A National Park and Fall in the Mountains

On Sunday, after church, we took a drive to Congaree National Park. Along the way we spotted this roadside display and had to stop for a closer look; both tractor and trailer are really all made with bales.
When we arrived at the park we had no idea what to expect. We both thought we would probably just grab a walking stick pin and head back home. But, we had a pleasant surprise. In the visitor center we learned that, before 9/11, The National Guard helped to build the infrastructure of the park.
And we learned that there was a 2.5 mile boardwalk through the park. Now this is the kind of boardwalk we would handle.


"This 24,000 acre park protects the largest contiguous area of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the United States." is what the brochure told us. What we saw was big old trees in swampland.
I have never seen so many bald cypress trees and their "knees" in one place. The knees are actually parts of the roots that have come to the surface. Years ago knees were sought after for lamps (my folks had one) and other decorating (we have a Santa Claus made from a cypress knee). Now that kind of harvesting is illegal and lands like these are protected.
They are each one different and beautiful. And then there are the mushrooms, after all it is wet and warm.


This picture shows how high the water gets during flooding season in the spring of the year. You can see the water lines on all the trees.
There was one area where many of the trees looked hollow.
So I put my camera in the center and took a picture up the center; sure enough it was hollow.




In another area the trees had long brown hair growing on and around them. This place is a truly haunted area to explore.

Near the end of our walk, Mike spots this "stick" on the boardwalk in front of us. He knows immediately that it is snake.
After a couple of quick photos, I am outa there!

Only to see a young man photographing a tree stump... upon further investigation it was another snake. All I can say is that it is a good thing we didn't see these fellows when we were only starting our walk through Congaree National Park. I know that I would not have been quite so willing to step off the boardwalk for a picture had I known.

Across the road from the park entrace, there was another beautiful swampy area.

Over the next two days, we headed west through Tennessee and into Arkansas. Since we were at higher elevation in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the colors were more vibrant than any we have seen thus far on Our Great Trip East of 2011. For your viewing pleasure:




After a minor problem...

we crossed the mighty Mississippi River and our trip east is now officially over.

We plan to spend a few days in Arkansas; more on that later.