I live and work in the corridor you plan to travel. Louisville will be on your flight path, along I-65. Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest is a fine stop, just a mile off I-65 in Clermont KY north of Elizabethtown. In existence since the 1930s, it evolved into a fine arboretum under the loving hand of horticulturist Buddy Hubbuch starting in the 1960s and its woody collection is probably one of the finest in the Ohio River valley region. Visit their website at www.bernheim.org and learn about their expanded emphasis on their natural areas mission, updated master planning, and "green architecture" for the new visitor's center. Continuing north into Louisville, I'll put in a plug for Louisville Metro Parks (that's where I work) that are an easy hop off the highway. The historic core of the system was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s, linked by broad tree-lined neighborhood parkways, and we're proud to say that we are actively restoring and rehabiliting the design intent of this wonderful legacy. From the limestone ridges and Beargrass Creek valley landscape of Cherokee Park; to the wild scenic reservation of Iroquois Park's forests; to the broad vistas of the Ohio River valley in Shawnee Park, the Louisville Metro Parks offers something of interest for all and a respite from your hectic trip north. Sound like a chamber of commerce ad? There is also the relatively new Waterfront Park downtown on the river (not a Metro Park, but we are proud of it too) with ample brand new playground installations and huge waterplay areas for cooling down on what promises to be a hot Memorial Day weekend. Also in the city is Cave Hill Cemetery, established in 1848. Not exactly what you'd term a public garden, but it contains the oldest collection of woody plants in Louisville and is a calming green space in the middle of Louisville's urban center. The architecture of the memorials is complemented by the plants, and is worth the visit. Finally, I'd recommend a visit to Yew Dell Gardens in Crestwood KY, just 20 minutes up I-71 from Louisville. The estate of the late Theodore Klein, well-known midwest nurseryman, is a fabulous collection of plants assembled over the last 70 years and now under the guidance of horticulturist Paul Cappiello and the non-profit governing board. Mr. Klein was an avid plantsman with a keen eye for the extraordinary among the ordinary, especially in regard to native plants of the region. He was incredibly active in the holly and magnolia realms, and the plantings around his property illustrate that better than any words could. See their website at www.yewdellgardens.org for more info. Enjoy your time passing through our region, and I hope you like some of these suggestions.

Hello folks. I have been somewhat dormant these past few weeks due to moving and getting settled in back in Hays. Despite all of the school work and my busy schedule, my roomate (Mike Rochford, a herp grad student here at FHSU) and I have been able to herp quite a bit. I will start with late July. A few researchers from Ohio State University came to Kansas to collect venom samples from Massasauga rattlesnakes. So we set out to aid them in thier search. Here the totals: 15 + Massasaugas 2 Prairie Rattlesnakes 3 Great Plains Rat Snakes 2 Texas Brown Snakes 1 Texas Longnose Snake 2 Kansas Glossy Snakes (I know there were more in the other cars, but I cannot recall the totals) Glossy and Longnose Snakes have a limited range in Kansas. They are always a good find and both are protected in Kansas. Over the past few weeks, Mike and I have been able to roadcruise Ellis County...Totals: TMTC Western Slender Glass Lizards TMTC Prairie Rattlesnakes 5 Great Plains Rat Snakes 1 Speckled King Snake 1 Eastern Hognose- We are at the furthest west of their range. They are somewhat uncommon here in western Kansas, although they seem to be fairly common in some places. The Easterns we have here are incredible looking. Here is an example of a western Ks eastern hog: http://webcat.fhsu.edu/ksfauna/herps/index.asp?page=species&species_id=393-995&dots=yes&tributaries=yes&isAnura=&map=ks 1 Bullsnake TMTC Lined Snakes TMTC Ringnecks TMTC Western Coachwhips TMTC Woodhouse Toads Herps are really moving out here. We had to go to the Red Hills region of southwestern Kansas last weekend for a night, so we herped...Totals: 1 Prairie Kingsnake 1 huge Coachwhip 1 Massasauga 1 Black Rat Snake TMTC Woodhouse Toad TMTC Plains Leopard Frogs 1 G.P. Narrow-mouthed Toad 1 Great Plains Toad 1 Common Garter Snake 1 Western Slender Glass Lizard Now so far we were disappointed with the night's totals. We had to make the three hour drive back to Hays and it was about midnight, so we set out. Along the way we ran into a massive storm and we enjoyed a lightshow the entire way home. I was hoping we would get some active rain that would set the Tiger Salamanders in motion, but we had no such luck. At about 1:30 in the morning, we saw a small white snake in the road, it was very...glossy...and about a foot long. I turned the truck around and we went back to find a Kansas Glossy Snake crawling across the road. This was a great find because Kansas Glossy Snakes have not been recorded from that far north in Kiowa County. It was a great specimen. A little while later we crossed into Edwards County and after a few minutes, we spotted a DOR. We went back to find an adult Dipodemys (Kangaroo Rat) sitting in the middle of the road. We agreed that this was not the DOR that we had seen, so we went back further to find an adult Texas Longnose Snake DOR. This was a somewhat significant find because it was a county record and a slight range extension in that part of Kansas. We have had some great luck out here, but we still have yet to find a Western Hognose or an adult Eastern. Watch for a large post soon that will be complete with pictures. (And I mean LARGE)... chad

