My Two Cents: Kissing a Rattlesnake

Seeing a rattlesnake in the wild is not something that happens everyday. Picking it up and kissing it is something even more rare…

Back in 2003 my husband and I went to Sedona for a quick 4-day get-away. During that trip we decided to do some of the touristy things like ‘ride the pink jeep’ and take a hot air balloon ride over the red rock area. Both were fabulous experiences. Today’s story will focus on the hot air balloon ride experience.

We had to be at the launch site at an ungodly hour. We arrived while it was still dark out. The employees of Northern Light Balloon Expedition worked steadily at inflating the balloons at that early hour because it is not generally windy then. They can’t inflate the hot air balloons in windy conditions. Our flight would be at least an hour, longer depending on where we ended up. We would be flying in and around the Coconino National Forest, which covers the Sedona area.

There were several balloons being launched that morning. When it came time for us to get into our balloon, we did so with four other passengers and the pilot, making of 7 of us in the balloon. We ascended gently and began floating over the beautiful landscape. The lighting was spectacular at that time of day, just after sunrise. It was so quiet except for the occasional noise of the hot air controls ascending or descending, controlling our destiny.

The ‘chase vehicles’ followed not far behind us. These were the trucks that were present when we landed, not only to bring us back to our cars, but also to bring the balloons back. Our pilot pointed out the flora and fauna of the area. There weren’t many animals except for a few large hares hopping around. It wasn’t until we were getting ready to land over an hour later that the pilot spotted a rattlesnake in the brush. We were on our way down and no one else saw it. But when we landed, he quickly told us to get in one of the chase vehicles and he drove us down the dirt path to where he saw the snake. We all thought it would be long since gone, but our pilot/snake whisperer found it. It was an endangered Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. It is considered endangered because it is hunted for its meat and skin. In some of the southwestern states, snake meat is considered a fabulous meal.

Lest you think our pilot was nutty, he informed us that he was also a certified rattlesnake handler. I don’t remember if ‘certified’ was the term he used, but the point was that he was qualified to handle them. He cautiously approached it and lifted it up. We maintained our distance but then as curiosity took over, some of the group inched closer. He was teaching us a lot about the snake, even holdings its mouth open so we could see the inside. I took a lot of pictures, but it wasn’t until I asked him to pose with the snake for my students back home that he surprised the heck out of all of us and kissed the darn thing.

We went back to where the balloons landed and enjoyed our champagne picnic while the employees packed up the balloons. It was a fabulous way to spend the morning but for me, the rattlesnake experience topped it off.