My better half, Stefanie, wanted to see the lush, green and rolling hills of the Appalachians ever since our first trip to the USA in 2011 (California). After some consideration, we decided to make it a four weeks trip, adding Florida to the route and starting in Washington DC. Soon after booking our flight tickets, we were happy to find out that a second child is on its way. After briefly discussing the consequences of this joyful fact, we decided we would still do the trip. In the mean time, stories of a magical, far away land got our son Bas intrigued and excited to cross the Atlantic Ocean as well, so we were all keen to leave.
Stefanie really wanted to do the trip in an RV and this was indeed a very practical means of travel with/for a pregnant woman. Not so much for herping and especially roadcruising, though. I knowingly did not prepare the trip into every detail, like I am used to. I knew that would tempt me to make the shortlist not as short. Ignorance serves as a way of keeping the family peace. Now, after the trip, I know that minimal effort would have brought several additional species. There's always the chance of doing a full-on herping trip someday.
While the Appalachian leg of our trip allowed for fairly easy salamander hunting starting from well-chosen campgrounds, turning up snakes further south in the summer months without a car was going to be challenging.
So, I imagined to do (1) cherry picking in the mountains, while rather (2) “picking up the trash” further south.
On that first account, I wanted to target a shortlist of seven salamander species:
* Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis)
* Yonahlossee Salamander (Plethodon yonahlossee)
* Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus)
* Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga)
* Jordan’s Salamander (Plethodon jordani)
* Pigeon Mountain Salamander (Plethodon petraeus)
* Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber)
Getting back to the "southern trash", that is of course a very unrespectful way of saying that I had high hopes but low expectations given the season and the lack of road cruising. In other words, I was going to be happy with anything that I might encounter. Having never traveled the eastern parts of the US before, even the common stuff was new to me. Luckily, I could at least address the roadcruising problem for a bit because I got to spend two nights cruising with friendly Florida herpers. Unfortunately, without finding my main desideratum, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus), but there was a whole lot of other exciting species to be found.
I want to thank the people I met along the way: Bill & Jean McGighan, David Gilbert, Michael Freak, Bill Sutton, and Tim Borski. They were all very helpful and allowed me to learn a lot in a very short time. I love getting in touch with local herpers, and the eastern US people were just as nice to meet as their countrymen and –women out west. Also big thanks to some guys who helped with tips, tricks and some spots - Kevin, Brad, Ananth, Cliff, Josh, Jimi, ...
sites of observation
my companions, Stefanie, Bas and our expected daughter; finding Bas’s favourite fruit, raspberries, would turn out to be quite challenging during the trip…
Sunday July 5th – arrival in DC and night in a hotel
We flew directly from Brussels to Washington DC. RV rental requires you to spend the first night in the country elsewhere, so we stayed at a hotel in Manassas, close to the pickup location.
Monday July 6th – starting along the Blue Ridge
The next morning we got our home-on-wheels, did some grocery shopping and headed straight to the famous Blue Ridge Parkway, getting our first taste of the Appalachians.
Blue Ridge vista
In the evening we arrived at a campground close to Crabtree Falls.
wise advice
The jetlagged family went to bed early, but I of course had to check the campground to see the first species of the trip. I found nothing too fancy, but I remember appreciating the beauty of my very first slimy salamander. I had no idea that I would be entering the range of another, related species soon.
We camped at Peaks of Otter, where it was fairly dry, so maybe that is why I failed to find the endemic salamander. It was only later that I realised I actually missed out on a fairly nice species. Did find some more trivial stuff, though.
Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)
Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus)
Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans melanota)
larva of Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus)
Wednesday July 8th & Thursday July 9th – Mount Rogers
We carried on, always further southwest, into the Mount Rogers area, a salamander walhalla where we were scheduled to spend two nights. Apart from offering serious brain teasers in the shape of hard-to-identify Dusky Salamanders, the place did not disappoint. Especially the stunning Yonahlossee Salamanders (Plethodon yonahlossee) are exquisite.
