Rattlesnake at the Vicksburg National Military Park

Just what I needed, to feel ancient!!! Some of the sixties cars used them too. Remember the fuzzy dice? Whitewalls? Baby moon hubcaps?

I do remember whitewalls, and know of fuzzy dice (and eight balls too :smile: ) Had a couple cars with whitewalls, but was totally clueless of curb feelers and baby moon hubcaps (googled that one and, I remember those :wink: ) . Know what an 8-track is
 
I do remember whitewalls, and know of fuzzy dice (and eight balls too :smile: ) Had a couple cars with whitewalls, but was totally clueless of curb feelers and baby moon hubcaps (googled that one and, I remember those :wink: ) . Know what an 8-track is
Yeah the 8-tracks were so high tech then, no radio static or interference!!! Actually I remember when FM was kinda new, previously AM radio ruled the air-waves. Oh, the "good old days" please tell me they aren't that old! Then cassette tapes came out...oh the tech revolution was booming.
 
I was talking to an old soldier once and he told me that when he was in the desert his biggest fear was Camel Spiders, apparently these spiders inject a venom which numbs the skin, he told me that one soldier fell asleep in the back of a truck and when he woke up the camel spider had eaten part of his left cheek, the soldier wasn't even aware that he had been bitten. 'Sleep Well'
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I've spent a whole lotta time in the desert.
Your friend is probably (99.99%) embellishing.

:wink:

Camel Spiders are not Toxic/Venomous/Poisonous/etc.

Keep in mind that the infamous photo above is also very misleading - it is actually 2 'spiders', and the angle/depth perception/whatever you'd call it makes them appear much larger than they can actually get (~5-6").

I will say that they DO have a knack for hiding exactly where you need to stick your hands.

They used to climb the main landing gear shock struts on our AH-64D's and hide in the AHS (ammo handling system) or if you left the B200 (belly panel) off they would sometimes get up near the fuel/ammo combo pack - so then when the panel goes back on, and you open the small access door to take a fuel sample.... You get a very distinct tickle!

:cold:


My 1SG had my @$$ when i put one in his empty coffee pot for him to find when he was groggy first thing in the morning.

Lastly, these little guys are RESILIENT.

When we shipped our milvans back from Iraq, we got them ~3 months after we had returned to Fort Hood.

When we busted open the customs seal on our GSE milvan, we found 2 of them - still alive and appearing completely healthy.

We let them go - they deserved it after that ordeal! They're already native here in Texas - so no harm, no foul.

They survived 3-4 months... sealed in a milvan, sitting in holding yards and then at sea, on a container ship... I cannot fathom the inside ambient temp it must have reached in there.

They are some ugly SOB's for sure, though!
 
I have had several near misses with rattlesnakes, the most notable incident being when I was out running and a Prairie rattler was hidden in the grass by the road. As I ran by he struck the side of my right foot. An inch or so higher and he would have sunk his fangs into the soft flesh of my lower ankle; as it was he struck the stiff outer shell of the running shoe heel and left a couple of scratch marks on the shoe.

I cannot tell you how high I jumped and how loud I screamed the instantaneous moment that he struck and I heard his rattle and I saw him in the corner of my eye... but I felt like it was about 10 feet and about a 120 on the decibel scale.

Where I come from we kill rattlesnakes... (apologies to all of you rattle snake lovers out there), so once I came back down to the earth and made sure my running shorts were still tolerably clean, I looked around for some big rocks. None were near, but off in the distance I saw a rocky area. Not wanting to let him escape to get me another day, I took off my hot, sweaty running shirt and threw it down a foot or two in front of the snake. He coiled and flickered at the shirt, and I ran off to grab as many good size stones as I could carry (of course looking closely for any of his buddies along the way). Sure enough when I came back he was still there, coiled and flicking his forked tongue at my warm running shirt. A few well placed stones later he was out of commission.

I can't believe I did this next part now that I look back on it years later, but after making sure his head was well crushed and immobile under several big stones, I found a rock with a sharp edge to it and used it to hack off his rattles. A trophy. It's just what we did in West Texas in those days.

Needless to say, I hate snakes...

:smoke:
 
I've spent a whole lotta time in the desert.
Your friend is probably (99.99%) embellishing.

