HikeArizona.COM

please post where you've seen a gila monster this year
i want to see one this spring (and so does hansenaz)
consider it a public service posting
thanks, y'all

1. Bulldog OHV Area a little NE of the 'Rock House'

2. Old FR #976 a quarter mile off FR #4 (telegraph Canyon Road)

There is one I've seen a number of times over the years in Usery Park along Blevins Trail just east of the Horse Staging lot. I have 2 sisters and a grand-nephew in town and we'll be out there tomorrow morning. Since the grand=nephew is in town specifically to see lizards and snakes we'll probably spend a little time looking for it.

Good luck and happy hunting.

P.S. I saw a horned lizard and 2 rattlers and at least another dozen snake trails across FR #1356 in Bulldog this morning, so the reptiles are out.

For the first rattler, I was busy harvesting a jojoba bush when I noticed a movement, looked down and a rattler slithered right over my right boot and into a hole a few feet away. It must have been under the bush and decided it wanted a more secure location to hide. Of course my camera was 50' away in the Jeep.

The second rattler was a few hundred feet from the Hackamore gate of Bulldog ('behind' Goldfield Ghost Town) on the road. About 3-12 feet long it was just sunning itself. I shot photos and a video but it didn't move, didn't rattle & didn't even stick out it's tongue. I want to didn't bother it so I just drove around it.

The horned lizard was a bonus for a 5-year old boy who was on a gold-panning Jeep tour out of the ghost town. I just happened to be the tour guide... it's my fun new 'job' to raise funds for my Tanzania mission trip next year. (SS check alone ain't gonna do it)

I know where every gila monster I've seen is/was. Obviously though not this year.

While not all photos get tagged, if you search for labels on the home page (magnifying glass icon under the "Post" button) you will find all kinds of things you might be searching for.

In this case, the page for gila monster photos (http://hikearizona.com/dexcoder=428)! The photos are listed in the order they are tagged, meaning the most recent ones are first. Just click on a photo, and it will show you the date and hike where the photo was taken. In some cases, the photos are geotagged to a specific spot. If not geotagged, you will only know what trail/hike it was taken on.

Uh oh. Are they endangered? If so then definitely not on my land. And by land I mean the well fortified condo I rent.

But like most things on this Earth, if you are looking for one, you will never find one. I recommend developing a near-fatal fear of these dangerous creatures, hoping to avoid them at all costs. You'll see 4 or 5 on your first trip out. ;)

@skatchkins I have this picture of you in a Michael Gross and Reba McEntire "Tremors"-type arsenal bunker ...

And let's be rather vague about exact locations, there are the unscrupulous few who might use the information to catch and sell these little critters.

@chumley
thanks for the link

kingsnake wrote:@skatchkins I have this picture of you in a Michael Gross and Reba McEntire "Tremors"-type arsenal bunker ...

Reba's getting better with her aim too.

I've got some pretty nice photos of desert tortoises I've taken while offroading that I have never posted.
And now I will reference a comedy site's article on reasons: http://www.cracked.com/article_18600_6- ... se_p2.html

@trekkin gecko
Be careful what you wish for.

This is really bizarre.......

http://www.docseward.com/heloderma/gila-monsters

@gummo
I miss those old TV shows...

Alston Neal wrote:This is really bizarre.......

http://www.docseward.com/heloderma/gila-monsters

Chalked up another Gila Monster today... outside the mine on Hackberry Butte.
http://hikearizona.com/photoset=29761

trekkin gecko wrote:please post where you've seen a gila monster this year
i want to see one this spring (and so does hansenaz)
consider it a public service posting
thanks, y'all

Goldfields

Saw two of them this year along the Dutchman's trail East of Parker Pass. Two separate occasions (hikes) but probably the same one.... Had other reports of sightings from the same approximate area. He must still be out there Kelly

For Kelly and others. If you find one and decide to pick it up and pet it, be sure to have along with you a pail full of water.
Once the friendly Gila Monster bites into your hand and won't let go, just stick your hand in the bucket.
He will then let go.

Sredfield wrote:And let's be rather vague about exact locations, there are the unscrupulous few who might use the information to catch and sell these little critters.

I'm bumping this up. It needs to be heard.

I agree no one should take a gila monster away from its home. One of the reasons I enjoy hiking is seeing all the creatures and flowers as they are.