Snakes In A Tunnel!

Alejandro and I went on a hike two weeks ago. We were just exploring a well-traveled trail. In fact, most of the trail was actually cast in cement, so it felt like we were really just out for a stroll. We did manage to stray from the path a bit and saw a bunch of beaver dams.

We had a really fun day, but the most striking moment of the day was running into a snake right at the beginning of the trail. We had seen a small baby snake the previous day which had a blue underbelly and a neck stripe. I haven’t been able to find it online anywhere, though there is this great resource for Arkansas snakes.

The second snake I have identified as a Speckled King Snake. I am way too chicken to try to handle a snake, since I can’t tell what is poisonous and what isn’t. This snake is not poisonous. But boy am I glad I didn’t try to touch this one. “In defense, this species will bite, poop, and emit a foul-smelling musk.”

I really like this first picture because of its minimalism and the addition of the yellow corner for color.

Here you can see the snake in more detail…