Blue Ridge Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea wilderae)
Seal Salamander (Desmognathus monticola)
Northern Redback Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)
Now take a look at an abundant but oh so variable species!
Blue Ridge Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus orestes)
Blue Ridge Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus orestes)
Blue Ridge Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus orestes)
Blue Ridge Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus orestes)
Blue Ridge Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus orestes)
Blue Ridge Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus orestes)
Some non-salamander species…
Pickerel Frog (Lithobates palustris)
American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)
Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus) – in total, I found five of these snakes crawling around in wet woods at night, probably looking for an amphibian meal
Friday July 10th – further west in Virginia
We moved further west in Virginia. Along the way, we headed up Whitetop Mountain, making a weak attempt to find Weller’s Salamander (Plethodon welleri). Lack of persistence on my part to try stretching my better half’s patience did not allow to meet that goal, while of course some salamanders were around again.
Blue Ridge Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus orestes)
Blue Ridge Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus orestes)
After that, we reached our destination for the day rather early in the afternoon. The local riverside campground was either too cryptic or gone, so we decided to just park our RV on a parking in the woods, at the trailhead of where I was hoping to go looking for Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus). Before my dedicated nocturnal hike, Bas and I explored the creek trail. Only minutes into the hike, I snatched him by the collar because there was a familiar sight laying on the trail – a dark-coloured Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus). We called out to Stefanie to come and see the snake and the occasion was seized to educate Bas on "good and bad" snakes.
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) as found
careful admiration
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
After dark, I hiked along the creek once more and careful searched humid and less humid forest floor and rock faces, but no green mander to be found; Of course, there was again other stuff to enjoy, including the trip’s only Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) and a Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum).
Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum) – not as found
Saturday July 11th – still further west in Virginia and a quick Kentucky stop
I had decided to hang on to the milk, so Bas could get to meet a "good snake". This was the first snake he really got to handle. He enjoyed it very much, even after a little bite incident. Daddy was very proud.
Father and son released the snake, and then we drove on, still further west, towards another Green Salamander site in the extreme east of Kentucky. We got yelled at for driving too slow, but what can you do with all those Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina) on the road...
Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina), before I moved it off the road
Very quickly after arriving at the salamander spot, I was very happy to succeed, especially after spending many hours until well after midnight the night before. After the Yonahlossee, this meant my second shortlist salamander target was achieved, yeah!
Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus)
We drove back into Virginia. A bluegrass band was performing on the campground, which all three of us enjoyed. We bought a CD which became our roadtrip’s theme music.
Sunday July 12th - entering Tennessee and mandering with Bill
We entered Tennessee and spent the night in the woods not too far from the home of Bill and Jean McGighan. They gave us a very warm welcome and a lovely family dinner, before Bill and I went out into the woods to look for salamanders. The species composition was fairly comparable to that of the Mount Rogers campground, but the Yonahlossees were certainly out in bigger numbers, so I was having the time of my life. Such a beautiful salamander…
After the hike, Bill showed me a newt spot which was too dry and overgrown. Seconds before we were going to say our goodbyes back at the campground, I asked him to stop the car for a small brightly coloured sausage on the road. There it was, another of my main salamander targets!
Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber)
Monday July 13th – Smokies (1)
On this day, we reached the famous "salamander capital of the world" – the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Smokies. While Stefanie and Bas were still in the visitor centre shop, I went outside to find a bunch of people screaming at the sight of a black snake. It was in shed and there was a ranger preventing me from touching it, but I took some pictures anyway.
Eastern/Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis spiloides)
Eastern/Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis spiloides)
Tuesday July 14th – Smokies (2)
We started the day driving the Cades Cove loop. Heavy rain, so only a few deer and no stops for salamanders.
