I'm enjoying the reminiscing. Okay, just one more. Since you mentioned Tacna.
I was hunting quail along the Gila River near of Tacna. The brushy areas beside a field on the other side of the river looked good, so I took off my boots and waded across the knee-deep stream. My dog ranged ahead of me, and since my feet were wet, I didn't immediately stop to put my boots back on. I continued on barefoot.
I caught a quick movement under my dog as it ran forward and heard a loud Hsssss. Diamondback rattler!
My dog heard it, too, and turned back to investigate. I shouted at my dog to "Hup", while I brought up my 12 gauge and fired at the snake. I killed it. Big diamondback about 5 feet long, without the last foot or so of its tail. The rattle was gone. The field had recently been harrowed, so my guess is that the snake didn't quite get out of the way of the harrow. Good thing my dog disturbed it before I walked up to it barefoot.
Besides the diamondbacks, sidewinders, scorpions, tarantulas, and cholla cactus, there is the extreme heat and lack of water in many areas. Add to all those natural hazards, beware of smugglers of both people and drugs coming up through remote areas both sides of the Gila Mountains and across the desert. Just be careful out there!