:wink:

Camel Spiders are not Toxic/Venomous/Poisonous/etc.

Keep in mind that the infamous photo above is also very misleading - it is actually 2 'spiders', and the angle/depth perception/whatever you'd call it makes them appear much larger than they can actually get (~5-6").

I will say that they DO have a knack for hiding exactly where you need to stick your hands.

They used to climb the main landing gear shock struts on our AH-64D's and hide in the AHS (ammo handling system) or if you left the B200 (belly panel) off they would sometimes get up near the fuel/ammo combo pack - so then when the panel goes back on, and you open the small access door to take a fuel sample.... You get a very distinct tickle!

:cold:


My 1SG had my @$$ when i put one in his empty coffee pot for him to find when he was groggy first thing in the morning.

Lastly, these little guys are RESILIENT.

When we shipped our milvans back from Iraq, we got them ~3 months after we had returned to Fort Hood.

When we busted open the customs seal on our GSE milvan, we found 2 of them - still alive and appearing completely healthy.

We let them go - they deserved it after that ordeal! They're already native here in Texas - so no harm, no foul.

They survived 3-4 months... sealed in a milvan, sitting in holding yards and then at sea, on a container ship... I cannot fathom the inside ambient temp it must have reached in there.

They are some ugly SOB's for sure, though!

I druther the rattler, myself! The only spider really scares me is the black widow. Almost lost an arm from a bite and they can kill a small kid.
 
I have had several near misses with rattlesnakes, the most notable incident being when I was out running and a Prairie rattler was hidden in the grass by the road. As I ran by he struck the side of my right foot. An inch or so higher and he would have sunk his fangs into the soft flesh of my lower ankle; as it was he struck the stiff outer shell of the running shoe heel and left a couple of scratch marks on the shoe.

I cannot tell you how high I jumped and how loud I screamed the instantaneous moment that he struck and I heard his rattle and I saw him in the corner of my eye... but I felt like it was about 10 feet and about a 120 on the decibel scale.

Where I come from we kill rattlesnakes... (apologies to all of you rattle snake lovers out there), so once I came back down to the earth and made sure my running shorts were still tolerably clean, I looked around for some big rocks. None were near, but off in the distance I saw a rocky area. Not wanting to let him escape to get me another day, I took off my hot, sweaty running shirt and threw it down a foot or two in front of the snake. He coiled and flickered at the shirt, and I ran off to grab as many good size stones as I could carry (of course looking closely for any of his buddies along the way). Sure enough when I came back he was still there, coiled and flicking his forked tongue at my warm running shirt. A few well placed stones later he was out of commission.

I can't believe I did this next part now that I look back on it years later, but after making sure his head was well crushed and immobile under several big stones, I found a rock with a sharp edge to it and used it to hack off his rattles. A trophy. It's just what we did in West Texas in those days.

Needless to say, I hate snakes...

:smoke:

One of my favorite stories involves a swank house a rich man from the city built. Beautiful site - grand perch overlooking the whole lush valley. We Indians told him it was a grand place for a house alright, but somebody else had their house already there - it was a rattler's den. He just flicked us off, said he had it all cleaned out and fumigated and poisoned and what all - no snakes no more. Oh, there will be. Nope. Never. Got every last one of them. Built his castle. Within two years, they were back. He had rattlers coming out of his walls, his closets, his oven... He moved out and worked for a long time to get rid of them but this time they wouldn't go. It's like they loved the poison they put down! He ended up abandoning the place and it's still sitting empty all these years. If you build it, they will come...back - because they've been doing it for who knows how many thousands of years!
 
When spending time in desert training outside of Barstow California many years ago, we had experiences with Tarantulas that I don't care to repeat. Also corralled and cooked rattlers as part of survival training. That was an interesting 89 days. Uncle Sam made sure it only ran 89 days because if it lasted 90 days we would have had to be paid TDY pay.
 
When spending time in desert training outside of Barstow California many years ago, we had experiences with Tarantulas that I don't care to repeat. Also corralled and cooked rattlers as part of survival training. That was an interesting 89 days. Uncle Sam made sure it only ran 89 days because if it lasted 90 days we would have had to be paid TDY pay.

The NTC tarantulas! Yes sir!

And they did the exact same to us, to forfeit the TDY/Per Diem/Family Sep allowances.

