A commonly encountered Eastern Box Turtle.

Jessica at Berkeley Springs, WV.

Camp.

Camp headquarters. We were supposed to sign in here but no one ever came to the door.... so I camped for free and stole some firewood from the backyard.

Our camp.... not very rustic, but comfortable. Fajita kept guard.

So snake searching wasn't actually planned. Jessica, Fajita, and I were driving back from Berkeley Springs and noticed two fellas looking at the underside of rocks near the road up by Dolly Sods. This was way out in the middle of BFE so it was obvious that these must be two of my fellow labmates. Who else would gaze so intently beneathe rocks? As we neared, and their profiles emerged, it was apparent that this was Dan and Tim... so I promptly gunned the engine, launched my truck on to the gravel shoulder and slammed on the breaks (knightrider style) as I layed on the horn. Tim, who hadn't had time to notice who it was, stood frozen like a deer in headlights, while Dan made a run for it. Priceless.

Minutes later we were catching and measuring snakes.

Windblown Spruce trees (flag trees) at Dolly Sods Wilderness, WV.

Snake catchers.

Smooth Green Snake, one of Tim's study species, caught from under a rock at Dolly Sods Wilderness.

The rock that the abovementioned Green Snake was found under.

Tim and is Kestrel.

Dan, Matt, and snakes.

Processing.

Jessica, Matt, and a tired Fajita.

A Cow Knob Salamander, Plethodon punctatus, caught later on this trip.

What the hell? That stick just moved!