Posted by Diana S. on May 13, 2001 at 11:01:25:
Happy Mother's Day All!!!
#3 (a tidbit) - At 58 species, NC has more recorded salamander species than any other state.
When we were kids we'd go to a nearby woodpile and play with the "lizards" by picking them up, then letting them scamper away, then catching them again by the tail. When they became agitated (which didn't take long, cruel little tikes that we were) they would just let their tail snap off and then we were too astonished to pester them further. We were told they could grow new tails (Lord I hope so!). There is also a town here in NC, Lizard Lick (not to be confused with Frog Level), which holds annnual lizard races started some years ago to draw attention to their town. Bill Bryson also mentions this NC salamander fact in his book "A Walk in the Woods" about section hiking the Appalachian Trail (which I am NOW dying to do) and states that some species reach 2 feet in length. Now I assure you,...I ain't playin' with no 2 foot long lizard!!!!!
BONUS MOTHER'S DAY TRIVIA - About the Linville Gorge, since Susan and the gathering agenda mentioned it. As many times as I've been to the gorge, I never was able to take in all the facts about it due to sensory overload. So here goes a few niblets to chew on before June!
Geologists name the Linville Gorge as the best exposure of a large thrust fault on earth AND one of the oldest. It is 12 miles long, descends 2000 feet and empties into the Catawba Valley (HEY, that's where I grew up). Hemlocks in the gorge constitute the largest virgin forest of the species on earth. The Carolina Hemlock ONLY exists in an area about 20 miles wide and 150 miles north and south of the gorge. The primeval canyon has the deepest cut east of the Grand Canyon
The area was first visted by Bishop Spangenberg in 1752 and was named after William Linville who along with his son was killed in the gorge , in 1766, by Cherokee Indians who viewed them as invaders. One author claims that Linville was a relative of Daniel Boone's wife. For years, a family named Hossfield, "who wouldn't let a bush be cut" preserved the area until after the War between the States when it was sold to an unnamed buyer for $31.50. It was purchased by John D. Rockefeller in the 1930's and then donated to the National Park Service in the 1950's. It was set aside as a "wild area" of 7,655 acres on February 7, 1951 and later increased to 11,400 acres.
TO RICH: I also came across a trivia fact that the only survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn, Dan Kanipe, was from Marion, NC. I'm sure you knew that, though. The neat things you learn when you just have a little time on your hands....
31 days and bustin' to travel west (from here)...
Di