2010/2011 Winter Wetlands Tour

More on Okefenokee Critters ...

2011-01-04T20:29:00.001-05:00

Reportedly, there are more than 200 different species of birds, 60 species of amphibians, 34 different species of fish, 40 species of mammals and 50 species of reptiles who call the Okefenokee home. I think I may have encountered 30 of them in my two days there. So here I will briefly look at some of the animals I saw and a few that I didn't but wished I would have!

Animals I saw.

American Alligator: Gotta start with this one! This famous resident of the swamp came off the endangered species list in 1987 as there were gazillions of them out there! Of course, southeast Georgia has suffered from a severe drought for the past year and a half so the water level in the swamp was really low. When this happens all the alligators become concentrated in the remaining pockets of water. I suspect I encountered more than one normally would. From this, we can guess that there are a lot of other critters roaming around the swamp as alligators are apex predators, top of the heap, king of the hill -- ain't nothin' gonna eat an alligator ... except people. Hey, they have even been know to eat black bears! (And a few too curious people) To support so many large predators this high up the food web, there have got to be lots of little creatures, providing lots of energy that they, in turn, gathered from lots of plants.

Like all reptiles, alligators lay hard shelled eggs, though in this case, rather large hard-shelled eggs. The eggs are laid in a nest of rotting vegetation the female builds near the water. The rotting vegetation keeps the eggs warm, as the female does not hang around. As in other reptiles the temperature of the egg will determine the gender of the baby alligator; temperatures in teh low 90's (F) will produce males while temperatures in the low 80's (F) will produce females. Pretty cool, huh. (Our Diamondback Terrapin eggs are the same!)

(For still more on the American Alligator, see the post on Harris Neck NWR: http://kurtswinterwetlands.blogspot.com/2010/12/harris-neck-nwr-georgia.html)

My escort...

Great Blue Heron: We know this bird locally as the Johnnie Crane. A common year-round resident in the Chesapeake it is equally common in the Okefenokee. Standing about 4 feet high the Great Blue Heron waits patiently in the shallows for an unsuspecting fish to swim by. Snatching the fish with a quick snap of its long beak, the heron deftly gives it a flip and swallows it whole. I wonder how they keep alligators from doing the same thing to them? As I canoed I was escorted by a couple of herons who kept flying ahead of me, landing, then flying away again when I caught up to them. Along the way there were tons of alligators, but I suppose the herons know well how to avoid them, and truly the alligators seemed too lazy to care. Alas.

Belted Kingfisher: Another common bird of the Chesapeake also preceded me as I canoed along. Clacking as it went, and never going too far ahead of the canoe before landing it led me for about 4 miles down the canoe trail.

Killdeer

River Otter: I only saw one kind of mammal and only saw it once; as I paddled silently along I came upon an otter resting on a log under the branches along the edge of the water. As I reached to turn on my camera, it looked up and silently slipped off the log and into the water. I followed the bubbles it left behind but did not see mim again. This was a cool encounter as we both seemed to see each other at the same time, regarded each other with mutual curiosity and then both went on our way. What was really cool is he was only about 5 feet from me!

Basking Cooter

Green Heron

Red-Bellied Turtle

Monday ... the Last Day's Drive

2011-01-03T13:31:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this was utterly uneventful -- a straightforward 3.5 hour drive from Roanoke Rapids, NC to Hollywood MD where I was reunited with my cat. (At least some creature was happy to see me return!) I will post a couple of things today and try to finish the Okefenokee Swamp posts on Tuesday. Wednesday, the 5th of January, I will wrap up with some bits and bobs.

The Welcoming Committee

Okefenokee Peat ... Swamp or Bog?

2011-01-03T13:14:00.005-05:00

Exposed Peat due to drought.

Hooded Pitcher Plant
Insects beware!

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but the Okefenokee swamp is not really a swamp ... though it has swamps within it. It is really a wildly diverse collection of habitats -- all variations on the peat bog. It might, in fact, be better described as a bog rather than a swamp. To the west, in the upland area there are more true swamps and less of what we normally think of as a bog. The Eastern half is very bog like. Bogs are depressions filled with peat -- usually moss or lichen and very acidic water. They tend to be fragile and diverse habitats. It is here, for example that you will find carnivorous plants as the soil is rather nutrient deficient. The peat, or collected dead plant material, has been accumulating in the Okefenokee basin for thousands of years.

Exposed peat
with a thin layer of dried muck

So why doesn't peat decay and turn to muck like we find with the plant material that accumulates in the bottom of our tidal marshes here in St. Mary's County? Well, first and obviously, peat accumulates because more organic matter is deposited than rots and so there is a net increase in organic stuff. So lets take a step back and remind ourselves of what is responsible for degrading organic stuff -- mostly bacteria (and some fungus); oxygen loving bacteria. Now here around the Chesapeake we are familiar with the problem of having too much oxygen consuming bacteria breaking down organic stuff as this is, after the excessive input of nutrient pollutants, what causes the depletion of oxygen in the water and the annual, and ever growing, summer dead-zone at the bottom of the Bay. Returning to our peat bog, we can imagine that all that plant material is a feast for the bacteria! But while feasting the bacteria consume all the oxygen, which kills the bacteria! So the available oxygen limits the amount of bacteria and the bacteria themselves limit the available oxygen! Needless to say there is not a lot of oxygen in the water of a peat bog! And, of course, the deeper you go the less oxygen there will be! (Oxygen comes from air, inputs of water and living submerged plants -- from the top!) We should note that the acidity of the water also inhibits decay, and the acidity of the water will increase the deeper we delve into the peat layer. Whew.

Peat with muck layer peeled back

So why is our marsh any different? Well, perhaps the big factor is the amount of water that enters the system. The Okefenokee is entirely rain fed so there is not a great deal of oxygen being added by incoming water. Our marshes have creeks at the back of them, bringing in fresh oxygen, and they may be subject to the tide which also increases oxygen levels. For whatever reason, the amount of dead organic material entering the marsh does not overwhelm the bacteria's ability to break it down. There is no known exact formula for why some places accumulate dead plant material and others do not.

