fobbman, that Okanogan/Omak region is SNAKEY! Most of my in-laws live between Malott and Omak. I only visit once or twice a year, but have had so many close encounters with rattlers that I'm thinking of changing my username to danceswithsnakes. I've straddled one, stopped just short of stepping on one, and walked past one twice before noticing it beside the trail. At Rat Lake, I was fishing off a rockslide, when I heard rustling around me. It stopped, and I went up to the truck to get my lunch. When I returned, a rattler was enjoying the sunshine on the rock beside my tacklebox. I tossed some rocks at the snake and got the whole rockslide a buzzin' and a rattlin'. That was when I started dancing with snakes