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351: Trail Tales 86 - National Park After Dark | Wave AI Podcast Notes

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351: Trail Tales 86

National Park After Dark

Thu Jan 29 2026

Summary

National Park After Dark – Trail Tales 86 (Ep. 351)

Release Date: January 29, 2026
Hosts: Danielle & Cassie
Podcast Theme: Two friends sharing chilling, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious stories centered on the wild, weird, and occasionally spooky experiences people have in and around national parks and wild public lands.

Episode Overview

This Trail Tales edition kicks off National Park After Dark’s anniversary week with Danielle and Cassie sharing listener-submitted travel and outdoor adventure stories. From near-abductions in the Arctic Circle to almost running out of fuel in a tiny airplane, embarrassing slopeside mishaps, and mysterious missing time in the Smoky Mountains, this episode weaves together suspenseful, funny, and supernatural experiences. Alongside these stories, Danielle and Cassie banter candidly, reflect on lessons learned, and tie the tales back to their own misadventures and insights about staying safe in the wild.

Key Stories & Discussion Segments

1. Almost Abducted in the Arctic Circle

[00:47 – 10:46]
Storyteller: Allison (read by Danielle)

Summary: Allison, an adventurous solo traveler, recounts a harrowing Northern Lights excursion in Tromsø, Norway. After all reputable tours are canceled due to a blizzard, she books the only one still running. A suspicious, emoji-laden WhatsApp contact picks her up—driving a beat-up black SUV with two men inside. Inside a snowstorm, the guide locks Allison and another silent American tourist in the car, disappears for half an hour, returns with mystery red liquid (“It’s a surprise”), and ultimately drives them back to town in silence when the weather never clears.
Notable Moments:
- On ignoring red flags:
  “Red flag number one should have been that all the reputable tour companies had canceled and this was the only one still running. But I was blinded by hope…” —Allison, read by Danielle [03:19]
- On solo travel and risk:
  “As long as you do it safely, you can have some of the best experiences of your life…Enjoy the view, but watch your back.” —Allison, read by Danielle [08:41]
- Host reactions:
  - “I think I would be, not cool with this. I’d be…finding sharp things in my pocket.” —Danielle [05:49]
  - “I hope you weren’t drugged. Let’s just say that.” —Cassie [10:50]
- Casual reflection: Both hosts relate with times they ignored their intuition in pursuit of adventure.

2. Should I Laugh or Cry?

[12:36 – 24:32]
Storyteller: Mary from Mountain View (read by Cassie)

Summary: Mary tells of a dizzying flight in a tiny Cessna from New Mexico to Lake Powell with her pilot husband and friends in 1989. After getting sick and vomiting—into Tupperware provided by Liz, the other wife—Mary thinks embarrassment is the worst of it. Suddenly, the engine dies midair; their pilot husbands have to switch to a reserve fuel tank on the fly. They survive, but the postscript reveals Liz was upset her Tupperware wasn’t returned!
Notable Quotes:
- “I would have been like, my husband has never been more attractive than in this moment…” —Danielle [24:32]
- “Instead of being happy or relieved, Liz was annoyed. She wanted hers back.” —Mary (read by Cassie) [22:48]
- Host stories: Danielle and Cassie riff on Tupperware used for pet urine and other fluids, reminiscing about veterinary jobs.
Lesson:
When flying (especially in the “olden days”), always check your fuel, and maybe don’t bring back the Tupperware.

3. Impatience in Peru

[27:21 – 35:47]
Storyteller: Unnamed listener (read by Danielle)

Summary: A woman and her boyfriend (now husband) embark on ambitious Peruvian hikes soon after they start dating. After nearly blacking out from altitude sickness during one trek, their relationship faces a new test: during a harrowing ascent out of Colca Canyon, the boyfriend leaves her—along with her pack and passport—when she has to take an emergency bathroom break. She’s furious, but eventually retrieves both the boyfriend and the pack (with the help of an entrepreneurial mule driver) and continues on to happier adventures.
Host reactions:
- “I would be so mad. I don’t know if I would recover from that quickly.” —Cassie [32:52]
- “He must have really made up for it in other ways after that fiasco.” —Danielle [32:58]
Personal reflections: Danielle and Cassie reminisce on their own couple-dynamics while hiking, discussing empathy, patience, and physical endurance on group treks.

