Is moving to Buffalo, NY (back home) tomorrow. We had talked about going kayaking, but were left with last weekend as our only option. So, come hell or cold water, we were going to do it!
But first, dinner. Jess and Morgan came over the night before for dinner, and so we could school Morgan on the beautiful wonder that is Adventures in Babysitting. Really, what's wrong with kids today? What well-developed person has not seen that movie? (No offense, Morgan, we got ya fixed up!)
We also spent a little time out on the dock with blankets, a bottle of wine (or gin & tonic, as the case may be), and a ton of tea candles. It was a beautiful, clear night with just enough of a breeze to make getting all of those candles lit at the same time quite the challenge.
The next morning I picked up Jess and we headed out to Congaree National Park. I had promised some photos taken on a previous visit to Corinne, one of the park rangers, so we stopped by the Harry Hampton Visitor's Center to drop those off and check the water levels. The water in the creek was at 2.9 ft, nearly a foot higher than it was on my previous trip with Morgan. Corrine said it had hit 3.5 feet a week earlier, and had been a grand ol' time!
When I had been out here before there were parts of the creek that required constant vigilance(!) lest you end up run aground (or would it be alog?), or worse, find yourself running up along the side of a log and ending up in the drink! That would have been embarrassing, as it would surely have happened exactly when the ranger-guided canoe trip was passing by, providing quite the audience. The few extra inches of water depth made things a little more easy going, though the recently changing water levels (I assume) had made the water much cloudier, and we still experienced an occasional bump here and there.
We went much further down the creek than I had previously been. When Jess asked the time we realized we had lost an hour or two floating/paddling in this serene place. Eventually, we turned around and headed back upstream. We didn't really see any wildlife. I figure it was too cold for snakes. Or maybe it was just that we didn't pass the guided canoe group with Corinne pointing out all of the Cottonmouths on the bank (we passed the group putting in as we were headed back to our takeout). I'm sure she's far more apt at spotting them than I will ever be.
We had a great time and it was a beautiful day. Jess has promised to come back to visit, so we'll be back out there again sometime.
All of the above photos were taken with my old camera. Given the bulk and expense of the the new Cannon, I won't take it with me in the boat.
The next day I went back out to CNP for a quick solo hike. I arrived a little after sunrise, and there weren't many people in the park. As I drove down the entrance road to the park, I was greeted by the swooping wingspan of one of CNPs famed residents, Mr. Barred Owl.
Congaree is known for the ever-present Barred Owl. In fact, they have a regular ranger-guided night hike, the Owl Prowl, that has been running for more than 20 years.
I was clearly the first person on the trail that morning, as I jumped three mule deer. They ran off...but not far. A little too desensitized to the presence of humans, they foraged about as I slowly made my way up the boardwalk trail.
As I continued watching them and heading slowly up the trail, I noticed that this was just half of the herd. There were another three or four doe just off of the trail ahead of me. The swampland woods are pretty dense here, so no good shots came of it, but it was fun to just watch them.
Meanwhile, back up the trail...
There were a lot of Pileated Woodpeckers out. This one looked like he was having too much fun as he clung to (i.e., bounced around on) a vine, picking berries, one by one:
I don't take pictures of squirrels, because they are everywhere...except, I did this time...
Down at Weston Lake---an old oxbow, one of many left behind from a previous course of the Congaree---I spotted a river otter cruising the shallow waters along the shore. I couldn't get a decent photo, so I hoped off the boardwalk and headed to the bank. (CNP permits off-trail hiking.) He didn't show his whiskered face again, but I'm sure I'll see him again one day, they are pretty common out there.
I was pretty well done for the morning, and set off for the trail-head. Now that I had spent a couple of hours in the REAL world, I had a lot of work to be getting on with. But, as I made my way, I noticed this little black and white woodpecker:
I thought it was pretty darn cool, knowing that CNP is home to the small, back and white Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, a federally endangered species. I spent several minutes trying to get some decent shots of this quick little gal. Turns out, the Downy Woodpecker, one of the most common species out there, is also a small, black and white woody. Ah well, she's still cute as can be! Here it looks like she may be tending to a nest:
This weekend I've plans to go up to Lake Murray for some paddling with a friend from the math dept here who just bought a kayak. Lake Murray is the big, local lake. The Lake Murray dam activity is a major contributor to the conditions on the Congaree. I've been wanting to get out there, but haven't been able to coordinate with anyone who knows the area until now. We'll see how it goes!
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