This is a large and typically colored Yonahlossee salamander
A couple of months ago Patti and I were “leaf-peeping” in western NC. We had visited Grandfather Mountain, driven along US221, and accessed the Blue Ridge Parkway, and were now sitting at Yonahlossee Overlook. This of course brought back many memories. Yonahlossee— the word is said to be of Cherokee origin and to mean “the trail of the bear.” Yonahlossee Trail— once a stage coach road between Linville and Blowing Rock, NC, had also allowed access to logging crews. Trees were cut, trees regrew, and the countryside was now a gently sloping forest of greenery growing between immense boulders and outcroppings on one side of the road and a precipitous forested drop on the other.

But my memories centered more on rainy nights of about 25 years ago when, then living in Asheville, the region was but a short drive that allowed me easy access to one of the world’s most beautiful caudatans, the Yonahalossee salamander, Plethodon yonahlossee. The largest of the genus, the adult length of 8 1/2 inches rendered the big red-backed salamanders easily visible as they left the safety of the verdant, rocky, woodlands to cross the twisty-turny roadway during summer rains. Fortunately for both salamanders and me, the road was not heavily traveled at night. I actually saw very few of the caudatans fall victim to traffic and I was always ready to avoid approaching vehicles.

Fond memories—the stuff of blogs!