I've had a few rattlesnake encounters out here. Mostly in my backyard (2-3) amd I've now had one in my house.
Quite a rush, isn't it? One time I was basically scaling down the side of this boulder... there's kinda' a path, but... you /have/ to crawl down it or you're fucked. Right as I'm getting down to crawl it, *ch-ch-ch-ch-ch* comes from the boulder next to me (~3-4 feet). I freaked, let go of the boulder, and just started sliding/falling down the side of the boulder, and took off running somehow when I got to the bottom. Upon running all the way back to my house, I realized "Hmm, that could have been some random noise, probably should have checked to make sure that was really a rattlesnake..." so I went back, and sure enough the rattler was now sitting on the boulder.
The rattlers we have out here aren't as harsh as Arizona, I don't think... My neighbor has been bit by one, panicked, ran around, took a while to get care, and survived. (Our scorpions are a fucklot weaker than yours, too. My dad got hit by one in Arizona when he was ~18 and took off running after he got bit. Half of his body went completely dead, and he started having some serious problems. But he survived it, dunno how. But scorpions around here are like... bee stings.)
The Irony of Crazed being the new forum bitch amazes me, considering his views on bitches.