this photo)
And here is the little guy


It would be a short lived excitement because the Herper Gods were about to release the Kraken upon us!!!
Yes, Unicorns are real and we have photographic evidence
Scarlet snake (Cemophora coccinea)


Other notable finds at spot number one were
Black Rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus obsoletus)

Southern Black racer/s (Coluber constrictor priapus)


From one spot to another we drove 85 miles in a raging thunderstorm watching the weather reports in horror as the temps dropped 30 degrees in a one hour time span The group all looked a bit defeated but we waited in the truck for a few minutes and the rain broke for a spell so we ventured out to search for more things to brag at the campfire about
Eastern Collard lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)


Western Slimy salamander (Plethodon albagula)


We also turned up a few six lined racerunner juveniles and a coal skink that we were unable to capture in time to photograph.

On Saturday we took to the road after an amazing breakfast of pancakes and various other dishes of random food
I'll post a few of our finds from that day as well as what could only be described as the now most famous snake in all of Snake Road history
Northern Zig-zag salamander (Plethodon dorsalis)


Green Tree frog (Hyla cinerea)


Central newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis)


There were a few other species found, but I may have been talking so much that I forgot to take many pictures: Western Cottonmouths, Cave and longtail sallies to name a few. We walked up to many groups of people who were photographing their finds, BUT nothing compared to the Paparazzi-esque photosession that this little copperhead endured like a champ!


That night the campfire was the place to be for sure. We all sat around and took turns introducing ourselves, our screen names, and our most wanted herp to see in the wild. So here goes; Hi, I'm Jeremy Schumacher and incase you missed it before reading this post I go by Kayfabe, and I would reallly like to photograph an eyelash viper in the wild

There was camaraderie and laughs all night long, even during an unfortunate sleeve fixing/groin shot incident that left me on the ground laughing and wincing all at the same time

Sunday was all about swamps as we trudged through some very sticky cypress swamp bottom in search of a lifer for a few of the group. It didn't take long before we had turned up our Mole salamander


We also turned up a Mississippi ringneck and a few Marbled salamanders


We decided that we were all getting a bit burnt out so we went to get some food and share our tails of herper lore then try the road one last time. It was a good walk but not much else. We did get to see a flying squirrel gliding back and forth between a stand of poplar and oak trees which was a first for me
As we were walking towards the gate one last time I nabbed this pic as a reminder of the awesome weekend


here are a few pics of me taken by others at the meeting...I'm not sure why I am making some of the faces I am but here they are!




The campfire that night was a whole new level of awesome as we gathered at Pine Hills campground with a group of Canadian Herpers that showed us how to really throw a party


Things I learned this weekend....1) Americans are totally outclassed when alcohol and Canadians are involved. 2) Getting hit in the nuts is ALWAYS funny when you are drunk. 3) If you get a random group of 4 people together on a 1 hour car ride you can quote the entire script of "Super Troopers"

my closing thoughts on the weekend as I posted on Facebook this morning,

"Sometimes there are fun weekends, sometimes there are tiresome weekends, some where you wonder why, and some where you can't even comprehend what just happened.....This weekend was all of those plus much more! I met soooo many awesome people that picked my spirits up and made me feel like a rockstar in my own home! I can't thank everyone enough for the kind words and the new found kinship we all have! This weekend will live forever in the annals of Snake Road history!!!"

Well, shoot...guess I missed the campfire hoohah Saturday night...was asleep shortly after 9 pm in my vehicle.


For people who need the info for naherp.com (and please include it when uploading/editing records), here is a compilation of weather data for where I was (Snake Road Saturday, Cache River/Heron Pond Sunday):

http://www.mountainboomer.com/junk/2012 ... 20Data.pdf

The left-hand side of the page is the data I recorded on site; the right-hand side is the reported data from the nearest weather facilities.

Here's a couple of phone shots-

I went down to snake road on this trip mainly to see some old, good friends who i have not seen in years. Justin, Andy, Matt...You guys know who you are.

