I do not see many snakes and never know how to react. I was told of prairie rattlers not far from here, an area that even has a type of cactus. I found one by a firewood pile, it tried a strike, but I was out of range. Some students and a college prof found more on a brushy hillside. They reported that some of the snakes were well off the ground in the woody cover, no snake boots would help, they panicked and got off the hill side. I have not heard any reports for some time about the freak rattler hill. Once along the the Mississippi on a deer scouting/ motorcycle run, I stepped on a fallen tree trunk, my foot broke through and a hoard of bumble bees came out and attacked me. I ran around a rock bluff and was rubbing off the bees that were trying to bite through my leather jacket. I was rubbing my back on the rock and turned to find me about 6 inches face to face of a very large timber rattler sunning himself on a rock ledge. He stuck his tongue out a couple of times and that was all. I am not sure what would be worse, get bitten the neck by bumble bees or bit in the face by a snake. The bee bites in the neck were bad enough.
Oh yes, I forgot. the area that has the rare chance of seeing an Iowa prairie rattler, also has one of the most wonderful things in all of nature, wild strawberries, lots of wild strawberries. Trust me, they are worth the risk.