A Eastern Timber Rattlesnake I found blocking my path on the Greenbrier River Trail near mile post 68 - 8/13/06

Click on photo to enlarge

Most interesting thing about the snake, besides the fact it refused to move, was that it's rattle didn't sound like what I was expecting. It wasn't a rattle at all. It was more like the buzz from a electric razor. After I finally persuaded it to move off the trail I used the camera to create a short .mov file with the sound of the rattle. Click here to play the "Snake On A Trail" movie. It's 1.8M. You may have to turn up your speakers.
UPDATE: Since I first posted this I have been told by a farmer friend that the rattle sound depends on how wet the weather has been. If the weather has been wet, it's a buzz. After a long dry spell the rattler's tail dries out and the sound becomes like the classic movie rattle.

If that wasn't enough, a couple more miles up the trail I see a bear in the river. He started running as soon as I came into view. With him running and me trying to get a picture it looked like that old Bigfoot film. He is in the center of this picture at the edge of the woods.

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Fun Places To Bike In West Virginia

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