The Rattlesnake Roundup was definitely an experience! To greet us at the door was this HUGE rattlesnake that the kids loved! They were fascinated with the huge snake!! Inside we were greeted with a nice pungent smell...yep...it reeked. Not sure what it was that we were smelling...do snakes just naturally smell bad? Does venom stink (yes they were milking the snakes for venom)? Or was it the blood from the skinning table and display...yep...yep...they were chopping off their heads, hanging them on a string (and they still wiggled and coiled as they hung by the string with their heads chopped off...relation to chickens that still run with its head cut off?? Natural instincts and nerves? I don't know but it was kinda creepy...) and then skinning them right in front of the captivated audience, yes that would be US.... Sounds disgusting, I know...it kinda was, but it was also so fascinating that you found yourself standing there watching it as your stomach turned...crazy. In the back corner there was a cage...holy cow we couldn't believe how many rattlesnakes they had in such a small confined area - and Men were walking around in there among them "turning" them...NO THANK YOU! But again, we stood there behind the wall completely glued and infatuated by the sight. We had to peel the kids away...they could have stood there all day watching the snakes. (Well, maybe not Aparri...she is the only one that seemed bothered by the smell. We kept hearing, "It stinks in here...I want to go...It stinks in here...I want to go" But then she would stand there and watch the snakes and not want to leave... CJ was thrilled one of the workers gave him a rattle that snapped off one of the snakes, Preston got a snake painted on his face, Aparri was a good sport and hung out with her girlfriend, Lizzy, would watch the snakes from a distance, pet it's tail cautiously, but never got to close to them...smart girl!
After watching the snake handlers hold the snakes so easily, we decided to bring one home with us as a pet! Rattlesnake for a pet, no Problem!!! Preston just LOVES him - He talks to him, pets him... He is an excellent snake charmer!
**Don't worry...it is just the head of a dead snake!!! Laura thought it would make the perfect Christmas Tree Ornament to remind us of our adventures at Rattlesnake Roundup!! Can you imagine that thing hanging on a Christmas Tree? Well, I guess you won't have to...you can see it next year on ours! Yipee.
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