Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas Outdoor Stories

When David Guthrie was a boy growing up in Round Rock, he and his buddies regularly camped out in the woods and fields around his parent’s home.

David told his Texas Outdoor Story of a particularly memorable camp out.

51—In the middle of the night it started to rain. So we packed up our things, and just took off and went back to my parent’s house and then we crashed on the living room floor. And the next morning I remember feeling something on me – it was moving across my leg – and I woke up and I looked down and there’s this enormous bulge around my leg.

And across my stomach was the tail of a snake. And I woke up the kid next to me and I said, hey! You know, you’ve got to get this snake. You’ve got to grab him by the head so he can’t bite me. And his first reaction is, I’m afraid of snakes.

But he reached over and he grabbed it and clamped down on it and it started thrashing in my pants leg. And so finally I got him to let go. The snake came out of my pants and went under a chair in the living room. And it turns out we had to go get a neighbor, and he came over and ultimately, trapped the snake in the house, and it was a non-poisonous snake.

It was a three foot one inch long black racer; it was a rather memorable experience. I had a lot of sleepless nights as a kid after that (laughter).

Have your own Texas outdoor adventure to share? Just go to passporttotexas.org and click on the outdoor stories link.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish restoration program supports our series…and is funded by your purchase of hunting and fishing equipment and motor boat fuel. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.