4. Sometimes Your Significant Other Can Believe in You Too Much

[38:03 – 43:25]
Storyteller: Unnamed listener (read by Cassie)

Summary: During a family ski trip in Bavaria, a listener’s husband, a former snowboarding instructor, overestimates her abilities, leading her straight onto a brutal “red” (advanced) run. She ends up “butt scooting” the entire way down the icy drop-offs in a neon green helmet, visible for all, as toddlers sail by in “Kinderland.” Humiliated but ultimately safe, she shares the importance of knowing your limits (and understanding trail markings abroad).
Notable Quotes:
- “Narrator voice: she could not handle this.” —Listener (read by Cassie) [39:04]
- “So there I was for at least an hour, butt scooting, sliding, falling down a mountain in a neon green helmet. Highly visible, unmistakable. A beacon of failure.” —Listener (read by Cassie) [42:05]
Hosts share their own struggles with sporty partners and learning curves on the slopes.

5. Smoky Mountains Alien Abduction?

[50:26 – 61:08]
Storyteller: Unnamed listener (read by Danielle)

Summary: While celebrating at a “fish party” near the Great Smoky Mountains, the storyteller and her boyfriend black out for five hours after escorting a friend home. They later learn that their microdosing, alien-obsessed friends felt they’d communicated with extraterrestrials exactly at the same time. The couple debates whether they were really abducted or possibly drugged.
Hosts’ candid takes:
- “Girl, I just…You got drugged? Yeah. That’s my opinion…” —Cassie [54:52]
- “To just lose five hours of time…” —Danielle [55:39]
Personal analogs: Both hosts describe incidents of being drugged unknowingly, emphasizing the importance of caution and that not all missing time is supernatural.

6. New Year Whose Bones?

[61:14 – 71:03]
Storyteller: Chris (read by Cassie)

Summary: Chris and her husband, Scott, encounter disturbingly “settled” graves and a visible bone during a New Year’s Day stroll in an old cemetery. Scott, ever curious, unearths the bone—sparking a series of calls to friends in local law enforcement who confirm (after much confusion) that it’s thankfully a deer bone, not a human arm. The incident prompts a brief sidebar into recent “real-life” grave robbing news.
Notable Quotes:
- “I tell him he’s definitely getting haunted and take a couple steps away from him.” —Chris (read by Cassie) [63:15]
Hosts’ digressions: Discussion of true crime media, social media desensitization, and algorithm horror.

Notable Quotes & Banter Highlights

“You get tunnel vision…that’s where it can get dangerous. Because all your senses are just like, whatever, who cares, let’s ignore all these feelings.” —Cassie [10:30]
“My only friend that I knew was drugged in the bathroom…So I waited until [the suspect] left and then I walked home by myself.” —Danielle, sharing a cautionary college story [59:42]
“So there I was...butt scooting, sliding, falling down a mountain in a neon green helmet. Highly visible, unmistakable. A beacon of failure.” —Listener (read by Cassie) [42:05]
“Remember, enjoy the view. But even in a cemetery, maybe especially in a cemetery—watch your back.” —Chris (read by Cassie) [65:25]

Host Insights & Takeaways

Both Danielle and Cassie emphasize the importance of listening to intuition, preparing for emergencies, and respecting one’s limits, especially when traveling or adventuring in remote places.
The show consistently blends practical advice with humor and empathy; the hosts frequently remind listeners to “enjoy the view, but watch your back,” encapsulating their ethos of mindful adventure.
Personal stories (from being left by partners on a trail to being drugged at parties) help create a relatable, authentic atmosphere.