Peat dug up a bit

So what then, exactly is peat? From the description above we can see that some areas where dead plant material is deposited do not decay rapidly, but they do decay! At least partially, until they are buried so deep that decomposition stops. While the plant material is near the surface the weaker parts of the plant (like cellulose) break down, but there is not enough time for the tougher, more resilient parts of the plant to decompose before the oxygen runs out, the acid levels build up and decay stops. So all that remains of the plant, and what accumulates over time, are the lignins or the strong structural stuff that fill the gaps in cell walls. It is what makes trees stand upright! This process of partial decay is called, not surprisingly, or creatively, "peatification".

Closeup of peat fibers ... partially decomposed plant material.

Geology of a Swamp ...

2011-01-03T11:55:00.002-05:00

Once upon a time, the Miocene Era (23 to 5 million years ago) to be specific, a layer of clay was laid on the ground during a time when the climate was warmer. It is this layer of clay, called the Hawthorne Formation, that has made the ground impermeable – bucket like, the reason why water in the swamp doesn’t just disappear into the ground. The Hawthorne Formation is a name for layers of coastal sedimentary rock that have similar features. Later, during the Pliocene era ( 5 to 2.5 million years ago) as ocean levels rose and fell, remnants of barrier islands and coastal bays were left behind. The Okefenokee basin is an archaic coastal bay, defined on the eastern side by an equally archaic barrier island which acts like a dam and holds the rainwater in place. The modern wetland itself began to form during the late Holocene (12,000 years ago to the present) when the climate warmed and plant-life once again began to thrive.

Uplands to the West, ridge to the East

So you can look at it this way: Imagine a clay bowl that was flooded by rising sea levels where barrier islands (like Assateague Island, where Ocean City, MD is located) were established with coastal bays behind them – just like in modern times. As the climate cooled and the sea levels dropped a series of ridges with basins behind them were left behind. So the eastern edge of the Okefenokee Swamp is defined by an old barrier island, called Trail Ridge, and to the west of this ridge is the basin, now filled with rainwater and called the Okefenokee Swamp. You can imagine how the swamp has grown over time as sediments began to fill the basin, displacing and raising the water level. The water would over flow and spread out over an even greater area! So today we can find on the eastern part of the swamp the oldest, deepest part of the basin where the open water wet prairies and floating islands of accumulated peat are located and as we move west and upland we find flooded forests. (Flooded later as the basin filled with sediment and the water level rose!)

It can be hard to imagine our Earth as a constantly changing little blue ball. The change is slow, imperceptible in our lifetimes – with the possible exception of global climate change – but is taking place none the less. It is a perpetually unfolding story that we are only beginning to understand.

Sunday's Drive ...

2011-01-03T11:53:00.000-05:00

I left really early Sunday morning, heading for roanoke Rapids, NC. It was basically a pretty boring day of 8 hours diving, stopping only at rest areas along I95. I planed to get to the motel relatively early so I could write and post more Okefenokee bits. The driving and arriving worked out OK but internet at the motel was down so I couldn't post or research anything...not that I was complaining about having an evening off!

Canoeing with Alligators

2011-01-01T21:28:00.052-05:00

To hear my sister talk, canoeing with alligators is an act of sheer folly. One might as well have dinner with a group of flesh eating zombies, such are one's chances of survival. So here are the possible alligator responses to an approaching canoe in order of liklihood:

Well hidden!

1) Alligator does nothing, looks at you but you don't even see it!

Alligator does nothing ..

2) You see it, it sees you, and the alligator still does nothing.

This fellow will just slowly sink ...

3) The alligator is in the water and slowly sinks, regardless of whether you see it or not.

Slippin' in backwards

4) The alligator is out of the water, gets spooked and dives or slips in -- you will know.

5) The alligator sits up, supported by his long tail and hind legs, and begins to recite Shakespearean sonnets in a remarkably well refined BBC accent. (Look for DVD in stores.)

6) The alligator launches toward the boat, knocks it from below, capsizing the boat, and promptly begins to devour the unwary paddler(s). (Image not available: too gruesome.)

Catching some rays

Now, having said this there were some interesting moments. Imagine, if you will, paddling down a shallow, narrow slough -- maybe 6' wide and 2' deep -- and about 10 meters in front of you an alligator the size of your canoe and weighing 10x more than you dives into the water. Now this poses a rather interesting dilemma. What do you do? Continue on, knowing you will have to paddle right over this beast's back? Or maybe you wait for the alligator to ... to do what? Leave? Ha! What are the odds of that! You could, then, just turn around and find another way forward. My choice ... paddle on! ... with trepidation. Nine out of ten times I passed never knowing what happened to the alligator, but also knowing he was not far away! Occasionally, I would bump the alligators back, much to his/her annoyance but also with no lasting discomfort to either the alligator or myself.

They sometimes hang out in groups

Another interesting phenomena, though possibly a figment of my overactive imagination, is when an alligator sees you coming, slips or dives off the shore and swims directly toward you, submerging along the way; 10 seconds later you feel something hit your canoe from below. Now, I swear, this happened a lot! Of course, it is a swamp and there are sticks and logs and a million other things that might strike the bottom of a canoe -- so perhaps it is just a coincidence that 10 seconds after the alligator starts swimming toward you the bump from below is felt. Hmm ... I think not! (At least it makes for a better story ...)

Except for the occasional heart stopping moment when you startle one alligator who leaps into the water with a huge splash, thus startling the other EIGHT alligators that are sleeping nearby and they ALL then leap into the water and all NINE of them start swimming toward your boat, canoeing with alligators is pretty uneventful.

The old girl feeling right at home ...

So it would seem that canoeing alongside alligators is no different than encountering any wild animal -- they all can bite, they all can be dangerous, they all deserve respect and simply put the old axiom remains true, especially with alligators: "Leave them alone, and they will leave you alone."

