Congaree National Park, South Carolina

On of my goals in life is to see as many of the United States National Parks as possible.  I've seen quite a few of them already and have always enjoyed visiting them.  I find that usually there is something special geologically about the place and that is why people want to preserve it.  Each park has unique characteristics that make it different from all of the others.   So whenever I travel and I have a little bit of free time the one thing I do is check out if there is a National Park in the area so I can go visit it.
    My spouse had a class to take and I went with him to South Carolina.  I got out my maps and realized that Congaree National Park was in the area.  While he was in class I went and checked it out. 
(I must admit I was given a guide but  with the hectic  holidays I lost it. - Most of the time when I take pictures I'm trying to get the image the guide is trying to explain.  I got the pictures but not a whole lot to write about since I'm not positive about a lot of this stuff.) 
   I do feel confident in saying that Congaree was made into a national park because it was a swamp and has original hardwood forests.

The entrance to the park

 Harry Hampton Visitor center.

 I was there in the winter time.  Most of the fall foliage had fallen and it made it easier to see things.  Because I was there during the time of year that i was - it was a very pleasant excursion. I did not have to deal a lot with the bugs which I'm sure can be overwhelming at times.  Also temperature wise you couldn't ask for a nice temperature while I'm sure in the summertime it can be unbearable with the heat and humidity.
    The path was easy to follow since much of it was a boardwalk.

The boardwalk in Congaree National Park.

 I looked back and got this photo of the visitor center because I thought it loos so pretty.

Harry Hampton Visitor Center @ Congaree National Park

 The day I was there was beautiful.  The skies were so blue and the temperature was perfect for walking.  When I first started out there was a chill in the air but as I walked it quickly became very comfortable.

 Seeing all the water on the ground I could understand why they built the boardwalk.  It sure did making walking in the area easy.

 Living in Louisiana I've seen some swamp in my day and this is very typical of what they look like.  

 I just though this was a pretty picture.

Congaree National Park

 Bald Cypress and their knees are very typical in a swamp. 

 This is the low boardwalk area

 After awhile the boardwalk gave out but there was a well blazed trail for which you could follow.  I choose to follow the Blue - Bluff trail that was 1.7 miles long and went along Cedar Creek.

Cedar Creek, Congaree national park.

Cedar Creek, Congaree National Park

 I was surprised to see this solar panel out in the middle of nowhere but was impressed they were using it. From what I could gather it look like it was helping with instruments to monitor the creek levels.

 There were some planes flying overhead that you could hear occasionally but other than that you really felt like you were in the wilderness and could really enjoy mother nature.

 It was nice to see that the Boys Scouts had helped so much with this park.  The boardwalks really did make a big difference in being able to hike its trails.

 Most of the next shots are just pictures I took because the area was so pretty and peaceful.

 same tree just a different angle. 

 I did like the way the trails were so well marked and you had no trouble following them.

 I was surprised to see this riverbed dried up I expected there to be some water in it even if it was just a trickle.  I guess that is why creeks are called creeks because sometimes they do go dry.

 All of a sudden this huge bird flew into the area.  If I hadn't seen it fly in I doubt if I would have notice it.  It seemed to follow me for awhile and when it decided I was harmless it flew off.

 Here it is flying off - Its near the tree on the left, in the center of the picture.

I saw this whole and could tell something has lived here.  I wonder what animal it was.

I came to Weston Lake and was glad it was labeled as such because it didn't look like it was much of a lake to me ---more like a pond.

Weston Lake, Congaree National Park.

I saw these Dwarf Palmetto's and though they were pretty.

I didn't know what they were but the guide did help in identifying them.

Dwarf Palmetto's - Congaree national park

 I completed the trails and got back onto the boardwalk to get back to the visitor center.

Heading back I kept on noticing my shadow.  I decided to get my picture this way since I was out here all by myself and there was no one else to take it.  That was the one thing that surprised me while I was there - outside of the park rangers I only saw one other hiker and a family that was camping out in the campground.  I'm not used to national parks being this deserted - usually there are a lot more people than that.

The boardwalk - Congareee National Park, SC

  
If you want a secluded national park to visit - this is the one to go to.   I did enjoy seeing its swamps and am glad they made it into a national park.


 Here's its official website.- and it does have the trail guide under maps and brochures.
http://www.nps.gov/cong/index.htmHere's what Wikipedia has to say about it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congaree_National_Park

I'll still be looking for the guide (since I know it was different from the downloads) and other information if I do find it I will be updating this post accordingly.