Prior to the trip, I had gotten in touch with Dr. Michael Freake from Lee University. Together with Prof. Dr. Bill Sutton from Tennessee State University, he is leading a crew researching a certain special salamander, the Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis). The first day they were occupied with a group of high school kids, so we just said hello and decided to meet again later in the evening for a nocturnal salamander hike, postponing hellbender searching until the next day. I decided to go for a refreshing swim with Bas. Heavy rainfall again in the late afternoon, so the night hike was productive, including 100+ Jordan’s Salamanders (Plethodon jordani), another great species.
Jordan’s Salamander (Plethodon jordani)
Jordan’s Salamander (Plethodon jordani)
Jordan’s Salamander (Plethodon jordani)
The variability in the lookalike Imitator Salamander (Desmognathus imitator) is as confusing as it is fascinating.
Imitator Salamander (Desmognathus imitator)
Imitator Salamander (Desmognathus imitator)
Imitator Salamander (Desmognathus imitator)
I was particularly fond of the tiny Pygmy Salamander (Desmognathus wrighti) and its hopping locomotion mode.
Pygmy Salamander (Desmognathus wrighti)
a Pygmy Salamander and two Blue Ridge Two-lined Salamanders as found
Bill added another impressive creature to our findings – a Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus).
Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus)
Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus)
Interesting was to find a couple of jordani without the orange cheeks, making them look like a gray-cheeked salamander species which is not supposed to occur in the area we were at.
Jordan’s Salamander (Plethodon jordani) without the trademark cheek colour
Wednesday July 15th – Smokies (3)
After the night hike it had started raining heavily once more, causing the creeks to be fast-flowing and dangerous to venture in to, so that spoiled the plan of looking for hellbenders. We decided to do another Cades Cove loop drive.
Bas trying to spot a bear
A mother and cub caused a bear jam, so we hopped out of the car and cautiously admired them.
no hellbender today, daddy...
Next, we drove up to the Clingmans Dome mountain top. Cloudy at the top.
Back at the campground, the heavy rains of the day before still caused a little frog activity.
Cope’s Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysocelis)
American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)
Thursday July 16th – bye to the Smokies featuring the main attraction + Pigeon Mountain (1)
Fortunately, water levels had dropped and the water flow had calmed down, so the hellbending was finally up! I only spotted a larval Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) that I lost in the current, but the combined efforts of eight people delivered an assortment of hellbenders of different sizes. Fantastic creatures! The family was getting anxious to move on, so I quickly snapped some pictures.
A couple of hours of driving had us entering Georgia, with our first stop being Pigeon Mountain in the northwest of the state. A fairly famous cave delivered several Cave Salamanders (Eurycea lucifuga) and many slimies.
family at cave entrance
Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga)
Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga)
After that, it was time for another cozy campfire evening.
Friday July 17th – more Greens and the Pigeon Mountain endemic
Stefanie was not feeling up for any hiking, so the boys hiked the mountain for a bit.
I spotted three Green Salamanders. I really wanted to show the more approachable one to Bas, but I was too confident I could get it out and got it retreating out of reach into its hiding place.
maybe a rather typical Green Salamander photograph – out of reach and out of focus...
The area was really dry in comparison with the woods we had visited so far, but a valuable hint led me to an impressive sheltered rock face with some moisture where I could see the local endemic as my final salamander of the trip. A good-looking species with nice eye colour and a chocolate/coffee-coloured back.
Pigeon Mountain Salamander (Plethodon petraeus)
We continued to the northeast of Georgia, staying at the least attractive campground of the trip, also in terms of herps (only Green Frog, Bullfrog and American Toad).
Saturday July 18th – lazy day and finally a water snake
It was time to do some laundry, so that took up half of the day. We then moved to a campground outside Athens. Also not too eventful in terms of herps, but this was a stop to allow us to visit the State Botanical Gardens in the morning of the next day. Did finally find my first ever Nerodia, though.
Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta)
Fowler’s Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri)
Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon)
Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon) sneaking up to Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans)
Sunday July 19th – a horticultural visit & to the coast
Stefanie wanted to visit the botanical gardens, so we started the day with that.
Then, we did a somewhat longer drive towards the coast and spent a night on Skidaway Island.