Alligators have been known to attack people (In the US : 17 fatalities in the past 50 years) so giving them a wide berth is certainly not ill-advised.

The video above from youtube shows why one should never feed wild animals, nor release exotic pets into the wild. This little fellow will one day be killed because he is no longer afraid of people and will get too big and go too far! Or he simply won't survive the Illinois winter!

Quiet and peaceful

A New Year, A New Day: Overview

2011-01-01T19:51:00.002-05:00

Today: I spent new year's eve on Fernandina Beach -- a quiet peaceful evening, until, of course, I returned to civilization and immediately encountered a group a drunken men, most laughing heartily at their unfortunate companion who was throwing up on the sea oats. This morning I awoke and went back to the beach to greet the first rays of sun, of this, the new year 2011. Pretty cool, huh? Ok ... I couldn't sleep so I went down to the beach and just happened to be there when the sun rose above the water. A nice way to start the day, no matter the reason. So, since I was up so early, I checked out and headed to the Okefenokee Swamp. Arriving at 7:30 a.m., I had the canoe loaded, submitted my float plan and hit the water by 8:00 a.m.. I returned at 3:45 p.m., having paddled 16 miles and 8 miles into the wilderness. It was what the doctor ordered. Then I drove three hours north to Hardeeville, SC where, now, I write and rest. Needless to say, I am really tired now so I am not sure how much will get written tonight. Posts will include: Canoeing with Alligators, Peat, More on Critters, More on Habitats, Geology of the swamp.

Amelia River in the Morning

Tomorrow at Okefenokee

2010-12-31T20:04:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the day: I will spend 8 hours canoeing the swamp and should be able to get well away from tour boats, fishermen, other canoeists -- all signs of humanity except the ever present airplane. This is what I drove 700 miles to find -- absolute isolation in absolute silence surrounded by absolute beauty.

Look for a more significant post on the swamp over the next couple of days ... I suspect it will take a few evenings to write!

Okefenokee Swamp: Day 1

2010-12-31T19:55:00.003-05:00

Since I have two days to explore the swamp I figured I would spend the first day doing what could be done on foot and by car. It is a swamp, after all; there ain't that much you can do and still keep your feet dry! Still, I arrived about 10 minutes before the first tour boat left. Now, I have to admit I am not without shame when I admit that I paid the fee and climbed aboard the little skiff. I've always thought such things were for tourists! Then I realized, hey, I'm zipping through here -- I AM a tourist. Our tour guide was named Joey, a 7th generation "swamper" who, as all good tour guides do, regaled us with corny jokes and a surprising knowledge of the swamp, its history, its present and its critters.

Should be 18" of water covering this peat ...

The Water (hydrology): So we got 90 minutes of the following: "They say the water in this swamp is pure, 90% pure -- the other 10% is gatorade." This elicited a groan from me ... and a smile, though I hid it from Joey because I did not want to egg him on. The water level in the swamp was down about 28" due to lack of rain. The swamp is fed entirely by rain (called ombrotrophic) -- there are no streams flowing into it, though the St. Mary's and Suwanee rivers flow from it! The swamp occupies a basin, a low bowl left over from 65 million years ago when the area was part of the sea. The sea left nutrient poor, sandy soils while wave action in more recent times carved the basin which today is filled with rainwater. Joey also pointed out that it takes 10 billion gallons of water to cause the water level in the swamp to rise one inch. Its a big place, covering over 400,00 acres (an acre is the size of a football field.) So for now, until the next hurricane the peat will be dry. This turned out to be pretty cool as Joey stopped the boat and we were able to wander around on the peat flats. I understand why the Seminole named the area "Okefenokee", or "land of the trembling earth". You bounce on the buoyant peat -- its like walking on a firm mattress, as if the ground were not quite solid ... well, because it isn't solid!

Alligator Hole

Palmetto Thicket

The Habitats: Whew, where to begin. The diversity of wetland habitat here is astounding! There are wet forests (what we traditionally think of as a swamp), swamp shrub environments, floating peat mats, wet and dry prairies, saw palmetto thickets, bay forests, bald and pine cypress swamp, tupelo swamp, and bog. More on these tomorrow.

The Critters: A sampling of today's Critters:

Little Alligator

Birds

Pied Billed Grebe
Wilson's Snipe
Great Blue Heron
Cooper's Hawk
Eastern Phoebe
Pine Siskin
Catbird
Mockingbird
Great Egret
Sandhill Crane
Anhinga
Barred Owl

Great Egret

American Alligators (Lots, Joey said they were popping up like mushrooms because the day was so warm!)

Big Alligator

And More: Of course the silence was total and lasting. Occasional birds, the course scraping of saw palmetto leaves blown by the wind and, of course, the occasional airplane were all that could be heard. I spent a couple of hours writing and about an hour and a half in silence, just sitting, meditating until civilization crept in; I had left my phone on and my sister called! I had finished walking every trail I could get to and it was time to move on anyway. Alas.

At Years End ... Finally, Okefenokee!

2010-12-30T22:02:00.002-05:00

The Plan for Friday 31 December: I chose to stay near the coast so I could relax on the beach and spend the first moments of the new year in peace -- no alcohol, no crowds; just stars, sea and silence.

However, this has left me with an hour and a half commute to the Okefenokee Swamp. I will leave early tomorrow morning and head for the East Entrance to the National Wildlife Refuge. Here I can plan my two days in the swamp and explore what there is to see at this entrance. While I am sure the offices and such will be closed on the first of January, I am hopeful that access to the refuge by canoe, especially, will remain open. We will see.

So, I'm off for a night walk on the beach. Too bad it is not a full moon as there is little more peaceful than a moonlit beach. (Except, perhaps, a moonlit, snow-covered field.)

A demain.

Back to the Beach

2010-12-30T20:14:00.002-05:00

Fernandina Beach

The day ends here ... Fernandina Beach, FL. I will hang out here for the next two nights while I explore the Okefenokee swamp.

