Striped Whipsnake

snake in the cheatgrass (click to enlarge)

My hiking partner ahead of me stepped right over it, unaware of its presence. It was well-camouflaged, but something tipped me off; I quickly set my camera to macro and got this shot. What a sweet snake to pose for me  in Clover Canyon
and let my lens get an inch or two from its face. I’ve not had one that un-perturbable before. Twenty-four inches of loveliness! It disappeared in the blink of an eye.