Late summer can be a great time to observe pit vipers that are held up under rookery rocks incubating and birthing their offspring. Ryan and I made a trip on Sept. 1st to do just this. Below is a report of our trip taken from Ryan's website ( http://www.thies-times.com/serpentryan/homepage.html ) followed by photos by myself. Mike Cravens and I had a hankering to find a timber rattlesnake or two. We headed over to a place in Montgomery County Missouri. Almost immediately we were greeted with a very lovely find. Mike got a hand on my first ever western slender glass lizard. After the photo session we continued. Not too long after that I spotted an adult copperhead in a rock crevice. Mike came over to take a look himself and pointed out the four juvenile copperheads that also shared the crevice. Apparently upon picture comparison, I found the same adult copperhead on May 3, 2003 under a nearby rock. Once the photo session was over we continued. While checking a crevice, Mike flipped a juvenile hog-nosed snake. We took our photos and moved on. The last find occurred just as it was getting dark. Mike peered into a crevice and saw yet another adult copperhead. Also present were several neonate sheds. As Mike continued to look for more snakes, I poked around the edge of the crevice. Moments later I scared up a neonate copperhead in the process of shedding its skin. I called Mike over and I got my pictures. That proved to be the last snake of the day. It was a fantastic outing. The totals were 7 osage copperheads and 1 eastern hog-nosed snake. A total of 8 snakes. Mike

My 2005 lifelisters: Eastern Coachwhip Snake (Black Phase) Central Plains Milk Snake Intergrade Red/Central Plains Milk Intergrade Speckled/Desert Kingsnake Western Plains Garter Snake Sonoran Mountain Whipsnake Sonoran Gopher Snake Mojave Rattlesnake Great Plains Skink Western Slender Glass Lizard Mountain Short Horned Lizard Zebra-tailed Lizard Sonoran Spotted Whiptail Madrean Alligator Lizard Desert Box Turtle Great Plains Narrowmouth Toad Sonoran Toad Mexican Spadefoot Toad Some of my favorite herping moments of the year (in chronological order): 1. The startling discovery of a 5 1/2 foot long Eastern Coachwhip Snake (while showing Eitan Grunwald around) under a rock when my eyes and brain were adjusted to ringneck snakes and earth snakes. 2. Finding 4 adult Timber Rattlesnakes and a Racer under a corner of tin. That piece of tin had 8 snakes total under it and the tin pile produced an additional timber and a speckled/desert kingsnake as well. 3. Finding pairs of Central Plains Milksnakes with Chad as our guide. 4. Wading at night among the cottonmouths with herpfriend. 5. Finding my lifelist mojave rattlesnake. 6. Getting tagged five times by a gorgeous Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake. It's been an enjoyable year and fall migration in Missouri and Southern Illinois is still to come..