Much to our relief, this Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake is very much alive. We thought we had run over this fellow, as we drove by. You can imagine, I was terribly excited!

Having confirmed it was still alive, we ushered it off the road and back into the bushes. I'd have to say that this rattler is lucky. The roads are great sunbathing places because they're black and open, so rattlers can warm up really fast. Of course, this makes them common obstacles for cars, and apparently flattened roadside rattlers are fairly common.