The Atlantic at Peace

Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

2010-12-30T20:10:00.006-05:00

Maritime Hammock

Arriving at the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve headquarters, I did not know what to expect. I was in the suburbs of Jacksonville, surrounded by wide, tree-lined suburban streets with large suburban homes and people out walking suburban dogs. Where was the National Park? Turns out there are 600 acres of wilderness in their back yard! Is that cool or what. Now this would be a great place for a kid to grow up! At least, despite my earlier judgement, I rather liked the place.

Napping Tree

Napping Tree: Shortly after starting down the Willie Browne Trail I found a tree, a wonderful, beautiful, beckoning tree. Tired after driving down from Brunswick and wandering around Jekyll Island, I settled into its well worn crook for a nap. Clearly I was not the first wanderer cought by this tree. Two hours later I was on my way again. Yup, needed that too.

Rattlesnake habitat!

Maritime Hammocks: The southern maritime hammock is very different from anything we have in Maryland. Walking through this habitat i knew I was in the south as there were few plants here that could be found in St. Mary's County. Gone are the red, willow and chestnut oaks -- here there are live oaks with their deeply grooved bark and gnarled canopy. (Great, it seems for sculpting the ribs of wooden boats!) Red bay -- much like wax myrtle and bayberry is a purely southern plant. The palms, cabbage palm and saw palmetto, give the area a decidedly tropical look and feel.

Oyster Shell Soil!

Oyster Mounds: Ever been to Smith Island? Seems like many islands in the Chesapeake Bay are made of oyster shells! Same thing here in northern Florida. The Timucua and their predecessors have, for the past 1000 years been piling up oyster shells. At Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve there is a spit of land, overgrown with trees that is nothing but oyster shell! Note: you can find a similar phenomena on Sotterley Creek, off the Patuxent River.

Sigh.

War Again: Seems like everywhere I go around here I encounter some evidence of war. Here, along the trail, alone in the middle of the woods, is this white, marble, surprisingly clean tombstone. One wonders what the story behind Sgt. Spearing's final resting place might be; is his body here? or did he die in the area and the stone placed later? The stone looks recent and official. Considering he died after the Civil War ended, his service had to be important to someone -- to place a military stone alone on an oyster mound, bordering an isolated salt marsh is a notable act of remembrance.

At the end of the trail is Fort Caroline. Should one need a reminder of the folly of believing that we, our people are better than thou, thy people, look no further than this French settlement -- wiped out by the genocidal hatred of one against another.

A great war leaves a country with three armies: an army of cripples, an army of mourners, and an army of thieves.

~Anonymous (German)

Jekyll Island, GA

2010-12-30T19:43:00.008-05:00

An ominous sign...

Not a bad day, as there was not a lot of driving! About 1/2 an hour east of Brunswick is Jekyl Island. On the map it looks like a mix of public and private land with a state park; I figured it was worth a look. I should have turned around when I saw the sign! Jekyl Island is a resort/park/retirement community for, mostly, the wealthy. It is a barrier island with a large upland interior making development easy on the stable soils.

Atrocity? What Atrocity?

History: There is apparently some history to the place -- though after reading about the ship "Wanderer" and its illegal shipment of slaves; after reading of this "atrocious" act and not being sure if it was the importation of slaves that was atrocious, or merely the fact that they were brought in illegally, I decided I didn't want to know any more history.

Along the Intracoastal Waterway

The Controversy: The yuppity, and ongoing, development of the island is not without controversy. Recently, a scene from the next "Xmen" film was shot on the island and apparently did a fair bit of damage -- or so say the environmental folks. There was a ton of development taking place at the northern end of the island and I can only imagine the preference for development over conservation will continue. For more information see: http://www.savejekyllisland.org/.

Trees ... Man's Best Friend.

Finding Peace: Despite the golf course, the quaint shops, the hotels, tennis centers and, yes, even an airport, with a little effort and a bit of wandering away from parking lots and roads I found a nice place to sit and write. The morning chill was just disappearing with the rising sun and the air smelling fresh and clean. So I sat and wrote for about an hour. To sit, to think, to write, perchance to dream ... That was good. Needed that.

Oyster Bar

Big Tides

Oysters: Living around the Chesapeake Bay we have grown accustomed to hearing about the plight of the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica). Over 98% of the Bay's oysters are gone due to overharvesting and our two imported diseases. We forget the oyster is doing well in other parts of its range. There are places around this island that lead me to imagine what the Chesapeake must have looked like with oyster bars everywhere, oysters along the banks of creeks, oyster stuck to pylons and every other sort of hardness available. Here the decline of the oyster would be due to over-harvesting and loss of habitat. Still, they look good.

Oysters on Pylon

Spanish moss hangin' from a live oak tree ...

The path to peace ...

Thursday, 30 December: The Plan

2010-12-30T07:10:00.000-05:00

Today's high temperature will be 68F! Today will be my only beach day. Starting in Brunswick, I will work my way down to Fernandina Beach, FL, stopping to explore Jekyl Island, Cumberland National Seashore and the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. Tomorrow and Saturday I am off to the Okenfenokee swamp.

Harris Neck NWR, Georgia

2010-12-29T20:18:00.002-05:00

Brunswick, GA: If you have never been here it is definitely worth the trip. You may want to bring a bicycle though as the place is huge and there are many places accessible by bike that would take too long to reach on foot and not at all accessible by car. Sadly, it is also a place with limited canoeing. There is a public boat launch adjacent to the refuge that will grant access to the tidal marshes. I spent about three hours here, until darkness set in and I was forced to leave.

Birds: If you are into birdwatching it is a great place. The diversity of habitat is astounding; from field, to hardwood forest, to salt and fresh water tidal marshes, and freshwater swamps. Here I saw white ibis, moorhens, american coots, coopers hawks, bald eagles, great egrets to mention just a few.