Bas sneaking up to tons of baby crabs
Monday July 20th – Savannah and to Jekyll Island
Another activity to please the family – a visit to the lovely city of Savannah.
We moved on to Jekyll Island. Heavy rain made a terrapin cross the road. It was coming down so heavily that I only snapped a voucher shot from inside the car.
Eastern Mud Turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum)
After dark, a couple more of the common species.
Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus holbrookii) emerging from its daytime retreat
Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus holbrookii)
Southern Toad (Anaxyrus terrestris)
Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) – a more familiar find for a European herper
Tuesday July 21st – more Jekyll Island and to Okefenokee
Bas was very enthusiastic about a visit to the sea turtle rescue centre.
Some time at the beach cooled us down.
We continued to Okefenokee. The eastern entrance facilities were unavailable, so we stayed at Stephen C. Foster State Park. A night hike, partially teaming up with a grandfather and his grandson I ran into, delivered mainly amphibians but also my first ever Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus).
Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis) – far less often spotted than its brown alien relative
Wednesday July 22nd – Okefenokee boat trip & Osceola NF
We did a little boat trip into the wetland, spotting numerous American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis).
American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)
Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta)
Then, we crossed the state border and stayed not too far away in the Osceola National Forest in Northern Florida. Again, a number of creatures worth a photograph after dark.
Striped Crayfish Snake (Regina alleni)
Southern Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus)
Squirrel Treefrog (Hyla squirella)
Redbelly Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata) - the tiniest thing!
Redbelly Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata)
Redbelly Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata)
probably a Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus), but with colours I have never seen in the Old World; hybrid with mabouia?
Thursday July 23rd & Friday July 24th – Anastasia SP and St Augustine
We headed east to the coast again and stayed for two nights in the Anastasia State Park near Saint Augustine. Like everywhere else, I tried but failed at hiking up an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus), but enjoyed the presence of a healthy population of Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus).
even under that paved walkway, a tortoise had its burrow
Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)
Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)
Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)
Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)
Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei)
Especially the second night was rich in amphibians, after a thunderstorm.
spadefoots in action – part 1
spadefoots in action – part 2
Cuban Treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis)
Cuban Treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis)
Cuban Treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis)
mismatch
Squirrel Treefrog (Hyla squirella)
Greenhouse Frog (Eleutherodactylus planirostris)
Eastern Legless Lizard (Ophisaurus ventralis)
spadefoots at it (including Southern Toad and Narrowmouth Toad in the background)
Saturday July 25th & Sunday 26th – Manatee Springs SP
A beautiful small coastal island delivered no rattler.
Florida Box Turtle (Terrapene carolinensis bauri)
After that, we headed west to Ocala National Forest. The campgrounds either were too busy and ‘resort-like’ to our taste or did not have electricity, so we decided to skip Ocala and rather spend two nights at our next stop, Manatee Springs State Park. A beautiful place, but very crowded on our first day.
Night hikes of course gave some more herps.
Florida Water Snake (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris)
Barking Treefrog (Hyla gratiosa) - my 'most wanted' anuran
Barking Treefrog (Hyla gratiosa)
Squirrel Treefrog (Hyla squirella)
Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea)
awoken Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis)
not a Florida Green, but a dull Florida Water Snake
In the daytime, I tried to sneak up to some turtles, although light conditions were lousy for pictures.
Loggerhead Musk Turtle (Sternotherus minor)
Suwannee River Cooter (Pseudemys concinna suwanniensis)
skink sp.
Right next to the swimming masses, Gordian knots of Brown Water Snakes (Nerodia taxispilota) were present.
Brown Water Snake (Nerodia taxispilota)
Brown Water Snake (Nerodia taxispilota)
Brown Water Snake (Nerodia taxispilota)
Monday July 27th – Crystal River & near Lakeland
We left Manatee Springs SP and did a manatee spotting boat trip in the King’s Bay at Crystal River. No underwater gear, so no worthy shots of the animals, but the important thing is that I did get up close with one of those friendly giants.
