Pre Day 1, Suffolk, VA: The Great Dismal Swamp

The Plan: Did I mention that I don't like itineraries? Nature is not cooperating with this trip. The weather is going to be dodgy the whole way, and no more so than now when we are expecting an unseasonal BLIZZARD in the mid-atlantic. The Governor of Virginia has declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the chaos. Of course, the storm is coming from the south so I can't get around it. Yes, you guessed it. The itinerary has changed. I left today, after Christmas festivities with the family figuring if I could get to suffolk, Virginia, I would at least be where I wanted to be when the snow comes in ernest tomorrow. I may be stuck here in Suffolk through Monday afternoon. It all depends on how much snow we get.

The Drive: Because I was trying to beat the snow I took the fastest route -- down I95 to Richmond, then east to Suffolk. Not very interesting, but it only took about 3 hours! Other than a Bald Eagle sitting in the middle of a pasture near Allen's Fresh, and the cool single-suspension bridge where I295 crosses the James River, the drive did not get interesing until, on Rt. 460, I started passing through small towns with names like Disputanta, and the increasingly more cosmopolitan and pompous sounding Waverley and Wakefield; the latter boasting its own, rather extensive, muncipal airport. These were the types of small towns that keep their best face hidden from those of us passing by on the highway -- despite the fact that Rt. 460 was once, and insofar as there remains, it's main street. They appeared to be driven mostly by grain silos, packing houses and other agricultural services. The closer I found myself to Suffolk the more clear the role of peanuts and cotton in teh local economy became. Wakefield claims to be the "Peanut Capital of the World," though it is hardly clear, as is often the case with such claims, why this would be so.  (More on peanuts tomorrow, as I suspect I am going to be snowed in!) I was surprised to find snow south of Richmond, and even more surprised to discover it was not snow at all, but cotton. More on that tomorrow as well ...

The Dismal Swamp: I arrived at the Washington Ditch Entrance to the National Wildlife Refuge just before dark.  Yes, the Washington Ditch is named after George. The ditch was dug by hand so that George Washington's Company, aptly, if not interestingly, named the Dismal Swamp Company, could promote logging and farming. The swamp is riddled with ditches named after folks who first began to drain the wetland. The swamp was well known and apparently well used as a hiding place along the underground railroad.

The surviving portion of the swamp was preserved through a grassroots effort that resulted in the Union Camp Co., a paper producing enterprise, donating over 49,000 acres of land to the Nature Conservancy in 1973. The land was then transferred to the federal government and the wildlife preserve was established.

The swamp is a remarkable place, both because of its size and because of its biological diversity -- despite centuries of human exploitation. Approaching Suffolk I encountered more and more small and disconnected bald cypress swamps among the low-lying forests. I can only imagine what this area was like before humans began to drain it! The Dismal swamp (thought to be named by William Byrd II who first surveyed the area) was known to have one of the largest, if not THE largest, remaining atlantic white cedar forest. In 2003 Hurricane Isabelle destroyed much of the forest but it is still impressive. There are also southern pocosin forests sphagnum bogs. Were it not so cold and, well, dismal, I would have seen or heard many birds. As it was I only heard a few red-bellied woodpeckers making a ruckus in the distance. Of course, I am talking from past experience. Today I did not get to see much of the swamp. I am hoping the snow tomorrow will not be so intrusive as to prevent my visiting a little more ... though I suspect I will explore on foot rather than canoe. It has been a long time since I last canoed in the snow -- I was young and sprightly then, and old and crusty now.

I imagine even a Great Dismal Swamp is decidedly less dismal when you have someone to share it with!

More Information on the wetland can be found here:
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatdismalswamp/pdf/refugebrochure.pdf
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatdismalswamp/pdf/bird_brochure.pdf

Suffolk, VA: Suffolk is a pleasant old town, built on peanuts and cotton and the railroads converging here, carrinying inland goods on their way to Norfolk and the Atlantic Ocean. Notably, Suffolk also claims to be the "Peanut Capital of the World", if only because the Planters Mr. Peanut is enshrined in ... er ... some material, a statue downtown.

On a final note: I can't help but mention the oddly creepy motel operators where I am staying. They are from the Indian Sub-Continent, speak little english, and are disturbingly lurky; watching, following, observing -- all in silence and with much creepiness. They are, however, quite nice and harmless -- even if they said they do not cook curry in a motel that smells like CURRY!