Armadillo: I also came across an armadillo! Been a long time since I've seen one of those little armored opossums! Odds are we will one day find them in Maryland as well. The 9 Banded Armadillo came from Mexico, crossing on its own into Texas in the 1800's. It was introduced to Florida at about the same time and has been expanding its range ever since. Currently, on the East Coast, they can be found as far north as North Carolina.

American Alligator: On a seriously cool note, I saw my first alligator of the trip today. I was wondering if I would encounter any as it has been so unseasonably cold and they, being cold blooded, are likely not very active. Of course, the one I saw was not very active -- I don't think I saw him move once! The american alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) was brought to near extinction by harvesting for its skin and meat and general slaughter because of fear. Today there are more than a million alligators from Virginia south, though you don't encounter them in quantity until you get to South Carolina -- they don't much care for the cold! If alligators remind you of dinosaurs, that is probably because they were around when dinosaurs were ruling the planet -- they are basically little dinosaurs who got the upper hand when their bigger cousins died off and they survived! They can grow to 15 feet long and weigh almost 1000 pounds. Clearly an animal to reckoned with. They eat mostly fish, turtles, snakes, and small mammals; sometimes unfortunate pets and, rarely, humans.

Palm Trees: Cabbage palms (Sabal palmetto) can be found from Florida to southern Virginia. They are, however, not trees at all, but are, rather, more closely related to grasses. They are a monocot, meaning when their seeds sprout only one leaf emerges; as opposed to a dicot were the seedling has two leaves. Grasses are monocots, just about everything else is a dicot. This is a cold tolerant plant and would probably do quite well in St. Mary's County.

Gnarley Laurel Oak

When plantations die ...

Plants grow on plants!

South Carolina Tidal Marshes

2010-12-29T19:28:00.000-05:00

Look familiar?

After leaving Charleston I headed down to Beaufort and then on to Georgia. I chose to bypass Savannah as the realization that I would rather wander around the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge then another city. Sticking to the coast I was amazed at how expansive the coastal salt water marshes were. They look much like the Blackwater NWR on the bay, or the marshes around Delaware Bay. Spartina alterniflora is the primary plant and amazingly ... no phragmites! These marshes look like what the tidal marshes of St. Mary's County must have looked like before the phragmites invasion! Functionally they play the same role in the ecosystem as the estuarine and coastal marshes of Maryland; they are the most productive habitats on earth and may be responsible for providing the food for 95% of the commercially valuable fish we harvest.

Charleston, South Carolina

2010-12-29T19:13:00.005-05:00

I have fond memories of Charleston, thinking it a beautiful and interesting city. Of course until today, I had not visited in the past 20 years. It is the arch-typical southern city, with plantation style architecture, narrow streets lined with Spanish moss draped laurel oak trees.

There are many beautiful parks and gardens, though the most interesting seem to be tucked away in private, walled off areas around the stately homes.

Like all cities, Charleston is not just the central historic district, but a large and diverse gathering of people of all backgrounds. The poverty of the area is not far away and it appeared to me a city, not unlike Batimore, of stark and opposing contrasts; of rich and poor -- two worlds set apart, where each is an unwanted visitor in the other's home.

So, truth be told the city did not live up to my memories. This I take to mean that I have finally and irrevocably become a country boy; a realization that I simply don't like cities. Really, historic Charleston is very beautiful and steeped in history. If you can't like this city than, well, you ain't gonna be likin' cities atall. That, apparently is where I am for the city held little appeal for me.

I suppose if you are into war then the history of the place may be of interest. War is not my gig and so the guns surrounding the city, what they mean today and what they meant 150 years ago, are of little import. (Though the boat ride out to Fort Sumter might be interesting -- at least there would be some pelicans!) I visit places like this and can only think we pay far too much attention glorifying our warrior moments, forgetting the tragedy; the death and destruction war brings. Alas.

Charleston Wetlands

Now on the other hand, the city was not without its wetlands, small and confined as they may be.

Wednesday Morning ... The Plan

2010-12-29T07:28:00.003-05:00

Today I will start by walking around historic Charleston for awhile. Then I will head south to Beaufort, Hunting Island State Park, Savannah GA, and perhaps even further south toward Harris Neck NWR for some birdwatching. It would be good to get to Brunswick, GA since I have lost a day at the end of this trip and have to speed things up a bit. (I have to return to work on Tuesday 4 January).

On a Personal Note: "...out of hopeful green stuff woven."

2010-12-28T21:24:00.007-05:00

Pondering in Congaree NP

While stuck in 12" of snow, I got to wondering "why am I doing this?". I put this trip together on a whim, out of necessity without much thought. As I look at it now, I realize that in one week I will integrate 90% of what is important to me.

First I am traveling, and I love to travel; to find new roads, to simply explore -- a vehicular walkabout. New places are new beginnings, new perspectives, a way of breaking out of our hardened casks, being vulnerable and ignorant, forcing us to be creative and durable.

Second, I am spending significant chunks of time in natural places. My relationship with the natural world goes back to my early childhood where I found refuge and stability, security and silence, peace and confidence. Today I feel more at home in a forest than anywhere else. And so this trip returns me to my roots and refreshes my need for balance and unity. It gives me the space I need to reflect on what is important, who I am and who I want to be.

I also love researching things that interest me and throughout my life curiosity about the natural world has been a constant focus. So by concentrating my trip on wetlands, I am in a constant state of research and learning.

And last, as an educator, by writing and sharing this journal I am contributing to a job I love and which I believe is vitally imporant.

In a nutshell, while there are some significant things missing in my life, on this trip, I have, this week, woven a colorful textile that incorporates my love of travel, my emotional well-being, my need to be close to nature, to learn and to share my life through my work.

An integrated life. Gotta love it. It feeds the soul.

Congaree National Park

2010-12-28T21:16:00.004-05:00

I spent most of the day at Congaree National Park -- it was very cool and very big! Too much to do in too short a time.

