| The story of The Synchronous Fireflies of Elkmont. This is a true story of where we ended up and what we saw as we waited for the fireflies to all blink in sync. We missed the bus and the parking lot was full which took people on a Saturday night to go see The Synchronous Fireflies of Elkmont. It is only here, in Elkmont just outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and in China, that they all will light up at the same time and mate. We wanted to see this great marvel of nature and God's creation. The Park Rangers who were directing traffic, because 100's of people show up to take a bus to a field in the National Forest to watch the fireflies, told us that all the buses had left and the parking lot was full. They informed us we could go to one of the marked 'quiet walkways' along the road and park, walk a little ways into the wood and sit down, and we might be able to see them. We drove a little ways up the road and found a place to pull over. There was no one parked at this particular pullover, so we thought it would be a good place and quiet. We later found out why no one had parked at this one. It was now about 7:30 or 8:00 PM that Criss, Candice, and I started into the woods following a small dirt path that led up a hill. I was the only one who carried a small backpack with me holding our cell phones, cameras, the keys to the car, and unnecessary stuff that women carry with them, all except for a flashlight. That is just what mothers and women do, because we have learned over time that you never know what you just might need at a any particular time. It is better to be prepared than not. It told Criss and Candice I would catch up with them when I could, and for them to go on ahead of me. I am a little slow and my sandals were sliding off my feet while trying to climb the hill. Criss went to the top of the hill to scout out the place and see if there was an opening to sit down. He told us he would yell back to us and let us know what he found. The path divided into two different ways to go and we wanted to make sure we were going to go the right way. He yelled back and told us there was an opening at the top and to come on the way he went. What we found was this. Located at the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, was a graveyard for people from the 1800's and one or two from the 1990's. They surely had to have hand dug the graves for all of them, especially the ones in the 1990's, and only Lord knows how they got a casket up there! There was no way to have gotten any piece of equipment up there without destroying the land all around. Relatives or friends of some had just recently placed new flowers at the newer headstones. Some of the older headstones did not even have names scribed into them at all, and were worn down to hardly anything at all. You would not even have known they were headstones if there had not been some faded artificial sprigs of flowers placed there. There was no grass or even a tree in this open spot on top of the hill. Bare with dirt, in this opening, in the thick of the forest, and on top of a mountain. We looked all around the headstones, and of course, if you know me, I started taking pictures of the headstones and all that was around me. I then sat down on this stump, drank some of MY water, ate some of MY pnb crackers that I had packed, and rubbed MY hand sanitizer in my hair and on my face to keep the mosquitoes away, while Criss and Candice looked for arrowheads. Remember...women are always known to carry useless stuff in their bags. It was really, really, quiet up there. It was an awesome place in the middle of nowhere, even if it was a graveyard. As I sat there, I started hearing something in the trees next to me and plop to the ground. I walked over to the edge of the graveyard, next to the woods, and saw a small snake that had fallen from the trees. Like me...I took a few pictures of it, then it slithered away, and I sat back down on my stump. It did not bother me because it went the opposite direction from me. A few minutes later, I heard another snake drop from the trees. By this time, it was getting more towards dusk. Criss and Candice, who were at the other end of the graveyard, came up to where I saw the snakes. They were just little things, about 12 inches long, black with an orange-yellow ring around their necks and orange bellies. I later learned it was probably a Ringneck snake. Ok. What creature comes out at dusk besides fireflies, or known in this part of the world as lightening bugs, snakes and other creatures? BATS! There we were on top of the mountain, sitting in the middle of a graveyard on a Saturday night. Not what most normal people do on a Saturday night, right? I am still sitting on my stump, and here comes this bat out of nowhere. It is not one of those little bitty bats either, but one of those BIG ones, swooping down towards me making the squeaking noises they make. It made me jump up off my stump in a hurry and start screaming for Criss and Candice. The snake did not bother me, but the thought of a bat getting in my hair or biting me is not what I wanted by any stretch of the imagination. Don't forget, we did not have any flashlights to get out of the woods at dark. We could use our cell phones for light, but they were not the brightest thing to lead the way out of there. Women, always remember to carry a flashlight in your bag. Also, being a woman I had already used my cell phone to call someone and let them know where I was, just in case. Candice had already been asking Criss about the bears that are known to be numerous in The Great Smokey Mountains. It was now about 9:15 or 9:30 PM, on a Saturday night, on a mountaintop, and in a graveyard in the middle of nowhere. Only a few lightening bugs had started blinking, but they were not in sync with each other. The more we all started thinking about our great adventure, we wondered... "what in the heck were we thinking in the first place"! We had to walk back down the hill on the small dirt path, in the dark, with snakes falling out of the trees, bats, and bears...OH MY!! Snakes, Bats, and Bears..OH MY!! These thoughts became louder in our heads. A final group decision, which only took about a minute was made. We were leaving! Lightening bugs in sync or not, it did not matter at this point So here we go, down the path and hillside in the DARK. Candice actually went first because I think she wanted to be the first to get out of there and if something happened to Criss and me, she would not have to stumble over us. She also asked for the keys to the car. I guess she would just leave us leave us there and send someone after us at some point if something happened. Criss was in the middle and I had my hands on his shoulders because I was so afraid of falling. He was sure hoping I did not fall either, because if I did we all would go skidding down the hill together. We finally made it to the bottom of the hill and had to cross the creek. Oh...sorry I forgot to mention the creek didn't I. Creeks are where snakes like to live, animals come for a drink, and it was VERY DARK by now. We all let out a sigh of relief after we crossed the creek. We started joking around with each other to lighten our fears. I joked about being the only one prepared with water, food, and hand sanitizer. We could have even eaten the hand sanitizer and it would have calmed our nerves with the amount of alcohol in it, if we had thought. Criss gave us some of his manly advice on the whole subject of being in the woods, "always carry a pocket knife with you", he said. "Whatever!" I thought, "we don't need a pocketknife right now.", or at least I was sure praying we did not! We started walking towards the car and saw someone coming towards us holding a flashlight. Criss said he hoped it was a Park Ranger. Well, I don't know about what Candice was thinking, but I was thinking about people you read about in the newspaper who have been murdered by some manic person in the woods. It was now PITCH BLACK DARK, except for the flashlight ahead of us, going back and forth. Remember, we did not have a flashlight and the other person could not see us, but I am sure they probably heard us crunching stuff in the woods and talking. Also, a flashlight in your eyes in the dark blinds you from seeing what is around you. I finally yelled out a "Hello". Always remember that it is a woman who will stop and ask for directions when lost and we are not usually shy. A woman's voice returned the "Hello" (figures). Hearing a woman's voice was a relief in some way. We finally met up together on the small dirt path with a party of about 3-4 people who were, believe it or not, going to see the 'fireflies'. Candice passed them up without speaking and was on her way, really fast, heading to the car. Criss and I spoke to them a minute, then he left me there with strangers and went on to the car (figures). I of course, not being shy and a woman, spoke a minute longer to inform them how to go on the path in the DARK, and that there was a graveyard at the top of the hill. I then left them there on the path and heard one of them say to the other, "we don't want to go up to the graveyard, do we? We can see the 'fireflies' from right here". They had also missed the bus that night. The moral of this story is this. When going to see The Synchronous Fireflies of Elkmont, that only light at night, in the middle of the woods, and in only two parts of the world for two weeks out of a year...don't miss the bus and always make sure you take a woman with a backpack full of unnecessary things and will ask directions. Oh, and of course, always carry a flashlight and a pocketknife. PICTURES I TOOK copyright 2007 Melanie Gilliam Yates music: "Crickets" by: Hasel Ketchum |
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