But I got to know so many awesome people over the weekend and facebook friends requests are flying around like crazy right now. Now I have a lot more friends to look forward to seeing in the future. It's funy how such a cold, rainy, and miserable weekend can turn into one of the most memorable herping trips of a lifetime.

Anyway, I was really glad to be a part of it and here's my take on the weekend:


I was fortunate enough to make it down to snake road in southern Illinois this past weekend for the North American Field Herpers Association meeting. The weather got pretty crappy on us but there where good friends, good times, and despite the weather, a few good herps.

But you guys don't really want to do a lot of reading do you? Lets get right down to the cool stuff....The photos.


Snake road bluffs








I have a thing for taking pictures of signs











The Mississippi River was really low due to the drought of 2012





This is the grand tower rock formation in the Mississippi River that the town of Grand Tower Illinois was named after







Now let's get to some critters shall we?


Andy O'Connor spotted this juvie yellow belly water snake (Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster) as we walked the road soon after I arrived




Later, I decided to do a solo walk of the road after dark. I soon came upon this black rat snake (Pantherophis obsoleta obsoleta)



I found that black rat like right off the bat and thought that since I had found that one snake so quickly that I would be tripping over snakes that night, but NOPE. That was the only one found during the night walk. I did however find this southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans). Sorry for the crappy pic, it's all I could get of this little guy.





I made it past the south end of the road and continued along a trail. As I was walking I absent-mindedly ran my hand through some paw-paw leaves along the trail and I touched something slimy. Whatever that slimy goop was it stuck to my finger! I was like "What the hell?". I looked and a green treefrog (Hyla cinerea) had grabbed a hold of my finger!!





The next morning, one of the guys with the group (Sorry, I don't remember who) found some eastern garter snakes(Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) living in some fireworks mortar tubes near our campsite.





I spotted this northern cricket frog (Acris crepitans) hopping along snake road





Kris Haas found this yellow belly water snake (Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster) on the rocks





Our group saw this eastern painted turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) out in the swamp as we walked the road





I stayed behind while everyone else went to go grab a bite to eat and started flipping rocks. Here's what I found


Ringneck snake (Diadophis punctatus)




Central newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis)




Longtail salamander (Eurycea longicauda) that was very difficult to photograph






I started walking back towards my car because at that point I was getting kind of hungry too, and I was starting to regret not going to eat with the rest of the group. I make it a ways up the road and just happen to look down as i I put my foot down and realized that I had just missed stepping on a neonate young of the year cottonmouth cottonmouth by a 1/2 inch!!! Boy, I'll tell you what....I was eyeballing every single little stick on the ground after that!!








I shot a quick video of that cottonmouth as it crawled off of the road

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE-qeBB3 ... e=youtu.be


The next day we were back at it and I soon flipped a zig zag slamander (Plethodon ventralis)




Justin Michels, Matt Ormsby, and I were walking the road when a shrill scream alerted us to the presence of this yellow belly water snake (Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster)






Here's Justin and Matt photographing that Nerodia




Someone else (Don't remember who) found this young of the year western ribbon snake (Thamnophis proximus) and I was able to photograph it




We found another long tail sallie (Eurycea longicauda)




Then Matt Ormsby flipped this smooth earth snake (Virginia valeriae)








I believe that it was Carl Koch that spotted this fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus)




While climbing in the bluffs I photographed this gathering around a neonate western ribbon snake (Thamnophis proximus). The only people I know in this photo are Justin Michels and Dan Krull




I believe it was Nigel Smith who spotted this western cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorous leucostoma) up in the bluffs








Matt Ormsby points out a neonate northern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen)








Here's Matt showing off a rope painted up like a milk snake that was placed under a tire by some jackass. HAHA...very funny.




And to top it off, we found bigfoot!!!!

i'll fess up on the rope milk snake. i wasn't the one who planted it, but my group did. i'll proudly take the jackass comment. for the record, we originally put it under some tin. someone else moved it to the tire.

nice to see the weather didn't hamper you all that much. nice finds.

