“Because we focused on the snake, we missed the scorpion.”
~African Proverb
Sunday morning, I put up my small tent to mark my space as “occupied” and put out my table and chair. I drove down the road to a truck stop and topped off my water and propane, then drove into Kingman and got some supplies-snacks from the dollar store, groceries and some items to repair one of my solar suitcases that was starting to come apart. I treated myself to a Domino’s pizza and returned home to my perfect spot and settled in for the week.
Mornings have been mostly pleasant and warm, but by noon the wind picks up and it is difficult to be outside. Cosmo and I walk in the morning and then spend much of the day inside the van.
I went to get something out of one of my totes one afternoon and heard a familiar sound. “Was that a rattlesnake in the bushes?” I thought perhaps it was just the wind rustling the branches of a nearby bush, but then it came again, unmistakable, and I froze.
He was right next to the tote I was heading toward. Cosmo was out with me, off leash and so I yelled “To the VAN.” He ran immediately and hopped into the van. (My friend Leslie encouraged me early on to teach Cosmo to run away in case of emergency and suggested training him to a specific phrase. I chose “To the van” and we practice it often. It sure came in handy.) I went back out, wanting to make sure my visitor was heading away. He was not. He seemed quite content where he was, just a few feet in back of my van door, which I often keep open. I tossed a few rocks in that direction (from far, FAR away) to try to encourage him to move on. The rocks only made him coil up and rattle. He was on high alert. I left him alone but stayed and watched as he slithered into some nearby bushes. Encountering a rattlesnake has been an extreme fear of mine since I bought the van. I constantly scan the ground when we walk outside. I feel like I’m more aware than most people of what may be hiding on the ground or in a nearby bush. And yet, I did not see this guy until he rattled. I was already literally within striking distance from him. He was perfectly camouflaged. You can bet I’m going to up my awareness level from 10 to EXTREME PARANOIA for the remainder of my stay here.
The week took a downhill turn from there on. Cosmo and I had been at least enjoying our mornings before the wind picked up every afternoon. Since we were in such a secluded spot, we could play ball without me worrying about him heading off toward a road or other campers. After seeing the rattlesnake, I was quite reluctant to let Cosmo be off leash. We still walked in the mornings but stayed on the dirt road and away from all bushes. I was ready to move to my next stop, but Seligman, AZ still had nighttime temperatures in the 20s. I decided to just suck it up and hold out until after the weekend.
Lessons From The Road: The obvious lesson for me this week was rattlesnake awareness. Maybe “critter awareness” is more accurate. I always scan the ground for snakes even before we exit the van. In doing so, I missed something more obvious, and perhaps just as dangerous by not looking a bit higher up. Several mornings we encountered this fellow in our campsite.
I only got a photo of him after getting Cosmo back in the van and grabbing my camera. He was much more tuned into us apparently, than we were of him, because when I first caught sight of him, he was close and staring us down. I’m still not over my paranoia about the rattlesnake being 5 feet from the back of my van. I’ll definitely have to get a balance between being very alert and being too scared to be outside. I guess when you live in the wild, you need to be hyper aware of your surroundings.
On the bright side:
