We are right beside the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site, and on the other side of the river is the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Site.
They are both officially closed, however the highway #1 river highway in this area runs right through the state park and the highway itself is still open. Most traffic is on the nearby route 290, so we have the river highway which is good for walking and biking.
There's old Lyndon himself!
There are a few informational signs along the road.
My, what big horns you have!
The original entrance to the LBJ Ranch.
Lots of cattle roaming free there.
Great blue heron.
Trinity Luthern Church.
What a pretty church!
So we're walking along the road at a fairly good clip. I wasn't really watching the road itself. You know, you're kind of looking around at the scenery and just to see what there is to see. When all of a sudden right in front of me was this snake. Another 2 steps and I would have stepped right on it! In a split second I backed away. A second after that, I realized that the snake wasn't moving.
Coral snake.
“Red against yellow, a poisonous fellow, red against black, venom they lack."
So this fellow would appear to have been very poisonous. But fortunately, his head was just a little bit flattened! The rest of him appeared to have no damage at all.
Our parking spot for the night.
We've never seen an area where they are so many good free overnight spots within such a short distance!
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Great deal on the black color of the Amazon Basics Padded Zero Gravity Chair.
And in Canada...
Hope you would know what to do if anyone is bitten by a snake!
ReplyDeleteYes, we know what to do in case of a snake bite. We have a bite kit for snakes, wasps, bees, spiders and scorpions that we carry with us when we are out hiking or biking but we doubt that it would be of any help with this snake bite. Chances of survival with a coral snake bite are pretty much nil and there is no anti-venom serum either. Luckily it is very rare that this snake will bite anyone, they will do whatever they can not to bite you.
DeleteIs that the Gillespie County Rest Area? [I recognize the nearby church.] I stop in that little rest area every time on the way to Fred. Plenty of shade, the bathroom's always so nice & clean & it's a great place to let the dog out & stretch our legs. But yikes, I think I'll be on high alert for coral snakes in the future - I don't think my dog knows that rhyme.
ReplyDeleteYes, this was the same rest area. We never stepped in the bathrooms but they look like they are well looked after. Under normal circumstances when we are boondocking we would use public bathrooms to avoid filling up our own tanks in the motorhome but these aren't normal times at the moment so the less we come in contact with other people and what other people touch the better.
DeleteWe are now even more aware than we were before when watching for snakes! We never realized that coral snakes lived in this area.
Yeah, coral snakes are poisonous. But, their mouth is snall and they'd have to get you someplace like the web between your fingers or toes. To tell tsthe difference from its non-poisonos look alike: Red touch black, safe for Jack. Red touches yellow, kills a fellow. The coral snake will have bands of red touching smaller bands of yellow.
ReplyDeleteWell that is good to know, we had read that they rarely bite people and maybe this is part of the reason. Kevin posted a similar rhyme in the blog post and that is how we knew that it was a coral snake opposed to the false coral.
DeleteA beautiful park filled with wildflowers thanks to Lady Bird Johnson. Also responsible for flowering Texas highways with Bluebonnets and Mexican Hats.
ReplyDeleteHopefully we will be able to check out both parks properly when we come to this area again, once everything is back to normal and is open and running.
DeleteWe love seeing all the beautiful wildflowers by the sides of the roads as we travel through Texas in the spring.
Glad you didn't have to worry about that Coral Snake because you might not be writing tonight's post if he'd been alive. Good way of Celebrating Easter.
ReplyDeleteAnother cool down heading our way.
Be Safe and Enjoy.
It's about time.
Yes, thankfully we didn't have to worry about the coral snake, it was interesting to be able to see it up close though, they are a beautiful looking snake.
DeleteWe are having a cold front go through this area as well, luckily it will only last a day or two and then we will be back to warm temperatures again.
We were educated about Coral Snakes in Florida. Did you know there is NO anti-venom for this snake?. It costs millions to make an anti-venom and there aren't enough people that get bitten by this particular snake. IF you are bitten by one we were told by a ranger that you have 29 minutes to get your affairs in order! Most of the time people don't even realize that they have been bitten, as DC said, until it's too late. They are actually very shy and definitely do not search people out (as per our ranger friend). Beauty though isn't/wasn't it?!
ReplyDeleteKevin read the exact same info when he checked out the coral snake online. Thankfully they rarely bite people and prefer to do whatever they can to stay away from the public. Also as DC mentioned they have a small mouth so it would be hard to get a good bite on you but we wouldn't want to test out that theory, even with this dead we stayed back a bit while checking it out. Yes, they are gorgeous!
DeleteNever heard of a coral snake until this post. Thanks for the detailed info and clear picture. A beautiful but deadly creation! Those wild flowers in Texas really make driving through that state quite enjoyable year round.
ReplyDeleteNow you have and if you are anywhere down south whether it be the southern US or in Mexico, you can be aware of them. They certainly are beautiful. There is also the False coral snake which aren't poisonous but with the same colours just in a different pattern, that is why there is a little rhyme to go with them "Red against yellow, a dangerous fellow and red against black venom they lack".
DeleteWe love driving through Texas in the spring, the roadsides are always covered with the wildflowers. :-)