TUESDAY - OVERTON WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA & VALLEY OF FIRE
It was the same weather throughout the week (June 12-18), sunny and in the low 100s. I've been on a bit of a "toad kick" the past few years and during last year's Vegas trip I drove 3+ hours to find a "lifer" Armagosa Toad. This time I decided to focus on a far more widespread and easier to find toad. (Though somehow it has eluded me in my 20+ herping trips to Sin City.)

The parking lot of the place where I stayed.

My first stop was Overton Wildlife Management Area where they seasonally allow duck hunting.

There were lots of cool wading birds, like these White-faced Ibis.

Then, while walking along the shoreline, it became apparent that there were many, many new metamorphs of the amphibian I was seeking hopping about: Woodhouse's Toad. It's not often that the first herp found on the trip is a "lifer." I considered it to be a good omen of things to come.

There was also this boldly patterned Nevada Tiger Moth resting on a log.

Later on I came across this bigger example of a Woodhouse. Let's face it: There's no time like Toad Time.

On the way back I decided to check out Valley of Fire, which is a very scenic place.

A group of Desert Bighorn Sheep.

Petroglyphs are cool, yet spooky. They're usually in remote places where you don't expect to see them. It's very odd to think someone lived here hundreds of years ago and carved into the rocks.

It was getting close to the middle of the day when I realized that I had yet to see any reptiles on the trip. But then this sweet-looking Chuckwalla came along and saved the day.

Later that night I did some roadhunting and found my first snake of the trip - a young Mojave Rattlesnake.

That was followed by a small Great Basin Gopher Snake.