Goodness Snakes Alive!

Park entrance.

Well, it was back to one of my favorite places in North Georgia and that is Amicalola Falls State Park. While I am going to have a compare and contrast blog about the falls in the future, the subject of this short entry is about the Snake Show...Goddness Snakes Alive.

Snake show.

As I have talked about before the state park features a very popular Birds of Prey show called Close Encounters of the Bird Kind. It showcases a variety of birds including the park’s owls. I had seen the birds on two separate occasions, including a visit to the show during the Appalachian Trail Kick-off back in March, where I took Deb to see the owls. At the end of the festivities that day the snake show was mentioned. I picked up some calendars and found out that the snakes were on display most Sunday afternoons.

Zeus.

So, this past weekend with the weather being spotty I suggested this was a time to go see the snake show. We discussed how we wanted to go to the show, which was taking place at the Amicalola Falls Lodge. So, since I had to get my AT Passport stamped at the visitors center, and I wanted to stretch my legs, we decided not to drive but hike the mile up to the top and hike back down for a view the wonderful falls. So, after getting the stamp, we headed up the East Ridge Trail, which is one of the AT Approach Trails.

We arrived at the park around 11:30 am and started up the trail around noon, which gave us about an hour to make it to the show. I guess we were enjoying our hike too much and it was 12:55 pm and we had yet to reach the top. I told Deb we were going to be late, but she just looked at me and picked up the pace and a distance I thought might take 10 minutes took about three. So, we arrived at the lodge right as the show started. Lauretta Dean, a ranger at the park who also runs the owl show, started the talk about the venomous snakes one finds in Georgia. 

Amicalola Falls.

Lauretta Dean & the snake found yards from the lodge.

She first talked about a Copperhead (which would be prophetic later) what they look like (she had a mounted example) and where you are most likely to find them. Lauretta then talked about the parks other venomous resident the Timber Rattlesnake. The picture she showed of one was taken just yards from the entrance to the lodge. Also, getting mentioned is a Canebrake Rattlesnake, which is in the same family, Crotalus horridus, and is considered to be a larger Timber Rattler. Also getting a mention was the aquatic Cottonmouth and the final snake featured while not native to North Georgia can still show up, the Coral Snake.

Copperhead.

Snake information.

More snake information.

This snake looks a lot like a King Snake but the stripes are slightly different and unlike the other venous snakes of Georgia, which are pit vipers, the Coral Snake is in the Cobra family. That means their venom is a neurotoxin (pit vipers is a hemotoxins). Anyway, once Deb and I had one on our deck in Alpharetta, I believed how he got to be there was because pine straw had just been spread at the apartment and I think he hitched a ride in it.

Even more snake information.

That is not a real Coral Snake.

Lauretta gave a lot of information about snakes. How pit vipers have live young and their heat sensing system. This system helps these snakes to find prey in the dark, which is when most snakes like to hunt.  The ‘pit’ is a special organ in between the eyes and the nostrils.  The pit senses body heat from animals and gives the snake a ‘picture’ of that animal. She added that these venomous snakes swim on the top of the water while most non-venomous swim with their heads sticking out, cool stuff.

The star of the show.

The last part of the show featured a snake, I mean a live snake. Lauretta only had one, most of the others had been fed (and it not good to handle them at that point) and one seemed sick when they were being taken from the display case at the visitors’ center. So, the Corn Snake featured was a regular sized specimen and to no surprise the kids loved him. While I had no problem with holding the snake, the surprise of the day came when Deb touched it. 

Lauretta with the Corn Snake.

The kids loved him.

Anyone who knows my wife has heard that she really doesn’t like snakes, I mean REALLY doesn’t like them. Getting her to go to the show was a victory in itself; while Deb didn’t want to touch it when I was holding it, she did eventually work up the nerve…I was so proud of her. So, you would think our day with snakes would have ended there, but it didn’t.

The snake & I.

Deb touching a snake!

When we got to the bottom viewing deck of Amicalola Falls I was taking some pictures and Deb then ask me “do you see that snake under the rock.” There it was under a rock over hang at the falls. Soon a lot of others noticed the snake a start watcing as it tried to climb a rock. On first look I had a good idea what it was and then I looked at it through my monocular and yes it was a Copperhead, just like we had heard about during the show. It wasn’t the first I had ever seen, but to just have heard about them at the show was cool. Also, Deb is a dead eye to have spotted the Copperhead like that.

Well, that was about it, oh but one thing “Goodness Snakes Alive,” it was a good day.

The bottom deck.

It was close to here we spotted this guy...

...a Copperhead.