Michael Janke

We’ve spent the last few days camping in Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Part of my half-thought out plan for this trip was to check out one of the few National Parks in the Eastern US, Congaree National Park.

The park preserves thousands of acres of hardwood bottomlands, some of which are old growth. In this part of the country, the old growth was long gone before there was any recognition that woodland had value not measured in board-feet. Apparently this area was too difficult to log, so the trees survived.

We walked the 2-1/2 mile boardwalk trail. It was quite peaceful, unless you count the two busloads of elementary school kids and occasional passenger jet flying overhead. The park is near an urban area, so not unexpected. I do like it when kids have the opportunity to get out in the woods.

Wildlife was scarce – perhaps because it’s late November and quite cold. We hiked and toured the Santee National Wildlife Refuge, where wildlife was also scarce.

I keep a Google map of ‘things to see in the US‘. The Eastern US is sparse. Probably why this is the first time that we’ve toured and camped in the Southeast.

But the State Parks down here are decent enough and the weather is mostly above freezing, so maybe it’s worth just hanging out for a bit.