Timestamps Overview

00:47–10:46: Arctic Circle near-abduction story
12:36–24:32: Vomit and near-disaster in a Cessna
27:21–35:47: Poop panic and abandonment in the Colca Canyon
38:03–43:25: Skiing humiliation in Bavaria
50:26–61:08: “Missing time” and alleged alien abduction in the Smokies
61:14–71:03: Bone in a graveyard on New Year’s Day

Tone & Style

Casual, conversational, and often comedic, while handling safety, consent, and caution respectfully and empathetically.
Banter and relatable anecdotes reinforce the sense of community among outdoor lovers, experienced travelers, and park fans.

Takeaways for Listeners

Adventure is thrilling, but intuition and preparation matter.
Embrace the unexpected—plan for mishaps when heading into parks or the wild.
When traveling solo, double-check credentials and be wary of “last resort” options.
Ski slopes—and boyfriends—are not always as reliable as advertised.
Leave Tupperware used for bodily fluids behind.
Even the supernatural sometimes has a logical explanation (but keep an open mind).
If you stumble across bones, maybe don’t touch them—or at least be ready for a call from the coroner.

[Enjoy the view, but watch your back!]

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Transcript

Cassie (0:00)

Foreign. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to National Park After Dark Trail Tales edition on our anniversary week.

Danielle (0:26)

Drum roll, please. Yes. Yes. We have so many stories today. As always, thank you all for writing in. If you are listening and you're like, hey, I got a story for you. How do I write in? Go to our website, npadpodcast.com and there's a submission link right on there. We'd love to hear it.

Cassie (0:43)

Yep. And I would love to hear you tell me a story first, please.

Danielle (0:47)

Oh, I love a girl who knows what she wants. All right, my first story is titled Almost Abducted in the Arctic Circle. Hi, ladies. My name is Allison and I absolutely love your show. My fiance introduced me to the podcast and it has quickly become. Become one of my comfort listens. I love that because we're so dramatic.

Cassie (1:09)

I know. Usually a comfort listen is. Or a comfort watch. I don't know. I don't know.

Danielle (1:15)

Your comfort watch is Titanic and that is a true story.

Cassie (1:18)

That is devastating.

Danielle (1:20)

Horrific and devastating. So we get it.

Cassie (1:23)

Yeah, that's true.

Danielle (1:26)

Minus this is 40, but that is insane. Tomato, tomato. So funny. So funny. It's so funny. I can't get over it every time I laugh. Okay, I thought I'd share a trail tale that isn't from a national park, but from a very remote mountain in the Arctic Circle. A little background on me. I love traveling with other people, but I will never shy away from a solo trip. My life motto is that I'm not going to put my life on hold until other people are ready to live their lives. Which is how I ended up by myself in Tramso, Norway. A few years ago. I was on a very determined mission to see the northern lights. I had already traveled to Iceland the year before and somehow managed to miss them. So I did what any reasonable person would do, picked up a bunch of overtime shifts and booked another trip, this time farther north and in the dead of winter. Tramso, also known as the gateway to the Arctic, sounded perfect. And this is in Norway for people.

Cassie (2:26)

I think you said that. I'd like to. Yeah.

Danielle (2:28)

Cassie (15:00)

