Definitely rattlers are often found in wooded areas in Texas dj. Particularly country woodpiles. Exposed rocky slopes in high summer in Texas are nobody's favorite place to hang out, let alone a shade-loving critter like a snake. Skip & co must have had a bad problem to want to relocate up there.
I may well be completely wrong though. There's a show on the Animal Channel that follows rattlesnake hunters, shameless ratings-boosting production values but somehow hard to take your eyes off.
Disclaimer: Been here 8 years and seen 4 snakes, 1 very large rattler (roadkill), the rest harmless species wriggling around in the grass, one whip snake in my yard in Austin which scared the crap out of my friend Antonio and his buddies (much to my permanent amusement), the rest in the hill country. I memorized the bad snakes' markings early on, coral, cottonmouth, copperhead, 2 kinds of rattler. Doesn't mean one won't get me though.