8/8--Now the monsoon rains are really falling. We got rained out of a hike to look for montane rattlesnakes in the mountains and the 4 wheel drive road we were on started to have water running over it. All was not lost though. On the flats we saw a Sonoran Whipsnake (lifelister). That evening the rains continued but we did see a Desert Box Turtle drinking water from the road and an adult Mojave Rattlesnake. Also saw a DOR Checkered Garter Snake. 8/9--Back in the Tucson area, Rachel and I got to see a nice 4 foot Sonoran Gopher Snake. The snake hissed at me when I approached. Nearby we also hiked and saw a dead Western Diamondback near the trail. It wasn't clear what had killed it. Downtown Tucson received 3.37 inches of rain that day and we got rained out of our nighttime road cruise as virtually every road we attempted was closed because of flooding. We turned around at a raging river across theroad on one road. 8/10--Sigh..Time to leave. Too beautiful of country and too much great herps and other animals to see and I wish I could have stayed for a month... My trip total for live snakes: 6 Mojave Rattlesnakes (lifer) 3 Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes 2 Northern Blacktail Rattlesnakes 1 Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake 1 Sonoran Whipsnake (lifer) 1 Sonoran Gopher Snake (lifer) My DOR total: 4 Mojave Rattlesnakes 2 Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes 1 Checkered Garter Snake Our family live snake total: 11 Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes 10 Mojave Rattlesnakes 2 Blacktail Rattlesnakes 1 Arizona Black Rattlesnake 1 Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake 1 Green Rat Snake 1 Sonoran Whipsnake 1 Checkered Garter Snake 1 Sonoran Gopher Snake 1 Great Basin Gopher Snake (my parents saw this en route to AZ) add a Reticulated Gila Monster to that group of snakes and we fared very well as a group even if we did strike out on the three montane rattlesnake species (Ridgenose, Rock and Twin-Spotted Rattlesnakes eluded our entire party).

Thanks Gary. Hey Wayne can you post my Gila Monster pic when you get a chance? It isn't a great picture, because it got blurred a little with motion and its head isn't very visible but it is still a great "see how close I am and see that distinctive gila monster pattern and coloration" shot.

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip and glad you all enjoyed it. That's a lot to cover in 11 days! Dh and I drove across country right after we got engaged, starting in No. California. We'd both been to the Grand Canyon before, but while living in Hawaii, we met a guy who grew up in AZ. He told us about this canyon adjacent to the Grand Canyon that he and his family used to hike into - the trail ends in an Indian reservation. We decided to do it on our trip across country. I'm not sure what we were thinking...while physically fit, we weren't big hikers and it was a 10 mile hike down, it was 100+ degrees (middle of July). We camped overnight and then hiked back out the next day. I was never so happy to get back to our car with A/C! From there we were headed to Denver, so we drove up through Utah along some deserted 2-lane highways, but the scenery was spectacular. We didn't make it to Bryce or Zion, but we have vowed that once all of our kids were old enough to appreciate, we were going to do a trip like yours. We'll probably just do Sedona, Grand Canyon, and then one place up in Utah. I assume you were driving from place to place? Did you get to stop at any of the pueblos? Those were really pretty cool. I agree with you about Vegas. Once was enough for me. We stopped there too on our trip from San Fran down to AZ via L.A then San Diego (our trip was very convoluted as we were all over the map visiting friends along the way). We just had an overnight in Vegas, but did hit a casino just for fun. Totally not my thing at all. Just too much for me. It was neat to experience once, but I have no desire to head back. Did you see the Hoover Dam too? Probably not as I imagine that wasn't on your way if you were coming from Utah. If you have any specific kid-friendly info of places you stopped, please share! I'm taking note of the Pink Jeep tour! Glad you had a great time but totally understand being a little bit too much togetherness! With four kids, I get that when we are having to stay in hotel rooms for any length of time.

Specific Ibex, They showed us how the tea is picked (still by hand in this part of the world), dried, rolled crushed and roasted in a cool 100yo factory overlooking the hills, that I could not help think, with its old wood floors and huge windows, would make great condos. Our guide also went into great detail about the soil conditions and chemical processes, how tea is graded and sold, etc. We did have a tasting of their single source teas, as well as various blends. I am a big tea drinker but honestly I can enjoy everything from Red Rose to Harney & Sons to Mariage Freres, not to mention all the not-tea teas.