One of the first reptile-related websites to be published is one owned by Mike Pingleton, who is a herp enthusiast from Illinois.  Back in 1995 or so I started checking in on his website on a regular basis and saw that he kept a "life list".  The list represents the first encounter that you have with a particular species in the wild. 

I like the idea.  The only difference between my list and Mike's list is that Mike's takes some time to load and you have to actually scroll through pages and pages of species.  Mine should load quickly and the only reason why you would have to scroll is maybe if you have your display set to 640x480.  :)  This is a short list, but you know what?  You've gotta start somewhere....

Crocodilians

• American alligator - July 1978.  Okeefenokee swamp on a family vacation.  This trip was memorable because my sister Paula nearly fell in the swamp when she tripped on the walkway.  She caught herself with the rail but one of her feet got in the water.

Snakes

• Eastern kingsnake - August 1978.  Fairfax county, Virginia.  "The Swamp"
• Northern ring-neck snake - June 1977.  Fairfax county, Virginia.
• Northern water snake - July 1984.  Fairfax county, Virginia.  "The Swamp"
• Eastern garter snake - June 1983.  Fairfax county, Virginia.  Bit me 5 times before I could find a container to put it in.  My hands were a bloody mess.
• Northern copperhead - July 1985.  Potomac river, Maryland.  This guy was laying stretched out on the trail in front of me when I was returning from fishing.
• Great Basin gopher snake - June 1997.  Utah county, Utah.
• Rocky Mountain rubber boa - August 1997.  Provo Canyon, Utah county, Utah.
• Western garter snake - June 1991.  Utah county, Utah.  Found in a trash dump at work.  Smelled like he had been living there for a while.
• Midget-faded rattlesnake - August 1996.  Near Bryce Canyon, Utah.  This guy came within 20 inches of crawling into my lap in the front seat of my car at 11:00 p.m. one night out in the middle of nowhere.
• Great Basin rattlesnake - July 1998.  Utah county, Utah.  I haven't seen a rattlesnake with more brilliant colors than this one had.  This was the last day I traveled in the field without a camera.
• Western yellow-bellied racer - July 1999.  Utah county, Utah.  You know the drill: it was a racer, and yes, it bit me.

Lizards  (I have seen many more lizards than this, but alas, I am terrible at identifying them in the field.)

• Eastern fence lizard - August 1979.  Virginia.
• Short-horned lizard - June 1990.  Squaw Peak, Utah county, Utah.

Turtles

• Common snapping turtle - July 1980.  Fairfax county, Virginia.  "The Swamp"
• Eastern box turtle - Summer 1972.  Oxen Hills, Maryland.
• Eastern painted turtle - June 1980.  Fairfax county, Virginia.  "The Swamp"

Unless otherwise credited, all photographs and text are my property and may not be used without my permission.  World maps courtesy of The General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin.  I don't claim responsibility for the content of any of the websites that I link to.