After that, local herper David Gilbert took me along for roadcruising in the area north of Lakeland, which added the lovely little Oak Toad (Anaxyrus quercicus) to the list, as well as plenty of other cool critters including tons of frogs and toads.
Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)
Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)
Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)
Florida Water Snake (Nerodia fasciata pictiventris)
Squirrel Treefrog (Hyla squirella)
Southern Toad (Anaxyrus terrestris)
Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) – this one was coiled up near a tree amidst a noisy bunch of frogs and toads
Oak Toad (Anaxyrus quercicus) - depositing eggs solo?
Tuesday July 28th - Highlands Hammock SP
Highlands Hammock State Park was the next stop along our way further south. Beautiful small park. Surely, there were herps here too, but nothing new or really exciting.
Florida Softshell Turtle (Apalone ferox)
Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus)
Tropical House Gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia)
Eastern Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius) - too late...!
Wednesday July 29th – Everglades NP (1)
A four hour drive south to our final destination, the Everglades National Park. First an unexpected alien at a random stop along the way.
Brown Basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus)
Then, we drove the main road until Flamingo, where we were going to spend the night.
We reached Flamingo at 4pm, but the promised American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) was not around (yet). We could see three manatees coming in and make their way to a small tap that was leaking freshwater into the dock.
Also a crested specimen of the Brown Anole.
Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei)
Camping at Flamingo was a rather interesting experience. I covered as much of my skin as possible before starting a little hike after dark. Before my face was covered in mosquito bites and I was exploding from the heat underneath too much clothing, I spotted only some alien species and a single garter snake head briefly peeping out of the vegetation.
Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Jumping back into the RV as quickly as possible still resulted in a family session of mosquito smashing. Five seconds of opening that door had us smashing well over a hundred of them.
Thursday July 30th – Everglades NP (2)
After a night filled with buzzing, we checked the Flamingo visitor centre. By 10 or 11am, a crocodile finally made an appearance. I tried to approach it slowly, but didn’t get any satisfactory pictures.
American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)
American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)
American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) laughing at my crappy pictures
Stefanie was feeling rather unwell, so we decided to spend one night in a hotel. A bite to eat on Key Largo and a swim in the hotel pool were the only events of the rest of the day, until the evening. Local herper Tim Borski kindly picked me up at 7pm and we set out towards the Everglades. The night couldn’t have been picked worse in terms of moonlight, but at least there’s a lot of species and the temperature and humidity were OK. I was happy with what we found for just a single night of cruising and a little bit of night hiking. I can only imagine what a top night must be like in this species-rich place...
Tim photographing legless lizard
Island Legless Lizard (Ophisaurus compressus)
Florida Green Water Snake (Nerodia floridana)
Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus)
American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)
American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)
American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)
Scarlet Snake (Cemophora coccinea)
Knight Anole (Anolis equestris)
Friday July 31st – getting ready for home & a short zoo visit
We spend the last day cleaning the RV (although nobody bothered to even check when we eventually returned it the next day) and visiting the Miami Zoo. A final alien lizard species closed the herping.
Bark Anole (Anolis distichus)
Saturday August 1st & Sunday August 2nd – the least agreeable part
Back home from Miami through Frankfurt. We missed our connection, so asked the Lufthansa staff if there was a place where a pregnant woman could lay down for the 7 hours of waiting, but to our disappointment we were told that was absolutely out of the question. As a consequence Stefanie suffered a lot and when we got back to Belgium, the entire trajectory from airplane to taxi was completed in a wheelchair. Fortunately, she started to feel better soon after we got back home, so we can all look back on another memorable trip in the amazing US outdoors.
Epilogue
A dedicated herping trip would surely have delivered a lot more, but I am very happy with the result. I may very well return some day if my herping friends would be up for it. Other than that, I think I have sampled the US herpetofauna quite nicely over four trips. Madagascar and Australia are now on top of the wishlist of herping destinations. But first let's see how the new addition to our little family affects our lives :).
Species list
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