-ben

At ARC (Annual Rosy Club meeting) in Ridgecrest Ca. (07) we hung DOR's on the hotel doorknobs of those who got skunked... get it? 'Dor-prizes'...
looks like a great time was had by one and all... wish I could have made it... jim

i put a thread in the mid-west. this seems like a better place(this is now the second SR thread, but the one everyone seems to be posting on).

i have to mention that we were there prior to the weekend. we were going to leave saturday morning, but the weather, and being tired out helped us decide to leave friday afternoon.

i was hoping to meet a few folks, but we just went with it, and the trip was what it was. sorry justin, chris, and don, it would have been nice to meet/see you. justin, i ran into a few guys who told me you were on your way to the road thursday afternoon. i thought i'd run into you on the way out.

SNAKES

-western cottons(over 50)*
-black rats(4)
-southern black racers(3)
-western ribbons(over 20)*
-red belly(1)
-timbers(2)
-rough greens(over 20)*
-common garter(1)
-plain belly waters(4)*
-mississippi brown water(1)*
-shawnee king(1)*
-northern copperhead(1)*

OTHER HERPS

-cricket frogs
-slimy sal*
-5-lined skinks
-fence lizards
-long-tailed sals*
-wood frogs
-green frogs
-leopard frogs
-american toad
-eastern box turtle*
-ground skink
-central newt(eft)*

*lifers for me

my favorite from our trip was this one. i had to argue with stu to turn the truck around. we ended up finding a nice flip site. a really big king was the result. stu and i tag teamed this on a flip.




friday we woke up to some weather that wasn't the greatest. we spent some time in the early afternoon, and came up with another target. we went back and packed up in the rain, and it was miserable, but riding the high of this copperhead made it much more enjoyable. trey found this one.



these two pics were not taken at the road.

it was fun

-ben

I think with that much herping talent there couldn't have been bad enough conditions to prevent animals from being seen. Looks like a blast!

I wish I could have been there, but I had to leave for AZ on Friday after a month in KS and NE. The snow that fell on me Friday morning in Colby, KS also helped with my decision to return to a nice 90 degrees here in Phoenix...

Looks like you guys had a good time, despite the cold weather...

Ouch. Perhaps I need to post a pic of me in my "Sears poncho" to jog your memory.

Definitely not missing next year's trip!

I had a really good time. A suprisingly, really good time. Driving up from Florida and entering the arctic circle, I was definitely a bit pessimistic. Everyone there made the trip worthwhile and would do it again in a heart beat.
I didn't partake in the camping, but instead opted for the comforts of the Lincoln Motel in Carbondale. It was particularly fun waking up from a warm night to have to dismantle the beer castle that had carefully been constructed behind my car. Judging by the amount of empty cans, it was either a number of people or one very alcohol tolerant individual.

Down to the pictures:


Mike Pingleton by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


Snake Road Herpers by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


The Big Muddy by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


Thamnophis proximus proximus by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


Virginia valeriae elegans by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


Opheodrys aestivus aestivus by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


Lampropeltis triangulum syspila by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


Diadophis punctatus stictogenys by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


Carphophis amoenus helenae by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


Eurycea longicauda longicauda by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


Ambystoma opacum by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


Ambystoma opacum by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr


Acris blanchardi by Jake M. Scott, on Flickr

Thanks to all involved and the ones who made it possible. Good onya.

-Jake Scott

I want to give a big thanks to Mike Pingleton for helping make this meeting a success!! Thanks also go out to Peter Berg, Dan Krull, TimCO and all the others (too many to list) that helped make this first annual meeting truly GREAT!









-Chris

Looks like a great meet-up, wish I could have been there that weekend instead of the previous.

So my question is: Did ANYONE find a Bird-voiced Treefrog? Kayfabe?