Congaree NP was created to protect the largest remaining area of old growth, bottomland hardwood swamp left in the United States. Bottomland swamps would have been remarkably common throughout the southern coastal plain, where slow moving rivers meander towards the sea, overflow their banks and flood the surrounding land. Remnants of these swamps can be found everywhere. However hundreds of years of logging and clearing for farming and development have reduced these areas to forgotten island wastelands. (Though they are still productive wetlands, if isolated.) So what makes Congaree special?

Big Trees: There are many champion trees and champion trees in the making in this forest. The national champion Loblolly Pine can be found here. (Loblollies are commonly found around St. Mary's County as well. Our largest is 76 years old and 86 feet tall.) This champion tree stands 168' tall, is nearly 5' in diameter and has a crown spread of 71'. This is a BIG tree!

Open Space

Open Spaces: Another characteristic of an old growth forest is open space on the ground. Young forests will have lots of understory and mid-story trees and shrubs fighting for sunlight. With older forests the fight is over, the large trees have spread their branches and it is their leaves that collect the sunlight far above the forest floor. This, of course,leaves little sun left for other plants.

Seep

Seeps: If you looked at the "wetland types" post a couple of days ago you would have seen the word "seep". Seeps are places where water seeps out onto the surface through peat or soil and spreads out across the ground. Congaree was full of such seeps.

Hydrology: One really can't talk about wetlands without thinking like water. Wetlands are wet, after all, and the water has to come from somewhere, go somewhere (or not) and do so either quickly or slowly, in large quantities or small. Bottomland wetlands are basically the floodplain of a river or creek. Here, the main influence on water levels in the swamp is the flooding of the Congaree River.

Other Interesting bits ... and photos:

Love Trees

Eastern Grey Squirrel

Love Trees: While canoeing (yes, I finally got the canoe wet!) cedar creek I came across these "Love Trees." Ok ... that's what I call them. Like a mother embracing a child the tree in the center is a water tupelo and the larger tree surrounding it is a bald cypress. Tolerance lives, even in nature - red in tooth and claw!

Switch Cane

Canebrakes: Switch cane (Arundinaria gigantea), a bamboo like grass native to the southeast, was once so abundant that it was described as a miniature forest spreading as far as the eye could see. Today, switch cane habitat is dwindling and finding a miniature forest is rare indeed. Switch cane is valuable as livestock fodder and is called "mutton grass" in places where it is grazed heavily by sheep. Interestingly, switch cane does not go to seed anually. It will produce seed once every 14 years or so, they die off. Certainly a great way to rejuvenate a plant! (This comes from "Greg" the ranger who I drilled with questions until he was absolutely sick of me!)

Spanish Moss

Spanish Moss: Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is a flowering plant that, to my mind at least, is THE typical plant of the southeast. It is an epiphyte, or air plant, receiving all its nutrients from the air. It reproduces from seed, by bits of plant blown by the wind to other trees, even by birds carrying it around as nesting material. Our area is about as far north as you will find it. Look for it at Sotterley Plantation near the canoe launch area.

Dorovan Muck

Dorovan Muck: Dorovan is a wetland soil type found in the southeast from Alabama to South Carolina. It was famous, briefly, in the 1980's, for its unparalled ability to break down pollutants. If it ain't biodegradable in dorovan muck, it ain't biodegradable!

Flared Tupelo

A typical wetland tree adaptation is flared trunks as can be seen on these Water Tupelo trees. If the flared trunk is deeply creased it is called a buttress. Other adaptations include long surface spreading roots, adventitious roots and knees.

Bald Cypress

Old Growth Wetlands and the Start of the Civil War

2010-12-28T09:13:00.002-05:00

Today I will start at Congaree National Park, then head down to the Francis Beidler Forest, both old growth botomland forests; finishing up in downtown Charleston, SC.

Charleston, we will all recall is where the Civil War began. Confederate artillery fired on the Federal Government's Fort Sumter, forcing it to surrender. The South held the fort throughout the civil war.

Congaree NP: The 11,000 acres of Congaree National Park claim to hold the "largest contiguous area of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the United States." That's a lot of qualifiers. Regardless it is a seriously cool example of riparian wetlands, of what a flood plain would look like if people had not lumbered it, drained it, and built or farmed on it. People like you and I were responsible for saving this forest. It was only after the area was threatened by lumbering that people convinced congress to establish a national monument in 1973. It became a national park in 2003. (http://www.nps.gov/cong/index.htm)

Francis Beidler Forest: The forest is a 12,000 acres preserve owned and cared for by the Audubon Society. The forest is part of the Four Holes Swamp complex which covers almost 45,000 acres of prime bottomland. (http://sc.audubon.org/Centers_FBF.html)

Over the river ...

2010-12-27T18:42:00.006-05:00

After driving over many icy rivers,

through snowy forests

and past burning cars

I eventually arrived at
a place with NO SNOW.

Not an interesting day -- drove straight to Columbia, South Carolina as all the secondary roads were covered with snow and ice and all the cool places were on isolated secondary roads! I decided to record all the wildlife I could see while driving down I95 from Emporia, VA to Florence, SC.. It was a short list: Turkey vultures and crows -- not even any roadkill! (If there were any roadkill, they were probably buried in snow!) Of course the weather was really lousy for most of the day and any self-respecting animal would be out of the wind and trying to stay warm. (Except for the chickadees, of course -- who need to eat or they will die!) I first saw spanish moss just north of Florence, SC and saw my first hill as I approached Columbia, SC.

Notably, the whole area was filled with wetlands! One did not travel far before a pond, swamp or wet forest came into view. Most of these wetlands seemed modified -- low places between fields where, I suspect, the water from the field was drained. There were also many wetlands with shrubs and small trees. I don't think they were pocosins as they did not appear elevated; perhaps they were recently logged? There are a lot of slow moving backwater rivers with extensive flood plains, many still intact and holding water and wildlife. I am coming to believe that if you are into wetlands, the southeast is the place to be.

