30-Nov-2023 Congaree National Park, South Carolina

Today I discovered another awesome National Park: Congaree.

I had a 2 hour drive to Congaree and because I detoured to check out a town that had been recommended, Waze took me back roads into the national park. And boy was I lucky to go that way rather than the highway, as it brought me through many acres of cotton fields. Most of the cotton had already been harvested but I drove past one field that was still full of cotton and had to pull over and take some pictures. It's really incredible how much cotton just one plant contains! The field was split in 2 by a road; one side having been harvested and the other not. On the harvested side the cotton was packed into giant 8-foot diameter "cotton balls" wrapped in plastic. Interesting to see how that's done – not something you see in Maine!

Then it was on to Conagree. I was a little concerned because I thought it might be a boring park - just a big swamp and not much else. But boy was I pleasantly surprised! The park has more than 2.4 miles of boardwalk, some at the swamp level and other sections about 10 feet above ground level.

It's not a swamp but a "floodplain" with water constantly flowing through. There are majestic bald cypress trees that produce little "knees" that look like spikes that rise up from the roots of the tree and can be seen throughout the forest floor - scientists aren't exactly sure what the function of these knees is but it is believed that they provide the tree with extra structural support during floods and high winds.

I was lucky to see some wild boar, woodpeckers, owls calling to each other and deer in addition to all the amazing structures in the forest. The photographer and me thought Ansel Adams would love the texture and shapes of all the trees so I played around with a couple of black-and-white images. I was so pleasantly surprised at what an amazing day it was at Congaree - what are you unique and beautiful place.