Andy

Big kudos to Mike for a great weekend. It was quiet a gathering for all to remember. I regret not jumping on the MO side trip, after the Pigeon Mt side trip in Oct I should have know better. Side trips with Mike are worth it. Justin those were my garter finds and I am glad you kept the sallie in motion pic. I look forward to the next herpers migration.
Chris Montross

Someone mentioned that the two girls that were kayaking down the river were blogging about there trip. Did anyone get the address of their blog?

unfortunately after 3 weeks of non-stop searching...NO I had a moment where I though my luck had changed, but it was just a baby green treefrog

If we're taking blog accounts, here's mine of my visit with Andy Avram the prior week. (Kayak girls not included.)

"i'll fess up on the rope milk snake. i wasn't the one who planted it, but my group did. i'll proudly take the jackass comment. for the record, we originally put it under some tin. someone else moved it to the tire.

nice to see the weather didn't hamper you all that much. nice finds.

-ben"

All good man. We got a really good laugh out of it.

"Ouch. Perhaps I need to post a pic of me in my "Sears poncho" to jog your memory."

Sorry Chris. I killed too many brain cells around the campfire at night to possibly remember who all had found what with 100% accuracy. Now that you mention it, I do remember the poncho...and the hat.

Bird voice was second highest on my list, but no luck. Came close with a gray tree froglet a few miles away. Did get my red milk on thur though. As well as many other lifers.
Chris Montross

Sorry to all the guys wanting Bird Voiced you were all in the right place at the wrong time... It gives you something to come back for.

I gotta say I love seeing that people were so into looking for some amphibians too. Snakes are #1 on my list, but good to see the often looked-over amphibs getting some love!

Looks like I missed out on Saturday night but I can say without a doubt that I had enough fun Friday night to make this one of my most memorable herping adventures...and I only saw one snake too. There are some really great people that make up this community.

Michael Cravens

It was great to see some old faces and meet new folks as well. I really enjoyed this effort despite the cold.

If someone said to you, “travel some significant distance, herp an area with 70+ other herpers where cover has been flipped so much its on hinges, and do this in cold wet weather”, you may say “no way”.

Or you may follow Gimli’s advice. “Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for?”

The second choice was the best for this outing, much in part because of the first class organization of Mike Pingleton, et al. The 1st national meeting was a success.


Herper in the act:
This is Todd McKinney (Ky) in the act of wrangling a large, female Black Racer.








The diversity of regulars was interesting (all pics in situ except newt):


Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea):





Salamanders:

Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga) keeping an eye on me:



Cave Salamander exposed.




Central Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis):






Turtles (good to see RES (Trachemys scripta elegans) as a native instead of nuisance!)






Lizards:


Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus):






Five Lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus):






Snakes:


Ratsnake (Pantherophis obsoletus/spiloides) YOY:






Ratsnake (Pantherophis obsoletus/spiloides) Juv:






Yellow-bellied Watersnake (Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster)
Mississippi Green Watersnake (Nerodia cyclopion):






Western Moccasins (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma) were probably most commonly found snake, old and young, but there were other lesser-known variants found in the area.


The moccasin on the green:






The green on the moccasin:





The Cliff Dwelling Moccasin:








Thanks to all who attended.
Special thanks to all who made it happen.

Bill McGighan

I have to speak up here.

I've been checking this thread several times a day, every day this week, and loving every photo.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I'm fairly new here, but I hope to have the opportunity to join you on the Snake Road trip some day!

Wow was that smallmouth salamander found at the road? That might be a first for me, but it's one of the things that keeps me coming back! I've found them everywhere in Illinois but there. I won't bother everyone with the same animals all over again. Many seem like old friends after all these years of going there. I will work on some of the poeple pics which I'm certain I didn't take enough of.

Hi Bill,
Your flavigaster is actually cyclopion.

Cheers,
Tim

The Smallmouth was found at Cache River

By God, You're right, Tim, thanks.

Best two out of three?

I haven't had a chance to upload pictures. I confess, I moved the milk snake rope from the tin to the tire... I didn't realize the herping was so dismal for so many. Mack and I arrived early Wednesday afternoon and did very well before the weather turned, and after that, as many have mentioned, the campfires and car rides more than made up for it.

