I grew up reading snake books and dreaming about someday being able to find some "classic" American snakes in the field. Here are a few from the last couple of years - these were the first time I've ever encountered any of these in the field:
Found a Rubber Boa this year and was totally stoked (NorCal in August):
First Ribbon Snake (southern Illinois last year):
Red Milk (southern Illinois in October):
Lyre Snake (April near Las Vegas):
Western Diamondback (last year in June in Arizona):
Eastern Hognose (east coast 2007):
And a couple from my home state -
Last year I caught a few melanistic Eastern Garters in in NW Ohio:
And this year I caught the longest snake I've ever found in the field. Althought I've captured Black Rat Snakes previously, this one was just shy of six feet.