Night Hike Rattlesnake

As noted before and demonstrated here, there may be plenty of moon shine to navigate the dusk paths of the Outer Territories ... but doing so without a good flashlight and there's a high risk of stumbling onto the many critters that come out in the dark.
Pinpoints of reflected light from spider eyes or stepping on a toad can be unpleasant. Stumbling into a large porcupine or even a badger can be painful. Or here in this case, deadly with a venomous Prairie Rattlesnake that suddenly occupies the middle of what had been an empty road minutes before. Non-aggressive and prone to flee as they are (proven through many other encounters, most of which would have ended bad for me had they NOT been that way; thus much appreciated), stepping on one is another matter. They would not care if it was an accident.
NO tail rattle but it was a-shake'n. Looked rough; perhaps with a bit of skin shed or developing rattles. No audio warning; not cool if in grass or not obviously visible in open ground. NOTE it more or less just sat there without coiling up in a defensive position. Its tail was vibrating and tongue flicking but the road was definitely still warm and my flanking positions were far enough away but HAD to have seen the light, duh.
The smooth tails and heads of Bullsnakes that are the most mentioned quick ID against venomous rattlers held up here, even in the poor light and distance: tail was rough, head was clearly triangular (may not see a textbook triangle shape but DEFINITELY can tell it bulges out on the sides and is NOT smooth).