Beth and I kicked off our National Park Escapade on Thursday with our first offical park stop in Congaree, just outside of Columbia, South Carolina.
We were up with the sun at 6:30 after a mostly good first night’s sleep in our luxurious accomodations (I guess most people would not call a 9×12 tent luxurious), but beggars can’t be choosy. I was unpleasantly awakened once overnight at 2:12 a.m. by the wonderful sounds of a pack of coyotes screaming in the distant woods. How nice of them to greet us. I could tell the coyotes weren’t too close, but it was still a rather eerie sound in my half awake state. Suddenly, my luxurious accomodations didn’t see quite so grand. I doubt the tenth of an inch of tent fabric would stop a pack of coyotes if they really wanted in our tent.
The coyotes were followed shortly by the sound of the whistle of a freight train barrelling through the neighborhood. Why in the world did they have to use their whistle at that time of night? Other than the coyotes, I doubt there were many people out and about to worry about.
Fortunately, I was able to fall back to sleep pretty quickly. Beth slept through round one of the excitement, although apparently the coyotes made an encore appearance later, which did wake her briefly.
We began our day with great expectations for our visit to Congaree. After spending some time with our Bible reading and devotions, we hopped in our vehicle and headed to the park, arriving there right around 9:00 a.m. We timed our arrival to match the opening of the Harry Hampton Visitor Center, where we were able to add another stamp in our National Parks Passport and obtain some insider information on how to best spend our day from some friendly park rangers.
We almost didn’t make it out of the Visitor Center. Our National Park Passport book has a space for the actual ink stamp, but also a place for a sticker representing the park being visited. Beth couldn’t find the sticker so she asked one of the clerks where they were. The clerk handed her a sticker and Beth and I proceeded to head out the door to begin our first hike when we heard the clerk say “aren’t you going to pay for that sticker?” We thought the sticker was free. Apparently not. Neither of us had money with us as I had locked it up in our car in the portable safe that our daughter Michelle purchased for us for the trip. While Beth stood at the cash register under the watchful eye of a very suspicious clerk, I rushed back to the car to retrieve her credit card to pay for the $4.00 sticker and spring Beth from her temporary lock-up. We both thought the sticker was overpriced, but better to pay than end up in the slammer.
After our brush with the law, we quickly got out of the Visitor Center and headed for the Boardwalk Trail, a 2.5 mile loop that takes visitors through the hardwood forest that makes up much of Congaree. Most of the park is apparently in a flood plain, and to enable visitors to still enjoy the beauty of the park during the wet season, the Boardwalk Trail was built. We could hear birds singing and smell the easily identifiable odor of wet leaves, mud and water. Also frequently on the trail we picked up a floral scent that we recognized but did’t know what plant it comes from. As we went deeper into the forest there wasn’t a sound; our walk was completely quiet. We meandered along the trail at a leisurely pace, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. It was a beautiful morning with temperatures in the 70s and no humidity. A very slight breeze caressed our faces as we moved along. The sky barely visible through the dense tree canopy was robin egg’s blue with a few white puffy clouds. Perfect.
We passed a park employee who was coming back from a walk on the trail who told us that he saw a couple of alligators hanging out at stop number 12 on the trail, near Weston Lake. Great, we thought it be neat to see a couple of alligators in their natural habitat. When we reached stop 12, an overlook from the boardwalk into Weston Lake we did not see the gators. We waited for about 5 minutes, and when the alligators didn’t appear, we continued our hike, somewhat disappointed that we didn’t get up close and personal with them.
After about a mile and a half, we ventured off the boardwalk to join the Weston Lake Loop trail, a 4.5 mile trek deep into the forest. As we approached the Lake on this trail, I noticed something odd in the middle of the water. It looked kind of like a log, but the longer I looked, the more I was convinced it was an alligator. I called Beth’s attention to the UFO (unidentified FLOATING object), and much to our delight, the UFO began swimming up the lake. It was indeed an alligator. It wasn’t long before a second gator surfaced and swam after its buddy! What a neat sight. Since we were on land and not near the water, we were perfectly safe and we were able to enjoy the view with no danger.
Having crossed “alligator” off our list of things to see on our trip, we continued on the path. Beth stopped on a bridge over a little stream to take some pictures. As she stooped down for a better angle, she quietly motioned for me to look to her right. There, about 5 feet from her, was an owl perched at eye level on a stump of a cyprus tree. It was beautiful. It appeared to be sleeping or at least resting with its head down. Beth slowly made her way closer to the sleeping owl, getting within arm’s length. It was a soft brown color with white spots and about 17 inches tall.. It must have sensed us, because after about a minute, it lifted its head and looked us right in the eyes! What a great photo op. Beth snapped a dozen or so pictures before the owl decided it had had enough and it flew off. Another great experience.
We finished the loop and arrived back at the Visitor Center, but not before seeing a raccoon, a number of small lizards, and a man from Germany who was vacationing in the US over the next month or so. Our appetites had ratcheted up from almost 6 miles of hiking and we enjoyed lunch at a shaded picnic table next to the Visitor Center parking lot to replenish our depleted calorie count. After lunch, we finished our time in Congaree by returning to the Visitor Center (yes, they did let us in, and we saw no pictures of Beth on any “Most Wanted” photos around the cash register), where we watched an informative short movie on the park, walked another mile or so on the Firefly Trail, and returned to our car for the 40 minute ride back to our campsite.
It was a really wonderful day in the Park. Perfect weather, unexpected encounters with wildlife and a German tourist, and we returned with all 10 fingers and 10 toes, not losing a single one to the gators. We spent about six and a half hours in the park and the start to our trip couldn’t have been better.
Back at the campground, Beth’s streak of great dinners was extended to two, as she prepared a very delicious pulled pork meal with sliced carrots, which we enjoyed under a clear blue sky as the afternoon turned into evening. While our time in South Carolina has been relatively short, it has been a wonderful way to begin what will be a long, long journey. We hope and pray the rest of the escapade goes so well.
Next stop, Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, after an overnight in Alabama to break up the long drive. Continue to check our blog for more exciting adventures as we make our way west.