After a few rotations thru Irwin, i learned to volunteer for railhead operations on the way back... guaranteed logistical problems, almost a surefire way to bust into the incentive pay.

Uncle Sam needs to learn new tricks!
 
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Yeah! That was Irwin come to think of it!!!! Right outside of Barstow, seemed like a forever drive out to the post if I remember correctly. Once into the gate, the few WWII steel huts for motor pool operations and buildings were visible through all the dust...the same place...like there was another...
 
I've spent a whole lotta time in the desert.
Your friend is probably (99.99%) embellishing.

:wink:

Camel Spiders are not Toxic/Venomous/Poisonous/etc.

Keep in mind that the infamous photo above is also very misleading - it is actually 2 'spiders', and the angle/depth perception/whatever you'd call it makes them appear much larger than they can actually get (~5-6").

I will say that they DO have a knack for hiding exactly where you need to stick your hands.

They used to climb the main landing gear shock struts on our AH-64D's and hide in the AHS (ammo handling system) or if you left the B200 (belly panel) off they would sometimes get up near the fuel/ammo combo pack - so then when the panel goes back on, and you open the small access door to take a fuel sample.... You get a very distinct tickle!

:cold:


My 1SG had my @$$ when i put one in his empty coffee pot for him to find when he was groggy first thing in the morning.

Lastly, these little guys are RESILIENT.

When we shipped our milvans back from Iraq, we got them ~3 months after we had returned to Fort Hood.

When we busted open the customs seal on our GSE milvan, we found 2 of them - still alive and appearing completely healthy.

We let them go - they deserved it after that ordeal! They're already native here in Texas - so no harm, no foul.

They survived 3-4 months... sealed in a milvan, sitting in holding yards and then at sea, on a container ship... I cannot fathom the inside ambient temp it must have reached in there.

They are some ugly SOB's for sure, though!

My friend was an old soldier, he served during the Suez crisis with the SAS, he told me some very big stories and to be honest I knew that a couple of his stories were somewhat 'inflated', he did however serve with the SAS because after he died I was asked to give a speech at his funeral and one of his tributes came from a gentleman that served with him in the 'Regiment'. I miss my old mate he was always trying to get one over on me, looks like he still does..lol
 
We have a drink in the UK called 'Snake bite', no snakes involved, its a pleasant drink but packs a punch, its made from half a pint of cider and half a Pint of larger, we add blackcurrant to add a bit of sweetness, this drink is also called diesel and if you add a shot of vodka its called a Turbo Diesel, I guarantee that you wouldn't walk straight of a couple of pints of Turbo Diesel. Bill Clinton tried to order a Pint of Snake Bite when he was in the UK but the landlord refused to serve him. I would love to have met him after he had a few pints of Snakebite.
 
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I like the remote rural environment. You learn to be aware of your surroundings. I have had close calls, but so far never bitten by a snake.

To each their own I guess. I get the occasional garter snake and black snake in my suburban area and that's enough for me. I don't have to worry about where I put my feet.
 
Even the experienced handler can get bit.

A close friend of mine was putting on a demonstration in Thailand with a King Cobra and the cobra bit him on the thumb. He remained calm and immediately amputated his own thumb. His quick thinking saved his life.

Our own snakes are menacing enough, but my years overseas brought me in contact with cobras, taipans, blue kraits, puff adders, black and green mambas and a slew of others.

Besides snakes and sliders, let us not forget scorpions.
 
Ugh, scorpions! They aren't very big around here but we have a few.

upload_2016-5-22_5-53-11.jpeg
 
Yeah! That was Irwin come to think of it!!!! Right outside of Barstow, seemed like a forever drive out to the post if I remember correctly. Once into the gate, the few WWII steel huts for motor pool operations and buildings were visible through all the dust...the same place...like there was another...
And don't forget the other Mojave Garden Spot, Twentynine Palms-the Marine Corps playground.
 
That I don't remember those places, as my exercise (Devil's Strike) at Irwin was while enlisted in the Army. Was in "The Big Red One" at the time.
Twenty Nine Palms (I never saw a single growing thing, Palm Tree or otherwise there) is the Marine Corps desert playground and like Fort Irwin it has the heat, wind and all the sand that you can eat.
 
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