I remember seeing pictures of that and I was just like, this looks Photoshop, you know, just unreal. My husband had recently earned his pilot wings at Shepherd Air Force Base in Texas, and we moved to Holloman for his next phase of training before moving to Tucson, where he would learn how to fly the A10. The apartment complex we lived in had hosted many other couples just like us, new pilots who had graduated from the same pilot program as my husband at shepherd and their wives. Side note, in 1993, a few years after my story took place, the first female Air Force pilot was allowed to fly combat fighters. Training in New Mexico was just six months. My husband And I quickly fell in love with the landscape and wanted to take advantage of every opportunity before moving again. When another couple we already knew, who I will refer to as Brian and Liz, invited us on a long weekend at Lake Powell, we jumped on it. Brian and Liz had lived in the same apartment complex as we did in Texas and Brian was in my husband's pilot class. We had already known each other for well over a year as couples, we were not close friends at all. And honestly, we didn't mesh with them. It's not that we didn't like them either. You know what I mean? They were fine, but we knew we were only friends due to our circumstances. Circumstances. I had a motto in the military, you don't necessarily get to choose your friends. You make do with who you get. The plan was that the guys would rent a single engine Skyhawk Cessna and the four of us would fly to Lake Powell where we would rent a boat and set up camp somewhere along the lake. We were stoked for the adventure. We drove to the local airstrip where the guys filled out the paperwork and completed the required pre flight checks before we set off into the great wide open. The sky was clear and calm. Flying a Cessna from New Mexico to Lake Powell takes roughly two and a half to three and a half hours depending on the specific Cessna model, winds and fuel stops covering about 300 to 400 nautical miles, but requires a fuel stop as most Cessnas can't do. The full distance. Non stop. Stopping to refuel was part of the original flight plan. And when we took off, our plane's gas tank was full, supposedly. No. Have either of you flown in a flimsy little aircraft? The vibration is intense and the noise from the engine is so loud that you must shout at the person seated next to you for them to hear what you're saying. Yes. And only once. When I was flying from Costa Rica to Panama in a true puddle jumper like I. There was no wall between the pilots and the four seats in the plane.

Cassie (17:56)

Yeah, it was great. Okay. Oh, because of the shouting, it's better to just not talk at all. That is, unless you are desperate. We hadn't been airborne for very long when I started to feel queasy. Something I hadn't anticipated. As much as I tried to mentally hold it down and overcome the inevitable, I couldn't. When my mouth started watering, I knew I was about to lose it. I grabbed Liz's thigh and yelled, I'm gonna be sick. Kudos to Liz. She was a quick thinker. She unzipped her backpack and pulled out a large Tupperware container filled with fruit. She dumped the fruit into her pack and thrust the Tupperware into my hand, where I proceeded to hurl. Our husbands, who were mere inches from us, had no idea what was taking place behind them because the sound of the engine consumed the plane. But their noses didn't lie. Everyone knows the smell of vomit. Not wanting to get sick themselves, they quickly opened the windows while Liz held up my long hair. As I continued to throw up over and over, nearly filling the Tupperware, which I already told you was large. I studied my bowl of vomit as best I could under the circumstances of bouncing around in the sky in a tiny tin can. It slushed around and I was worried it would splash over the edge into my lap. So I snapped the lid on after expelling the entire contents of my upper intestines. Eventually, the queasiness settled. I still had gross vomit mouth and the sloshing Tupperware container resting on my lap. And yes, I was terribly embarrassed, but at the time I was just too sick to care. I would deal with the embarrassment and apologies later. Just get me onto the ground. As if that wasn't enough, something far more frightening was about to unfold. The plane went silent. No vibration, no deafening noise. No engine. I will never forget the sound of that silence 6,000ft up in that tiny tin can of a plane. It wasn't complete silence. I heard the soft whisper of moving air, like that of a person blowing out birthday candles, only louder, but very gentle. We glided like that, suspended in the wind, and time stood still for what was likely only a few seconds. Because planes don't glide very, very long without an engine. They spiral and plummet. Liz and I stared at one another wide eyed, saying nothing. We looked at our husbands, who calmly shifted into well trained emergency pilot mode. They consulted each other and proceeded to push buttons and turn knobs in the cockpit. They kept trying to restart the plane. You know that sound your car makes when the battery's dead and you turn over the key of your ignition? Or when you pull the starter cord of your lawnmower or chainsaw, but it just won't catch that was the sound the plane was making again. Your nightmare.

Danielle (27:21)

