Saturday night, the Biology of the Rattlesnakes Symposium ended with an auction to benefit the Student Grant Program. On Sunday, that was followed up with a wonderful barbecue at the Chiricahua Desert Museum, owned by Bob and Sherry Ashley.

Having watched the museum built from the beginning up, I cannot tell you how excited I was to finally get there. The store itself put me into shopping overload and I couldn't decide what to buy (I got a long sleeved shirt), but the main gallery is an amazing walk down memory lane for the reptile community. Letters from famous herpetologists, artwork, a stamp collection, book collections, kitchy items, pop culture -- amazing, all of it. One of the memories I will hold dear and take home is sharing time hearing about Mark O'Shea's hero and sharing the story of my IHS talk with Mark.

Another memory is meeting one of the more infamous herpers we have ever had grace our site. FR, aka Frank Retes, happened to be there and, amazingly, recognized me. He was not quite what I expected, yet every ounce of what I expected. We had a few long discussions on husbandry and got along like old friends. That is what this community is about, putting aside everything else, sitting down and having a beer together.

Bob and Sherry did a wonderful job and I also want to thank them for their hospitality for the Chiricahua Lodge. Seriously, if you are thinking of somewhere to crash and go herping, you can NOT pass up this lodge.

Photos of the event after the bump.