As those of you who follow my posts know, I absolutely love Arizona. I like herping in lots of places, but the verb "love" is reserved for Southern Appalachia, California, and Arizona. Last year, my friend Hayden and I took a joint trip to Tucson/Portal last year and then linked it with his usual guy trip to Vegas organized by an ex-coworker. Read that story here: https://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=25967. Hayden is not a herper per se but enjoys the snake side of things, especially the cruising. This year, we did a rehash of that trip but also brought our friend Charles along. Also not a herper, but he enjoyed the morning hikes.
My normal style is to do long-form narration day by day of the trip, but am inclined not to do that for this trip, in large part because of just how similar this trip was to 2023's. In fact, the deja vu was nearly nonstop.
At our first stop on the first full day in Tucson (the same first stop as last year), we again missed AZ Black Rattler but got one small snake. A hike higher on the mountain afterward was again pretty and again turned up nothing.
Hayden wore the same khaki shorts and teal shirt he did last year.
We went to the same Mexican restaurant (El Charro--the best Mexican restaurant in the United States I have ever visited) and the same waitress as last year complimented his shirt just like she did last year. I am not fooling. It felt a little like being in the Twilight Zone.
I again lost playing blackjack in Las Vegas but only marginally.
We again found a lifer Leopard Frog that I thought was nearly impossible (last year was Chiricahuan, this year Lowland) until getting late-breaking research and then changed the itinerary to see it both easily and legally.
We again got a random DOR lifer cruising near Kingman.
I again spent a lot of time in the pool and watching TV midday while checking my phone every 10 minutes to see where the rain was.
You get the idea. It was a very similar trip to last year's (perhaps the most notable differences were that I got to shoot a Tommy Gun and M1 Garande in Vegas, I did sing late night karaoke this time, and that most of the other herpers we met in Arizona were Europeans, not Americans), and in that spirit, I am going to just post the highlight pictures and offer a little bit of commentary.
These first pictures are from our first night of cruising, the best of the trip. We did not see my Ridgenose Ratler, but saw six rattlers (three Rocks, three Blacktail) and a garter, and met a pair of Europeans looking for "Ze Ridge-nose." They were from Austria and Germany, respectively. As they drove away, Hayden remarked, "The last time Austria and Germany teamed up, it was trouble for us." Very true....
Banded Rock Rattler, Southeast Arizona
Rock Rattler blends with pavement, SE Arizona
Big Western Blacktail, SE Arizona at sunset
Back in Tucson, an urban restored pond produced these little guys, the first lifer of the trip for me, just before some marvelous Mexican:
Lowland Leopard Frog, Tucson
The second night's cruise didn't turn much up toward the border, but we did get Hayden's lifer Sidewinder courtesy of Francesco and Valentina, two Italian herpers who had just found one as we drove up. We handled the snake for each other as the other took photos, and they oo'hd and aah'd. It was their first US rattler!!
Sonoran Desert Sidewinder, Pima County, Arizona
We also got Hayden a large lifer Sonoran Gopher that night nearby:
Sonoran Gophersnake, Pima County, Arizona
The next morning, our two-hour hike turned up a ton of lizards, including this unexpected lifer, the Giant Spotted Whiptail. No joke, it is GIANT!
Giant Spotted Whiptail, Pima County, Arizona
Our final efforts to get a Black Rattler up at higher elevation in the coniferous forests were fruitless, but the hikes were gorgeous and the mild temperatures a welcome break from the desert floor. The final night back toward Tucson did give us a tortoise, which we did not see in 2023:
Sonoran Desert Tortoise, Pima County, Arizona
We passed through Phoenix the next morning and spent some time marveling at the red rocks of Sedona and nearby before a high-elevation hike near Flagstaff, where I saw an old friend:
Greater Short-horned Lizard, near Flagstaff
Near Kingman, we turned up a DOR Striped Whipsnake and a just-hit Gophersnake to the tunes of Sturgill Simpson who (again, like 2023) proved to be great road-cruising luck. Not good enough to rustle up an AZ Black Rattler, but good luck nonetheless:
Sonoran Gophersnake, Mohave County, Arizona
That concluded the herping portion of the trip and we headed to Vegas the next morning after a dawn hike, which was great in its own right (karaoke, as mentioned earlier, some interesting observations about casino economics, etc.). Overall, a good trip herping wise and it was wonderful to get to share it with two friends. I am not sure I will be back next monsoon season (might do some salamander stuff in the Northern Rockies instead), but Arizona will remain in the back of my mind until my next visit!
Happy herping!
