I haven’t seen a bear since the start of last winter and I have been very sad about it. Other people have caught glimpses on the mountain over the last couple of months but not me When I came home from the grocery store the mama and now sizeable baby turkeys were crossing the road … and then… I ate my delicious food from earthfare and Mew was intently looking out the window …. at a BIG ASS BEAR . I can’t help it, first one of the season my heart was totally racing and I ran around the house like a chicken with my head cut off! Camera, camera … where the fuck is my camera … got it
Fireflies at Elkmont planning their annual show in the Smoky Mountains « GoSmoky.com
“Wha WA?!!!
Fireflies planning a show… REALLY!
I’m 27 and I’ve never heard of such an amazing thing. That pictures photoshopped right?!”
These are the initial thoughts that ran through my brain as I read this post on Elkmont, TN. Then the feverish internet search on Elkmont Fireflies began!
How did I even come across such a post? Well as a contributor to www.WeAreGreen.TV based out of Asheville our twitter account @WeAreGreen.tv was followed by @GoSmoky. @GoSmoky sent us a direct message via twitter to visit gosmoky.wordpress.com for the latest Smokies info. Like a good little tweeter I did just that and wellah my world has expanded to the knowledge that fireflies put on a show… and it’s this huge event… and it happens next week… and we live close enough to GO! 99.59 miles to be exact
I think Fireflies are the best insects (a.k.a. “flying Tinkerbell’s” to the 7yr old in my brain) EVER!
To some I may sound maybe a little bit overexcited about “flying insects” and you have no idea. I feel about as excited as if I was 7yrs old and you told me we were going to Disney World in a motor home. I love nature especially the parts that glow! Hopefully we will be able to plan this trip and go next week, if so watch out … you’ll have Fireflie photos comin out the wazuu!
Quick facts and tips that I’ve gathered:
2009 dates are estimated June 6-14
This happen once a year in only 2 places on earth: Elkmont being one, somewhere in China the other
Mating ritual includes time when they flash in unison.
Unless a camper the only way in is by Trolleys from Gatlinburg pick up visitors from parking area at Sugarlands Visitors Center and take them to Elkmont, from 6 p.m. to return time 11 p.m. Cost $1 for the round trip!
Get to the parking lot early to catch a trolley, typically fills up on weeknights by 8:30 - aim for 7:00-7:30 on weekends.
Coolers aren’t allowed but chairs & small backpacks are OK.
No need to walk 1/2 mile up the trail, some of the best displays are just 50-100 yards from the trail head, on the left.
Bring a tripod for your camera
It is the Smoky’s so that means bears.
BRING A FLASHLIGHT! It’s dark in the woods, the rangers meet you at park entrance and give you red cellophane to place over your flashlight.
“The best time to go is if its rained earlier in the day and then stopped by the time you venture out, as the fireflies love the extra-moist air. A volunteer ranger told me that Wed. night’s show, following a shower that day, was “four times better than last night’s.” She said that it was so beautiful that she had to walk away from the information table into the woods for a minute so she could cry.” quote and many tips via: kamoshika
It’s 1:30am and Babe went to bed around 2o minutes ago. I’m upstairs, just finished watching digg nation and here a noise. Thought maybe Babe slammed a cupboard or dropped something, but if he had dropped something I would have heard a laugh or an ‘Oh Shit’ after. I went downstairs and he was still in bed …
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what”
“I don’t know, kind of a loud noise.”
Hmm, now I’m thinking the raccoon is back and after my bird feeder again … I casually walk over to the glass door and turn on the porch light.
aAAAAHHHHHH!
Now we are not just talking your normal aahhhh, we’re talking the death scream ahhhh, the scream that you re-scare yourself with because you’ve never heard yourself make a noise like that before. Mind you, I thought I was going to turn on the light and maybe see the raccoon, but probably not because it’s quite now and if he was still there I’d probably still be hearing sounds. Why turn on the light … because it’s been raining and cloudy for days, it’s still cloudy, 1:30am, PITCH FUCKIN black out side and I can’t see shit. When I turned on the porch light there was BIG Mama bear up on the railing of our deck looking right at me eye level! Because she is standing on all fours on the railing she looks to be about 9ft tall and 5ft wide. AAAAAHHHHH
Once I heard my own scream, instantly two thoughts -
First “Babe BEAR”, except Babe had already leapt from the bed like superman and was there before then end of the “aaahhh!”. Not just there either, there in boxers in crouched fight stance arms out like feelers ready to take action. Because, after 10yrs I just made a noise like he’d never heard before.
Second “Oh shit I just screamed at a big ass bear!” “Wait I’m sorry! Totally didn’t mean it, just wasn’t expecting to see you RIGHT there, had no idea, please don’t eat me!”
My scream did instantly make her run away while almost giving Babe and I both a heart attack. I definitely was not far away from fainting, which would have probably been hilarious for the bear or anyone to see through the window. Scream and then thump, I would laugh at my own video. The scream that came from a heart stopping chest shaking moment I can only compare with being a child. Say around 7 or 8 years old, being afraid of monsters in the dark and having a heart stopping waking nightmare. The type of moment where even though you know everything is o.k. your heart still races for the next 30 minutes while you take deep focused breaths.
Yes, I am accustom to seeing the bears now, at least to the point where I can say the word bear calmly when they arrive. Versus the first few encounters that lead me to run around the house like a chicken with my head cut off diving for my camera and locking doors frantically. Yes, I have seen the cubs up extremely close on the porch looking in the windows at us. Yes, I have seen the mom before. NO, I had never seen the mom up close, she is fucking HUGE!
Let’s do a comparison - Cub face on right, cute ‘Awe’. Mom face on left, intimidating ‘ahhh’.
Here’s video via WeAreGreen.tv of the cubs playing in our back yard the other day.
The Scare Bear Affect.
It’s now 4am, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that from the fact that my eyes are still WIDE open. Way to much adrenaline to sleep tonight.
This fight sequence plays out about once a day in our household. Babe and I usually end up taking Mew’s side in the cheering section. Kitai always starts the fights in a sneaky way, he’ll bite mew on the ass or jump on him when he’s trying to sleep. Mew’s got mad weight and muscle on Kitai and could probably just sit on him if he wanted to. Kitai never really learned restraint in biting like Mew did and usually chomps down on Mew pretty hard.
Kitai gets carried away when playing (trying to eat me) and bites down so fucking hard that I’ve thought a couple of times that he broke bones in my hands. That pain is usually immediately followed by me yelping through the house. Maybe this is another reason Babe and I cheer for Mew.
When I came home from the grocery store the mama and now sizeable baby turkeys were crossing the road … and then… I ate my delicious food from earthfare and Mew was intently looking out the window …. at a BIG ASS BEAR 
. I can’t help it, first one of the season my heart was totally racing and I ran around the house like a chicken with my head cut off! Camera, camera … where the fuck is my camera … got it 