Well my next story is titled Impatience in Peru. Hi ladies. I'm so excited to finally be writing in. My co worker turned me onto your podcast a little over a year ago and I have been an avid listener ever since. The outdoors mixed with the dash of true crime and a side of aliens and spookiness. I feel so seen. I love it all. So thanks for putting on such a great podcast. I wanted to share a story from 2015 when my boyfriend, now husband, despite his questionable judgment that is soon to be seen and I took a month long trip to Peru. We had only been dating for about three months when he suggested the trip. I was so into him and it sounded fun. So the next thing I knew we were making plans. The trip got off to a dicey start. We were living in San Francisco at the time. We were in our 20s and in great shape. So we thought going from sea level to a trek that starts at 7,000ft and maxes out at 15,000ft, we'll be fine. What could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot. It turns out all the coca tea in the world could not stave off altitude sickness. By the end of day two, we couldn't eat due to the nausea, couldn't sleep due to the pounding headaches, couldn't apply sunscreen due to the weakness and disorientation, and I even started hallucinating. I had excellent hiking stamina, but that was no match for the altitude. I have a vague recollection of a gorgeous glacial pond at the top, but it's really a blur until we return to sea level in Lima and what I assume was brain swelling finally went down. Despite also being sick, albeit less so. My boyfriend was very sweet and attentive through his first obstacle. So near death experience probably, but also a check in the marriage material category. Then came the next trek, a shorter one night descending, then ascending the Colca Canyon in southern Peru. Now, at this point, we had been in Peru for over a week. I know you get a fair share of poop stories, but don't worry, poop is only a supporting character here. We both had had a bit of tummy troubles over the last week, but hey, it was only making our relationship stronger. On the second day of the trek, we were ascending the side of the canyon. It's a narrow trail with nothing but rocks on the side, nowhere to hide. Picture just switchbacks up the canyon wall where you can look up and see the people ahead of you the whole way up. About halfway through, my stomach started gurgling. I mentioned it to my boyfriend and he brushed it off by saying, just wait until we're at the top. I'm sure we will be somewhere soon. What baseless assurance. And obviously if I could wait, I would not be panicking right now. We had plenty of canyon yet to ascend and my stomach was only getting worse. I started nervously rambling about it, trying to figure out what to do, and I could tell that he was getting annoyed. He wanted to get to the top and he couldn't understand why I couldn't hold any it. Now, my husband has his redeeming qualities, but patience is not one of them. After about 10 minutes of fearing this is the day I poop my pants in public, I see my salvation. A tiny offshoot of a trail that bends right around a big rock. I tell him my plan, drop my pack and run. Crisis averted. Or so I thought. I walk back to the trail to find no boyfriend and no pack. That jerk left me. Yes, it's an impossible trail to get lost on as long as you know up from down. But we were still in another country, the wilderness, and all I have are the clothes on my back and some broken Spanish. The pack had my water too, so I am both angry and thirsty. I start walking up, scanning the switchbacks above for the guy who has now lost said check in marriage material category. After another mile or so I spotted him above. I yell his name as loud as I possibly can to get his attention. He has the gall to look at me like what's wrong? Situational awareness. Another area of growth for him. I angrily ask him if he has my pack and he replies why would I have your pack? So not only am I deserted on this trail, but my pack with my passport in it is also missing.

Cassie (39:08)

