I had the opportunity to make
several trips to Las Vegas, Nevada (August 1999, March-April 2000,
and March 2001). On the 1999 trip I took a few night drives into
the Great Basin Desert in Nevada and the Mohave (Mojave) Desert in
Nevada/California. All my finds shortly after sunset, with a full
moon. All except the sidewinder were
found on rainy nights. For the April 2000 finds there was no rain,
the moon was a waxing crescent, and the temperatures were down to
60 degrees Fahrenheit. March 2001 saw even cooler
temperatures. All I saw on my night drives was a single Night
Snake.
The picture at right is from Red
Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, which is about 20
miles west of Las Vegas. Besides being a lot of fun and quite a
challenge climbing the rock formations without ropes, it's a great
place to find reptiles.
This next picture is one of the beautiful
panoramas you can find at Valley
of Fire State Park, located in southeast Nevada just north of
Lake Mead. This has been my most productive area for
reptiles--most of the species I've seen in Nevada have been from
in or near this park.
