I don’t know if all of you are familiar with the stupid Christmas song called “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” but how about this one “Grandma Almost Got Bit by a Rattlesnake”!! yes that is right – yours truly wasn’t watching the trail quite as closely as I should have been and there it was!!
I have never heard a rattlesnake for real – just what we all hear in the movies and tv – but one evening in Mesa Verde we had an early evening meal and decided to walk the nature trail that is by the campground. It weaves in and out of the valley and up to the cliff side. There are numbers going up to 32 in the booklet that tells you all about the plants and trees and what is edible and what isn’t. The names of the trees and plants. The trails name is Knife Edge (I will post more photos of the trail after we get home and Mike has had time to go through all the photos). Well we were walking, Mike is taking photos and I am reading from the book by each number telling him what he is seeing and taking photos of 
For the most part the trail was fairly wide and easy to follow. But at number 30 the trail is starting to get a little close, the grasses are a little longer and the trail is narrow. All of a sudden I heard it! I knew instantly what it was even though I had never heard it before – there is something about that rattle that you immediately know - RATTLESNAKE — I froze, looked around and there about 12 inches from my feet on the side of the trail mixed in with the grass and brush was a rattlesnake coiled up and rattling. I started to slowly back up one step at a time and about the same time Mike is saying “What” – like what are you walking backwards for – he sees it and hears it too. We both continue to back up and it stays where it is. At a safe distance–of course the camera is ready Mike is taking photos! Here are the photo’s.
Here is my rattlesnake - if you look closely in the middle you can see the underside of the rattles - we can't see it's head in the photo but I think it is behind one of the green leaves where the body looks just a little flatter. You can see why I didn't see it with all that brush around it - although I must admit I hadn't been looking down at the trail at that instance.
Here it is as we are kicking gravel at it off of the path to make it leave the area. It sure stretches out a ways. I have no idea how long it was as it blended in to the area so much. In this photo you can see the head and how long the body is stretching but if you look at the end of it - it is still coiled in that section.
I must admit my heart was beating fast as we were waiting for it to clear out of the way. This happened between #30 & 31 and it only went to #32 and we would be finished. We were brave and finished the trail to the end — with me very closely watching my feet and the trail — all the way back too! I’m glad to say I lived to tell the tale
(actually my heart was beating kind of fast for almost an hour and I couldn’t stop talking about how close that was and why wasn’t I watching the trail better when I know you are supposed to do that as I am an experienced hiker — I learned my lesson and will watch closer from now on!)
(We are now on the way home and should be home on Friday. Tonight we are at a KOA campground with internet!! I have missed it. We are in New Mexico, tomorrow will be someplace in Oklahoma and then home)
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