The small town of Carlyle sports the largest man-made lake in Illinois. Spent a month here in 2007. Lived in one of the cabins with 70 rattlesnakes in plastic totes, piled high everywhere you walked. The cheap plastic POC were from Walmart and didn’t latch correctly, so we had to use duck tape to secure the lids. The shower in the cabin smelled of bleach and snake excrement. If you were wondering what this stench resembles, cross cat piss with dog duty, scare a skunk and wet yourself. Seriously, it isn’t that bad, but you need to train your nose to selectively sniff. Did I tell you I have a thing for reptiles? You probably already had a hunch, given my screen name is tyler4turtles. Oh, the stories I could tell. Always keeping it real and interesting. Hope you are enjoying this Friday, wherever you reside 🙂
The ancient eavesdropper 
Okay, I’ll bite…what in the world were you doing with 70 rattlesnakes?!
Ron, I was a field technician for a graduate research project, tracking and collecting rattlesnakes. We had to bring each one back to the cabin, weight and measure them, draw blood and color their rattles so we could identify them again in the field. It was an awesome experience!
Not too far away from where I live. I’ve been sailing out on the lake once. A sudden storm sprang up. I got motion sickness. When we anchored for lunch later, they got out the EGG salad. 😦
I live in the Chicagoland area – I will need to check out this place considering it is in my state:)
Yes, please do. It is a wonderful area to recreate and is only 60 minutes east of St. Louis. I spent most of my summer in Lockport near Joliet. Do you know where that’s at?
Yeppers. I do. Quite well. I love in the NW burbs near the border of Wisconsin. I live near the Des Plaines River. I know you are familiar with this ecological wonder right? 🙂
Yes, very familiar. When I was in Lockport, I tracked turtles using radio telemetry and crossed the Des Plaines River a few times chasing one speedy male turtle. However, I was surprised and saddened by how much trash and junk I saw in the water and on the banks, especially old tires and full garbage bags people had actually taken the time to drive out and dump. I do love that river, but I hate to see this happening. There is much hidden beauty behind all the construction and urban sprawl.