So a storm has forced me to pass by the entire state of North Carolina. This is really too bad as the eastern part of the state is full of interesting wetlands, red wolves and coastal bays. I must return here soon ... and spend some time.

Tomorrow it is off Congaree National Park, then on towards Charleston. That's when the fun begins!

Monday Morning Blues

2010-12-27T08:13:00.001-05:00

The storm has passed leaving 13" of snow, a shroud of white and ice and a pair of loons on the river. Sadly, the secondary roads have not been touched in this area and so I am forced to take primary routes south. Today will be a travel day, a slow travel day, a careful travel day. I should get through North Carolina and be in a good position to visit Congaree National Park tomorrow. Alas. You can go back to sleep now.

Sunday Night Weather and Monday's Plan

2010-12-26T19:04:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow I will have to play things by ear. We have received almost 10" of snow here, and while the local authorities have done an impressive job keeping roads somewhat clear, we are expecting a few more inches tonight and everything will freeze up. Behind the snow is cold air and tomorrow's temperatures won't get above freezing until late so I am not sure what the roads are going to be like when I set off. In any case, it won't be until 10 am at the earliest. This does not leave much time to explore on my way to Wilmington, North Carolina.

Already, Cape Hattaras is out of the question as the ferries have been suspended and, well, its a dead end. So, I suppose it will be an even LONGER time until I get to visit this cape. Alas. There are some interesting places along the coastal bays which I would hope to visit -- roads allowing. These include the red wolf habitat of the Alligator National Wildlife Refuge, and the pocosin wetlands of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. These are all out of the way places so I am not hopeful they will be accessible. I might just wind up driving, very slowly, to Wilmington.

Peanuts and Cotton

2010-12-26T16:38:00.003-05:00

Suffolk, VA. Peanut Capital of the World!: Peanuts (Arachis hypogea). Native or non-native? Like most of our food crops, peanuts are a non-native species -- originally from South America -- brought to the United States for food. The peanut is in the bean family, it is a legume which among other things, like being high in protein, means it is capable of taking nitrogen (a plant food) from the air and putting it in the soil where other plants can use it to grow leaves. The plant is easily grown, with the roots requiring significant space to produce the nuts underground.

It took the long route to get here; from Brazil to Europe to Africa and then the United States. African slaves brought peanuts with them as a food source and for a long time peanuts were considered a food for pigs and folks condemned to live in poverty. Peanuts took off as an industry at the turn of the century, notably because of the efforts of George Washington Carver. Carver experimented with rotating peanuts and cotton and the peanut increased the yield of the cotton crop! From this point onward, cotton growing in the South was changed forever, and peanuts became a major crop. Carver helped the blossoming industry by finding, or creating, over 300 different uses for peanuts -- butter, oil, shoe polish, etc.. You might even know the peanut song, "Eating Goober Peas," or peanuts!

Wetland Types of the Mid-Atlantic

2010-12-26T13:07:00.008-05:00

2:00 p.m.

So while I am stuck ... might as throw out some intro to wetlands stuff -- just for reference/glossary purposes.

We will see if southern wetland habitats are markedly different ...

Bald Cypress Swamp: Cypress swamps -- dominated by the decidious conifer taxodium distichum -- can be found from Maryland south on poorly drained soils with lots of rotting stuff. Water levels vary with rainfall and tides. In our area, visit the Battle Creek Cypress swamp in Calvert County -- this is close to the northern extreme of these wetlands.

Freshwater Tidal Marsh: Go the back of any creek in St Mary's County and you will encounter a freshwater tidal marsh. They are tidal because the incoming saltwater tide raises the water level and creates a dam, pushing the freshwater upstream causing the water level to change with the tide -- even though no salt water reaches the wetland! These wetlands are a blast to explore, assuming you don't mind getting wet and muddy. You will be rewarded with visits frm wood ducks, beaver and river otter. Well worth the adventure ...

Saltwater Tidal Wetlands: By far, the most common wetland type in St. Mary's County. These are the saltwater marshes doominated by spartina patens and spartina alterniflora. As the water levels can be highly variable they can be divided into areas of low marsh, high marsh and the upper edge which is only occasionally flooded by the highest of tides. These wetlands are important nursery grounds for birds, fish, crabs and snails and especially phytoplankton which wash into the Chesapeake in early spring, providing the food, the energy, for the season's renewal of life.

Mineral Flats: Mineral flats are low, wet areas that, in a previous, and one might imagine, more glorious, life were lakes or ponds. They can look like wet forests or pocosins though they are characterized by their saturated mineral soils with low organic matter content. As organics accumulate over time these wetlands may change to pocosins or wet forests.

Peat Bogs: Peat bogs are rare in St. Mary's County, though present and hidden. A peat bog is formed in non-draining soil where the accumulation of organic stuff is greater and faster than decomposition can get rid of it. Some peat bogs have been collecting dead plants since the last ice-age, almost 10,000 years ago! They are characterized by sphagnum and other mosses, acid water and may even contain rare carnivorous plants and the Atlantic White Cedar!

Pocosins: Also known as shrub swamps, a pocosin is a constantly wet, elevated but flat area dominated by shrub pines, though they are not always so shrubby -- there can also be tall pines as well! Pocosins are maintained by fires that can penetrate the peat and deter the growth of larger trees. This type of wetland can be found in the Great Dismal Swamp.

Spring Seeps: a seep is a place where small amounts of groundwater reach the surface and spread out across the surface. This creates a small wetland area that can be fed with water year round. Spring seeps are often periodic affairs, with high ground water levels seeping out with spring rains and winter snow melt.

Motel: Nansemond River

Vernal Pools: Vernal, or ephemeral, pools are not very common in teh mid-atlantic, but quite so in St. Mary's County. Vernal Pools are small rain or snow fed puddles that usually dry up by late summer. They provide valuable breeding habitat or amphibians and small invertebrates.

