Weekly Update Archive

Week Ending 05/09/05

Kim, the kids and I ripped out of Houston about 7:30 PM Friday, May 6. We decided to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary by heading out West to GOD'S country again. We arrived in Del Rio about 12:30 AM the winds were high and the temps were very cool, so we made base camp at the lake off of 277. On Saturday, we went to Mexico and ate at Crosby's, hung out with the rest of the wild Americanos, then shopped around town. We had a few drinks at La Macarena and visited with our friends who own local businesses there. We cruised back across the International bridge and headed to Langtry dirt. We went all the way to the now defunked Pandale store. It is under new ownership now but is not yet open for business. This area is totally dead right now. This is good for snakes though. We only saw one atrox on the way back to highway 90. This was at dusk, and was also seen in the only stretch of road that I have ever caught alterna. Hey, if it isn't a Gray Banded King, it's always something else!

We headed toward Sanderson hunting intermittent cuts all the way. I got really tired and had to pack it in earlier than I had wanted. A storm was brewing in the distance and I knew the pressure was good. We did not see any more snakes, but Dan Grubbs and John Michaels from California hit the jackpot and caught 2 alterna in the same night in Langtry. Congrats guys. See ya'll again real soon now that you have the fever!

Sunday sucked the worst for me. We stayed at the Outback Oasis with Roy and Ruth and had a great time with them as always. Ruth fixed us breakfast as well as dinner. Thanks a million, Ruth! I will bring the food next trip! Later that night after I had dropped Kim and the kids off at the room, I headed out West to the cuts a few miles out of town. Low and behold one of the local sheriffs stopped me and gladly wrote me a citation for driving on the improved shoulder of the highway in a non-emergency under 45 miles an hour. This, of course, being bullshit, I wondered why this was happening. I cruised off looking for the other herpers who were out to warn them, and I found Roy and the two guys from Missouri. The sheriff later passed us and pulled in behind us and began harassing everyone again. He did not write tickets this time but was being a major pain-in-the-ass! His name is Steve and he is a transplant from Lubbock, Texas. I later found out after Roy and I talked with Clint McDonald (THE main Sheriff in Sanderson), that they are really pissed at the postings on kingsnake.com regarding the content of some of the e-mails being posted. I do plan on fighting my citation because it is nothing more than harassment by Terrell County's finest. See ya in court guys.

The rest of the trip was uneventful other than passing the guys form California on highway 90 heading toward Del Rio. We had lunch with them and traded stories and I photographed their fine catch. I will be heading back out this weekend.

Stay tuned!

Wayne Howell
May 9, 2005

First West Texas Trip of the Season
(Click on Photos to Enlarge)

Reptile Rescue Release