FF: How do you define a spider? KC: Any member of the order Araneae in the class Arachnida with two main body parts and with two unique characteristics: silk produced through spinnerets located on the abdomen, and the male pedipalp as an organ for transferring sperm to the female. FF:
On July 13, 1973, near where Rough Fork Creek intersects with the end of the main Cataloochee Valley road, seasonal national park ranger Charles Hughes had a violent encounter with the “wild man” of Cataloochee. Hughes was checking up on fishermen along Rough Fork when he met a man with
During late May and early June, thousands of eager observers from around the world travel to the Elkmont area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park to observe the phenomenon of synchronized fireflies flashing in the night. The synchronized flashing was first scientifically documented in the Smokies in the 1960s and
However, mountain folk in the Smokies, who were famously playful with language and humour, likely had more versions of booger than any other culture. A place that was thick with undergrowth could be “boogery.” An easily frightened horse or other animal was labelled “boogerish,” and being “boogerous” was to have
Hagstrum has noted that homing pigeons, the gold medalist of the avian navigational world, have amazing hearing. On the low end of the sound range, pigeons can hear down to .05 hertz, compared to humans who hear only to .20 hertz. According to Hagstrum, if we could hear down to
During the early to mid 19th-century, in some remote areas of the Great Smoky Mountains and elsewhere in rural America, Christmas might be celebrated in January, not December. Stranger still, one of the old Christmas traditions was to stay up until midnight of Christmas Eve (January 5) and go into
One burial custom observed in the Great Smoky Mountains was likely practised, at least in part, to help avoid such tragedies. When a person died, friends and family always sat with the deceased through the first night. It was considered poor form to doze off during this ritual, so it
One of our favourite historians, Joseph S. Hall, not only recorded bits of mountain speech and music, but he also documented a fair number of Smoky Mountain ghost stories. His 1970 article in the Tennessee Folklore Bulletin offers the following tips on what to do when encountering spectres in the
But even without the help of bruins or skunks, yellow jackets can act aggressively toward autumn hikers. This is not the best time of year to hike off trail. Yellow jacket nests are plentiful in the Smokies, and if you go a bushwhacking you’re likely to run into some of
FF: How do you define a spider? KC: Any member of the order Araneae in the class Arachnida with two main body parts and with
On July 13, 1973, near where Rough Fork Creek intersects with the end of the main Cataloochee Valley road, seasonal national park ranger Charles Hughes
During late May and early June, thousands of eager observers from around the world travel to the Elkmont area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
However, mountain folk in the Smokies, who were famously playful with language and humour, likely had more versions of booger than any other culture. A
Hagstrum has noted that homing pigeons, the gold medalist of the avian navigational world, have amazing hearing. On the low end of the sound range,
During the early to mid 19th-century, in some remote areas of the Great Smoky Mountains and elsewhere in rural America, Christmas might be celebrated in
One burial custom observed in the Great Smoky Mountains was likely practised, at least in part, to help avoid such tragedies. When a person died,
One of our favourite historians, Joseph S. Hall, not only recorded bits of mountain speech and music, but he also documented a fair number of
But even without the help of bruins or skunks, yellow jackets can act aggressively toward autumn hikers. This is not the best time of year
is a proud partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the National Park Service
is a proud partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the National Park Service
