Snakes , snakes and more snakes

Before I get to my snakes story I wanna say that everyone who wants to be at the springs by themselves, they missed their chance on Wednesday. When I got there at 2:40 there were 2 people there. One guy was by himself and Resident Dave were the only persons there. When I talked to Dave he said the other guy just got there and nobody else had been there all day. The weather was great. It was sunny and in the upper 70's with only a small breeze.
I had my camera with me so I could get a picture of Scottie. I started to climb the large rock formation just across from the springs. As I was about to pass a bush I noticed a very large Mojave Green rattle snake about to strike me. A very frightening situation to be in :~0 !!!
Anyone who has hiked up on this hill knows there is a small bottleneck on this hill. And he was there blocking my exit. If I had not had my gun I would have had to hit him with something else. If I had let him go anyyone who goes to the springs would be in danger at some point.
As some here know, Mike Castro has threatened me on several occasions. So, I am always prepared, I backed up and so did this very dangerous snake. I got my .38 caliber gun out and shot him 5 times hitting him every time. With my first shot I broke his neck. He was over 3 feet long, very thick and had 11 rattles on his tail.
Resident Dave picked him up and we proceeded to talk about Rattlesnake stew. I know some may be angry about this, I am angry about having to defend myself too. But, you have to do what you gotta do. It is survival of the fittest and I was the fittest in this situation and a snake this dangerous should NOT be in my favorite hiking destination EVER. I believe this Mojave Green is the second most dangerous critter anywhere.
Before this situation I had spotted a metallic grey snake coiled up in striking position on the Freedom path about to capture a lizard. The lizard spotted me and ran for his life just in time to keep from being eaten. This snake did not have a rattle and was maybe half as thick as the rattler was but just as long.
While talking to Dave as he stroked his snake, no that does not sound right. Dave told me he had seen 2 snakes earlier in the day too. "One was down stream from the springs. A gopher snake, black with a yellow stripe on each side. The other snake was a black and white King snake near the source springs beside the P.C.T." he said. While we were talking A very large Vulture circled over head. I guess he wanted some rattlesnake stew too.
When I got there Scottie and Pan had hiked out for supplies. So I got my shovel out and proceeded to get more sand out of the Arizona pool. As I did this another gopher snake crawled out of the bushes beside me. Maybe 5 feet away. He did not seem to be in a hurry so I stomped my feet and he sped up, going into the water toward the waterfall. The Arizona pool is almost as nice as it was before all of these storms.
Happy soaking everyone !