Plethodon Party:
Blue Ridge Bonanza
In Frank’s words: “To find salamanders, you have to be physically fit to climb up mountain peaks. You have to learn about the ecology as a whole, rather than focusing on solely the species you’re after. They live in the most beautiful places in Appalachia, bringing you right into the heart of these beautiful mountains.”
Frank has embarked on several Plethodon Party trips since his first adventure. Aaron was the first to join him for one during April of 2024. Most recently, Brady joined him during May of 2025 for “Plethodon Party: Blue Ridge Bonanza.”
The reason for this trip was mainly to film for Frank’s upcoming documentary about the salamanders of Appalachia. In addition, he was able to give Brady a real world overview of the diversity of salamanders amongst the Southern Appalachians, mainly within the Blue Ridge physiographical province. Frank bestowed the honor of filming the trip vlog to Brady, who did an incredible job at documenting their finds, food, and fun.
We have also put together a blog recapping the entire trip, with photographs all of the species we took the time to appreciate on our trip.
The term, “Plethodon Party” was coined by our founder, Frank in the year 2021. During the pandemic, he got so cooped up in his house in Maryland that he decided to embark on a journey that would change the course of his life forever. He wanted to take a road trip through the Southern Appalachian Mountains with his hound dog, Roan, to find as many species of Plethodon salamanders as he could, hence the name, “Plethodon Party.”
This first expedition was named, “Plethodon Party: An Appalachian Adventure.” Frank had his ups and downs during that first trip, but he learned a lot about Appalachian ecology, Salamanders, and himself. He found that the pursuit of salamanders brought him much more than simply another species to add to his life list.
