Plains Garter Snake

Didn't manage to get a good shot of this Plains Garter Snake, but wanted to post the "best" one as this was the first time I had ever seen this species of Garter Snake - I think we only get the Wandering and the Red-sided Garter Snakes in and around Calgary. One of the people who were on a walk at Purple Spring Sand Dunes, near Taber (southern Alberta) yesterday, spotted this snake slithering through the grass. Almost impossible to get my camera to focus on the snake and not the blades of grass : ) Alberta has just these three kinds of Garter Snake, so it's a good feeling to have now seen all three. As you can see, the orange/yellow stripe starts at the head and goes all the way along the back of the snake. It was a three-hour drive down there and three hours back home, plus the driving we did when we were down that way, and of course the walking we did. Much too hot for me! The area doesn't really live up to its beautiful name - basically, it just looks like prairie grassland, though we did see some plant-covered sand. Saw some good plants, including several new ones, though all my photos turned out to be very disappointing. The glaring afternoon sun made it quite a challenge - plus the fact that I was absolutely wilting in the heat! Also, my biggest concern was that I kept an eye on it, to make sure I moved fast if it started slithering in my direction (which it did, once)!