Found this snake in May 2007. Sorry for the pic it's the best I have. I thought it was some type of garter. Tongue was red with black tip. But what kind of garter is it?

Snake is about 24-26 inches long. It tried to run away first, but I caught it and it was pretty gentle.

Note: this is a side pick showing orange-red bars and it had no yellow stripes at all. It does not match the pic of easter garter snakes which all have the black with 3 yellow stripes (one stripe is dorsal).

Thanks.