Quick side note, my husband is an excellent snowboarder. Like Bet, former instructor, muscle memory of a superhero, hops on a board and instantly remembers who he used to be. Yep, it had been years since we had snowboarded, but he stepped on it like it was yesterday. Me, I am not that. I never took lessons. I am terrible. And I'm notorious for doing everything the hardest way possible for no reason at all. Somehow, somehow, my husband forgot just how bad I am. And as we're waiting to get on the lift, I ask him where the easiest routes are. Now, in Bavaria, trails are marked differently than here in the States. There's only blue, red, and black. We learn that blue is easiest, black is hardest. Simple enough. But then there's something called Kinderland, which sounds adorable and implies, hey, even a toddler can do this. So naturally, I'm thinking, great, put me where the children are. We do one quick run, and shockingly, I do fine. Like, better than expected. My husband gets confident. Too confident. As we approach a red run, he says, I think you can handle this. Narrator voice she could not handle this. I start off okay until a skier whips by. I lose my balance and fall. No big deal, except I cannot get up at all. Ladies and gentlemen, this red run would have been a single black diamond minimum in the States. This thing was a series of straight drops. I'm talking straight drops in all capitals. There's a lot of punctuation going on. It's serious. Each one would taper off briefly, just long enough to give me hope before turning into what felt like a vertical cliff. So I did the only thing I could do. I went down on my butt the entire way. No, I butt scooched, I slid, I crab walked, I prayed my pants wouldn't rip. People stared. Some people asked if I needed help. And honestly, I. I didn't even know how they could help me. Like, unless you have a helicopter or a crane, I think we're past that. At one point, I fully lost control when I saw two people on what looked like a nearby trail. It looked close. It was not close. So I cut my losses, unclipped from my board, and very carefully, very slowly made my way over. When I finally reached it, I took a deep sigh of relief until I saw signs pointing to nearby towns. My town was 50 minutes away. 50 minutes. How long was this run? Was I even still in Germany? I took another deep breath, decided to enjoy the view, and accepted that I had no choice but to get back to my family under my own power. And honestly, the view was beautiful. Snow covered landscapes, a small creek, horses, Very Sound of Music. Very peaceful for someone who had just emotionally accepted death. Eventually, I saw the lift again. I made it back to the lodge, got some incredible Bavarian food, mulled wine, and waited for my husband. And that's when I realized what made this whole thing even worse. Earlier that day, I had asked the ski rental place for a neon green helmet because I love a pop of color. Okay. My jacket and pants were neutral. I wanted balance. So there I was for at least an hour, butt scooting, sliding, falling down a mountain in a neon green helmet. Highly visible, unmistakable. A beacon of failure. If I had worn the regular white helmet, no one would have known who I was. But no, I wanted personality. For the rest of the trip, I joked that I hoped everyone could sleep peacefully at night, knowing that I had survived. So, thank you for listening to my tale. And if you ever find yourself in a bad situation on the slope, remember, enjoy the view, but watch your back. You never know how other countries label their ski runs. Final side note, because this matters My husband is wonderful. He checked on me, apologized profusely, and I told him to go enjoy himself while I made my way down. Eventually, when we finally met up, I did ask him if he'd recently increased my life insurance payout, because at that point, it really felt like he was just trying to kill me. Can you relate? Yes.

Cassie (48:09)

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been waking up with a cough that lasts for, I swear no more than two minutes before it completely goes away. And I have that moment of like, am I about to get sick? But then it disappears. For the rest of the day I feel totally fine. But then like clockwork, the next morning, it happens again. I have no idea what's happening, but I know I'm not 100% percent. That's why I'm starting iM8's daily Ultimate Essentials. It's a daily all in one wellness drink that gives my body the benefits of 16 different supplements in one tasty drink. It's co founded by David Beckham and crafted with insight from experts at Mayo Clinic, Cedar Sinai and a former NASA chief scientist. It simplifies my wellness routine and makes it easier to support my health. This drink is loaded with 92 nutrient rich ingredients like vitamins, minerals and adaptogens plus pre and pro postbiotics. They use effective ingredients and back them with research through clinical trials. IMA also uses clean ingredients. It's vegan, gluten free and non gmo. Every ingredient is third party tested and what I am trying to say is David Beckham is just not messing around. Okay with all of that. I feel confident about what I'm putting into my body, especially on the year that I'm focusing a lot on my health. Not only because it's, you know, the right thing to do, but also because I had a tarot poll for this year and it said my two 2026 focuses are on personal health and romantic relationships. So we'll tackle that other one later. I like to drink my IMA in the morning because I just feel like I'm loading my body up with what it needs for whatever the day is about to bring and it helps that taste really good. So it's a nice little way to start the day. Feel your best self every day with IMA. Go to I am 8health health.com npad and use our code npad for a free welcome kit 5 free travel sachets plus 10 off of your order. That's I am number 8h E-A-L-T-.com npad code npad for a free welcome Kit, 5 free travel sachets plus ten off of your order imatehealth.com npad code npad these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Danielle (52:22)

