We don't have nearly as many, but we've got our share or rattlesnakes here. I've had enough close encounters to know how they look, sound and smell (a mixture of juniper, B.O. and maybe a hint of urine depending on how spooked you are ;-). I smell far more than I see, nowadays.

Where I usually go, the rattlers give people a wide berth, but the bull snakes stand(?) their ground and hiss. We've all heard stories of cowboys waking up with rattlers in their bedrolls, which I am not anxious to reenact.

I do end up in cat country sometimes, which keeps me on my toes. @Arizona, I bet your friend inadvertently fooled the cats into thinking he was the size of a tent, and was lucky they didn't investigate.

I was able to set up my Gatewood in the backyard a couple of days ago and try out the chair in a few configurations inside. It worked okay, but it's not a lot of space to keep my bag off of the ground. I will need to bring a groundsheet that I don't mind getting torn up a bit. Maybe a space blanket or similar.