Atlantic White Cedar Swamps: This is the holy grail of mid-atantic wetlands! Very rare, occurring only along a 100 mile stretch of atlantic coastal plain, the Great Dismal Swamp was prime white cedar habitat. The atlantic white cedar is a picky tree, liking wet, organic rich, highly acidic wet soils. Like the eastern red cedar, its seedlings are fussy about getting started -- preferring lots of sunlight. So atlantic white cedar swamps start in open bogs, and considering how few bogs there are in the mid-atlantic, one can see how unique this wetland type can become.

Winter Wet Woods: What more can one say? They are wet forests in the winter, usually containing vernal pools and usually drying up by mid-summer when the rains have stopped and the snow melt has evaporated. The moisture in the soil and ground, for the short period it lasts, is very important for the development and movement of amphibians who are breeding in vernal pools.

Twas the day after Christmas ...

2010-12-26T08:45:00.004-05:00

Suffolk, VA: Snow. I wish I were a kid again, or had young children of my own -- I might then be happier about being stuck in a motel with creepy hosts and 8" of snow outside. The winter wetlands tour ain't goin' nowhere today. That is not to say I didn't try. I pulled out this morning, made it about 1 mile, decided this was just too insane and returned to the motel. It does not look like I am going to get back to the Dismal Swamp. Too bad ... the waterfowl on Lake Drummond should be spectacular. I must return here soon. If anyone is following this ... well ... you can look forward to a peanut and cotton post sometime today!

Appologies to anyone following through the Elms Environmental Education Center website -- I promise, eventually we will encounter the beauty and mystery of the natural world; something other than highways and creepy motels.

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

2010-12-25T19:44:00.002-05:00

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!

Weather and Itinerary Changes

2010-12-23T14:41:00.000-05:00

What is going on with the weather? It is going to be cold the entire trip! It seems the further south you go the unusually colder it becomes. For example on Saturday the first of January the forecast for Jacksonville, FL is calling for a balmy 61F and rain! At Eastover, SC on Tuesday the forecast is calling for a high of 46F! Alas. And to top it off, it looks like I may be canoeing the Dismal Swamp on Sunday IN THE SNOW!

Don't know if I mentioned it, but I rather don't like itineraries ... tend to detour on a whim and soon enough the itinerary is irrelevant. So, I think on Day 3 (Tuesday) I will head inland from Wilmington, North Carolina to the Congaree National Park, then down to the Francis Beidler Forest Audubon center and then, finally, on to Charleston. This will be about 225 miles and 5 to 6 hours of driving. But who knows what I will do when the time comes!

For more info on these areas see:

Congaree National Park, SC

http://www.nps.gov/cong/index.htm

33.916013,-80.787964

Francis Beidler Forest Audubon Center

http://www.sc.audubon.org/Centers_FBF.html

Proposed Itinerary

2010-12-19T15:45:00.000-05:00

In General: The overall plan is to head to Jacksonville, FL following the coastline as closely as possible and anchoring the trip starting with the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia and ending at the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia.

Day 1: Sunday, December 26, 2010
(215 Miles, 5 hours driving)

Hollywood, MD
Great Dismal Swamp
Elizabeth City, NC

Note: The Great Dismal Swamp is the focus of the first day. I hope to leave early and arrive at the swamp in the morning, allowing for a full day of canoeing before heading south to Elizabeth City for the night.

Day 2: Monday, December 27, 2010
(213 Miles, 5 hours driving)

Elizabeth City, NC
Cape Hatteras/Ocracoke, NC
Wilmington, NC

Note: It has been a LONG time since I last went down Cape Hattaras and I have never been there in the winter. I have spent many a winter day on the barrier islands of Maryland and have appreciated the stark and bitter landscape of the coast. I wonder if Hatteras will be the same? Basically, I will drive down the cape and assuming the ferries are running, jump back to the mainland from Ocracoke, NC..

Day 3: Tuesday, December 28, 2010
(168 Miles, 3 hours driving)

Wilmington, NC
Francis Marion National Forest
Charleston, SC

Note: Ok, I have to be honest and say that I am more interested in visiting Charleston than the wetlands of the area. I remember Charleston to be a beautiful and interesting city … we will see if memory stands true. Of course, I will follow the coast from Wilmington to Charleston and look for ephemeral wetlands in the Francis Marion National Forest along the way.

Day 4: Wednesday, December 29, 2010
(116 Miles, 3 hours driving)

Charleston, SC
Hunting Isle State Park
Beaufort, SC
Savannah, GA

Note: This section should be a beautiful tour of coastal salt water marshes, at least the maps and satellite imagery indicate it should be so. I am also interested in visiting Savannah – don’t recall having ever been there …

Day 5: Thursday, December 30, 2010
(168 Miles, 3.5 hours driving)

Savannah, GA
Timucaun Ecological and Historical Preserve
Jacksonville, FL

Note: The Timucaun Ecological and Historical Preserve looks very interesting, as does the coastline just north of Jacksonville. I will be interested to see if there is a difference in the flora between South Carolina and Northern Florida. I don’t expect to notice a great difference.

.
Day 6: Friday, December 31, 2010
(50 Miles, 1 hour driving)

Jacksonville, FL
Okefenokee Swamp
Folkston, GA

Note: Ok. This is the goal – I REALLY want to see the Okefenokee again, commune with the alligators and paddle the waterways. I will spend two days here.

Day 7: Saturday, January 1, 2011
(10 Miles)

Folkston, GA
Okefenokee Swamp
Folkston, GA

Day 8: Sunday, January 2, 2011
(288 Miles, 5 hours driving)

Folkston, GA
Florence, SC

Note: Starting Sunday I will bee-line it back home via Interstate 95. Effectively the trip will be over, though I won’t hesitate to stop if I encounter something interesting along the way!

Day 9: Monday, January 3, 2011
(300 Miles, 5 hours driving)

Florence, SC
Richmond, VA

Day 10: Tuesday, January 4, 2011
(103 Miles, 2 hours driving)

Richmond, VA
Hollywood, MD

View/Download a .pdf version of the itinerary.