Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

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Matt J
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Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by Matt J »

Thought I would post pics from my first 2 weeks in Las Vegas. Took 4 days, just over 2,700 miles, and $530 in gas to get here, but I made it all in one piece. Unfortunately we have been training everyday so I've not been able to get out and herp as frequently as I hoped, but I've been able to hike a bit and find incidental lifers.

We live about 5 miles from Red Rocks Canyon so we frequent that area often, and a group of us went to Valley of Fire SP one day for hiking/climbing and saw some good scenery:

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Took my truck out one day to go camping. It took a hell of a beating getting to the site, but this pic should be in a Ford ad lol:
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Spotted this Gambel's Quail (Callipepla gambelii) bobbing around one day:
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Even cooler was this federally-protected Desert bighorn sheep ram (Ovis canadensis nelsoni). We were poking around a rock outcrop and saw him standing on the back side of it, so close I could have punched him in the nose.
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Flipped this creepy juvi scorpion too, about the size of my finger nail:
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...and a centipede (eep)
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Now on to the herps. Out in the desert it still gets super cold at night (it got down to 25* a few nights ago while we were camping) which I suspect is reducing my luck, but I've still managed to pick up a few species.

I didn't believe people when they commented on how common side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana) are, but these friggin things are everywhere.
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Unfortunately they are super-fast once they warm up and shoot straight into kangaroo rat burrows as soon as you see them:
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Desert night lizards (Xantusia vigilis) also appear pretty common and I've flipped quite a few under dead Mojave Yucca
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I've only found Desert horned lizards (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) at one area but they are friggin awesome
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Perhaps my favorite find out here so far was a Desert banded gecko (Coleonyx v. variegatus) that I flipped under a shot-up metal door in the middle of the desert. It flicked it tail in the air the entire time and squeaked when it ran, the most adorable thing ever
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There is an actual wetland not too far from the house so I checked it out one day looking for amphibians. Luckily I filled that void in my life and found a toad!!! [Red-spotted toad (Bufo punctatus)] Heard a few calling but couldn't locate them, this one was flipped under a rock along the ridge.
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The whole reason I'm out here is to work with Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii). During training transects my partner and I have come across 5 live tortoises in the past week. I'm not permitted to handle them yet so these are en situ:

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Sucks at hiding:
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Well that about raps it up. I've only seen 1 DOR snake but it was on the "highway" and I had vehicles following me so I couldn't investigate further. Once it gets warmer at night I plan on cruising much more often.
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kyle loucks
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by kyle loucks »

Banded geckos rock! Beautiful scenery too.
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Thesee
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by Thesee »

Looks sick the torts are awsome Id love to find one of them sometime!
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Mike VanValen
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by Mike VanValen »

I'm glad you're getting out and finding some stuff. Keep us posted!
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brick911
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by brick911 »

Yeah definitely Matt... keep us posted. Red Rock is gorgeous, as is VOF. But Red Rock is just so damn close to the city. Whenever I go, I couldn't care less about the new hotels. Just show me Charleston Blvd and I'm heading West!
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vincemartino
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by vincemartino »

Stunning! I absolutely love the tortoises. Keep the posts comin.

I really need to get back out west...
zarkus
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by zarkus »

Ah, your first post from an alien planet. Great job, thanks for taking time, and looking forward to more.
Brandon, !
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by Brandon, ! »

Good stuff Matt. Thanks for sharing.
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Matt J
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by Matt J »

:lol: I think you guys are getting better weather back East than I have out here. It snowed all day today in Red Rocks and was in the 50s and windy all day here.
brick911 wrote:Whenever I go, I couldn't care less about the new hotels. Just show me Charleston Blvd and I'm heading West!
My sentiments exactly, fortunately I live on Charleston so I can make a hasty retreat when need be (Though I did spend Saturday on the strip partaking in that revelry lol).

Hopefully I'll start finding some snakes soon...
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withalligators
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by withalligators »

If you can get away there are some neat areas around for herping. Ash Meadows (where I worked if you need a contact) can be pretty good. There's a lot of water, thus a lot of rodents, thus a lot of snakes at the right time of year. Might be early for seeing lots but maybe not. Around Sandy Valley was good for snakes as well, especially rattlers. If you want to see a small range local endemic drive up to Beatty to see the amargosa toad. Also at ash meadows it seems that western toads and woodhouse's hybridize, so you can see some kind of interesting looking intergrades. While surveying we had a lot of "Oh, it's a another-no wait, it's a...huh." moments. Valley of Fire is nice too. It's not the best place to do so, but you can see Gilas there. Also, in a lot of the canyons that drain into Lake Tamarisk-Oh I mean lake mead, you can find relict leopard frogs quite easily. And if you want to hit up a fairly amazing hot spring, pm me for the location.
Cheers,
Alex
will lattea
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by will lattea »

Holy Crap Dude! I was just out hiking red rocks this past weekend.... I was in Vegas for work. I thought you were down in Tucson or I would have hit you up! You're going to love it when the warm weather gets there! Nice pics too.
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brick911
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by brick911 »

I've only ever found snakes on the road at night out there, and even then... I have not done well. Don't get me wrong, I've had lots of fun on the strip. But even when partying, I can't help but think of that speckled rattlesnake sitting on that road in the distance. :lol:
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MarcLinsalata
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by MarcLinsalata »

Aww man, we have to meet up - Ill drive up t Vegas in a second. I've been getting out there a lot lately, but not herping because it has been cold (I do flip rocks and old carpets and stuff on the side of 15 North though on the way up from Los Angeles). If you're ever planning a Saturday outing then hit me up, I'd definitely make my way up there. Brick, when you coming back out West? Throw Eyez in a suitcase, let him do any backbreaking work for us.... :lol:
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brick911
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by brick911 »

I go to Vegas for a week every two years. My next trip wouldn't be til May 2012. But I make it to the West coast sporadically with my job. I used to travel a lot more. I got up to 38 states before I was 27, but only travel once or twice per year now.
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Matt J
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Re: Pics from my first 2 weeks in the Mojave

Post by Matt J »

MarcLinsalata wrote:Aww man, we have to meet up - Ill drive up t Vegas in a second. I've been getting out there a lot lately, but not herping because it has been cold (I do flip rocks and old carpets and stuff on the side of 15 North though on the way up from Los Angeles). If you're ever planning a Saturday outing then hit me up, I'd definitely make my way up there.
I'll definitely let you know, once it warms up and I get some decent spots down. Someone from my group found our first snake the other day, a Mojave rattler, though I wasn't able to come and check it out. It's supposed to get into the 80s next week so hopefully things will become more abundant soon.
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