Watch Out For....Snakes??

This summer, Mahonri and I took many rides up the canyon to look for deer and elk. We were always successful in finding something. We even got lucky enough one evening to see some turkeys...a hen and her babies. It was really cool because the time before that I was asking Mahonri if there were turkeys in our mountains and if we would ever see any. I really wish I could post some pictures of the turkeys and nice deer and elk we saw, but unfortunately the pictures are on the video camera and the video camera is in Gunnison and I am not. Anyway, on August 1 we decided to take a ride up the canyon which is not unusual. As we were just getting onto the dirt road that leads up the canyon, just outside of Mayfield, Mahonri spots something in the road. He tells me he is sure that it is a snake and most likely a rattlesnake. He backs the truck up to see, and sure enough, there is a rattlesnake in the middle of the road trying to make it to the other side. Since rattlesnakes are really no good, he decides he wants to run it over. Hmmm, not as easy as it sounds. He tries many times to run over the snake but somehow it seems to keep getting out of the way. He finally decides to get out of the truck to just look, wishing this whole time that he had left his 22 in the truck so he could just shoot the dang thing. Now for some unknown reason, I decide to speak up and tell Mahonri to just use a pole that he has in the truck to try to kill the snake. (Why would I give him this idea...I still ask myself that same question.) He gets out the pole and smacks the snake in the head...instantly dead. One might think this is the end but no, Mahonri decides to do this...

Of course you have to proudly display the things you kill. And guess where that snake went after that, in the back of the truck. Seriously, I was scared to death. I HATE snakes. Good job Mahonri for making one less snake out there to freak me out and getting a rattle out of the deal isn't so bad either!