This particular month, a few of my co workers were really into aliens. They had watched a ton of documentaries and had been practicing getting into a spiritual space in which the aliens would communicate. It is worthy to note that this was induced with microdosing. My friends had planned that night to go to the field behind my house to try and communicate with the aliens. Okay. Scene set back to the fish party. I arrived around 8:30 and many people were already drinking pretty heavily. At around 10 I noticed that my boyfriend at the time's roommate could barely stand up up. I had only had two drinks at this point and did not mind taking a break from the part. So I asked my boyfriend if we should walk his roommate home and we both agreed that we that that would be a good idea. It was only a couple minute walk between the condo buildings, but it's down a dark gravel road. We had a lot of fun on the walk holding his roommate up but laughing so much. We finally got to their apartment and put his roommate to bed. We chatted with him for a bit, then decided that we were going to leave and go back to the party. That is the last thing I remember. The time stamp was around 10.30pm I snapped back into consciousness at around 3am I woke up to being mid makeout with my boyfriend in his bed. I didn't want to say anything because at first I was embarrassed thinking that I had blacked out from drinking. But then I remembered I had hardly drank. I pulled away from him acting super weird when he kind of did the same. He told me then not to be mad, but he thinks he had just just blacked back in. I explained to him that I had the same thing. We decided to just go to sleep and talk about it in the morning when we woke up we discussed every possibility. We thought maybe someone had drugged us, but my body is so sensitive that there would have been no way that it would have affected us at the same exact rate. We could not find any rational solution for the missing five hours at time. Fast forward a few hours. We were back with our friends and we were talking about our night. They told me that they were successful in communicating with the aliens that night. I asked them what time they think it was and they said it started around 10:30. I don't know if I believe in aliens, but I do know that this experience was supernatural. I have no other explanation for the missing time unless I really had been drugged or something. I chose to joke about it and say it's when the aliens abducted me. But honestly I sometimes think it may be true. Anyways, this is my creepy alien experience from the Great Smoky Mountains.

Cassie (62:28)

For sure after the meal. And on our way back home, we decided to stop by the local cemetery and visit a couple relatives that are buried there. We also had our dog, a blue heeler mix named Rue with us. So we decided to take her on a short walk around the cemetery. This cemetery is on the older side and there are some beautiful gravestones, small mausoleums and interesting markers. So we were going slow, ambling along and enjoying just being outside on the overcast chilly day. As we went up a small hill, I noticed several graves that looked odd, just muddy areas, but the areas were directly in front of the stones and coffin shaped, not new burials as the dirt had settled so it was even with the grass that was growing between them. The stones were all people who had died at least 50 years prior and we could not figure out why their sights had been dug up, moved, we had no idea. Stumped, we decided to move on. But suddenly I saw a bone sticking up up out of the gravesite mud. I point it out and say is that a bone? Scott, whom I apparently can't trust to roam a cemetery without strict supervision, decides to dig it out a little and then picked it up to prove that I was wrong. His face quickly changed because yep, it's a bone. To me this is definitely an arm bone from a body that should be buried below us right now. I tell him he's definitely getting haunted and take a couple steps steps away from him. He drops it and we stand there for a stunned second or two and then walked away quickly, a little unsure of what to do next. I realize he's just dropped it on the ground and make him go back and kind of at least bury it a little so a dog or another husband doesn't walk along, pick it up and carry it off. We run over to my grandparents site which is very close to where we were walking and I tell them all about how Scott dug up a grave and is getting haunted first for sure. I could just imagine my grandma's reaction, a little mortified, but laughing at the both of us as we talk over each other explaining. We drive back to our house about 30 minute drive talking over what we should do next, if we should call someone, etc. We decided to call the local police department and just let them know what we saw. I hear Scott on the phone giving the dispatcher the story and after giving his name he starts laughing. We actually know the dispatcher he's talking to. She's an old friend of ours. She sends a cop out to take a look and talk to the cemetery owner. She texts Scott a bit later after some confusion over where the grave Actually was and says that they found it. And the cemetery owner says a tree came down and pulled up some roots and they had to just fix some damage, that no bodies were out of the ground or anything. I found this so odd because tree roots wouldn't have popped up. Just three graves and not the earth in between them with which hadn't been disturbed. And we were about to point that out when we got another text from another text from our friend. Correction. Then another. He just found it. Then another. He was wrong. We need to get the coroner out here then. Radio signal.