"I'm attending the University of Awesome, Majoring in Epicness. Population; 1, I'm the Dean, the Professor, and the student."

I met some people that I expect to become life long friends, as a few others that I met on my first trip in 2007 have become. I will have a phone replacement very soon (ONLY downside of the trip was my phone was destroyed), and once I do, I will probably be talking to you on the phone, texting, or on facebook more. Can't wait for the next trip, where ever it is, I know it will be amazing.

That moment was beyond awesome!!!

Here's the few pics of the people that made this trip so great. All walks of life came together, got along, fit in and herped. It was amazing we are a great group of amazing individuals and I was proud to be a part of it.

Andy O'connor's holding a racer while Peter Berg looks on as Jamie shoots it.


Pingleton is admiring what's more than likely a once in a lifetime snake.


The famous st. alfonso's pancake breakfast, where I stole the margarine...


Erica Hoaglund, Chris Smith and Justin Guyer herping.


Matt Ormsby is taking a break from flipping rocks for me... This is awesome bottomland swamp at the ole Snake Road.


Marty Whalen with his boy Henry. This is a great scene, wish I had only brought my DSLR for this one.


This is one of the now infamous Canadians. His shirt is his lifelist for the road. It was about the coolest herping shirt I've seen.


In greater detail, they were filling it out as they found things, just so cool.


Here's the famous road with more people than I usually like seeing, but in this case the people were awesome and so was the trip.

I can't believe you all found cemophora was it a county record! I have wanted to find a copei in my state of Mo. since forever Plus the gloydi crap man nice finds. Too bad my work would not approve my day off 2 months in advance...I am verry sad I couldn't make it here is some finds Ive made this fall
*not snake road related* in fact over a state away on the west side of Mo.

first up my favorite snake find this fall
a smooth earth snake adult


a juvenile


A yoy osage copperhead, a verry respectfull snake did not move a muscle the whole photographing session could have been frozen, I shaped him with a twig




Another pic of the smooth earth snake adult, I think these are really neat snakes


THe best find I found this fall is habitat check this out,,,Im thinking a possible place for some new county records, maye ground snakes,..Cass county mo habitat











and some cass county scorpions(sonora food) from the above spot

Justin, that's a rat I'm holding. Looks like I didn't escape everyone's lenses... I will need to do a better job of going stealth herping. Here's a few pictures of some of our finds, including the timber we found Wednesday before everyone showed up. I realized that I should start taking more pictures of herpers herping, although it was a good idea the camera stayed away once the campfire was ablaze, as I found that alcohol, night adventures, and electronics don't mix (I had some cool pictures on my phone too)

Mack's lifer cotton. Third snake found on the trip.


A ribbon grabbing a snack


Our timber, took me 5 trips into their range over 6 years, and Mack finds one within a couple hours of his first trip... I won't go herping away from home without him from now on.




an aquatic adult newt


rough green


our second timber


the first adult cotton to show me its namesake


photos of me holding this rat have been posted, but here's my take




1st of 3 hogs, the first one Mack flipped.




A scarlet snake? from Missouri? I thought it was fake when I lifted that little piece of tin.


It took some people a couple of minutes to find this frog right next to the trail, even after my hints.




This copper caused quite the commotion on the road.


I really liked its pattern


A mole salamander. I like how big and awkward their heads are.


I decided to leave the leaves in front of this snake's face, but right after this picture, they were moved by hand. Hearts stopped beating, a couple people shouted, but luckily this snake remained calm...


About 30 minutes north of the road, Mack and I stopped on our way back to St. Louis to do some last minute herping. I decided to take my time with a slimy for once and get a decent shot.


Last herp of the trip was this abberant, arboreal cottonmouth...


we went to the St. Louis zoo before heading home.

Thanks to everyone for some great memories, this was the best herping trip I've ever been on and will be hard to top, but I will try over and over!

I want to thank everyone who was involved in putting this weekend together. I can say it was one of the best herping trips I've ever had. It was great to reconnect with old friends and meet some new ones. I'll just share a few of my photos from the weekend. Cheers!