I had one last entry in the Smoky Mountains facts contest. Maxs’ Mind Warp reports: according to the East Tennessee History Book of Blountville TN. Jr. High School, there are absolutely no poisonous water snakes of any kind native to Tennessee! However in reality, when considering the migration of different species of animals and reptiles it can’t be ruled out their need to adapt due to accidental relocation by violent storms, and the narrowing of their natural habitat by humans. So…, YES there are poisonous snakes within the state boundries here and there, (mostly southern Tenessee), and NO they’re not “native” to the state.

Also………, According to scientists, the Great Smoky Mountains, the Appalachain Mountains, and the Caskil Mountains were originally part of a series of huge glaciers…, broken apart after the Ice Age, leaving the many mountains and lakes we see today. There’s also a theory to explain why all the natural rock beds (regardless of type or mountain range) in the Eastern United States within those same general areas are all at a severe slante. As the ice of large underground lakes melted to a liquid before the ice melted above, the weight of the towering ice caused a series of massive kraters to form as the roof of the underground caverns collapsed. This natural occurance over time caused many of the well known caverns, such as Lurray Caverns, The Lost Sea, Cudjo Caverns, Bristol Caverns, Dixie Caverns, etc., etc. I’m not saying I necessarily believe all of them were created in such a fashion, but it does seem to make sense.

With his name added to the scraps of paper, Amy pulled out one and handed it to me before dumping the others all over the floor. Despite the tiny number of entries, she made a pretty good mess. The winner of a copy of “Scavenger Hike Adventures in the Great Smoky Mountains” is Countertop. I guess he can use it as a guide to create D.C. scavenger hunts. Maybe 5 points for helping a tourist take a picture and 10 bonus points for making it through a security checkpoint without being strip searched. You’ll have to send him your suggestions. Congratulations Countertop. I’ll have a new contest in the spring that is less regional in nature and prize. Let me know if you have any ideas.