Columbia and Congaree

After driving around Columbia we decided to take a break and visit Congaree National Park.

Congaree was first protected as a swamp national monument in 1976 to protect it from logging, and became a National Park in 2003. It is named after the Congaree tribe, which is thought to have died out in the 17th and 18th century. The area was a refuge for enslaved people seeking freedom as the swamp is difficult to navigate, and slave catchers often gave up. It was very different from the other national parks we have visited:

There are so many Cypress trees, and you can see their “knees” sticking up around them. That is swamp water in the picture on the right. Scientists think the knees provide stability when the area is flooded (2 rivers flood the area regularly) and possibly to act as snorkels, bringing oxygen to the tree roots when they are submerged in the flood waters. Notice how the bottoms of the trees are swollen with water. We also saw some interesting wildflowers, and 2 swimming alligators. Unfortunately (or should it be fortunately) the alligator was a fair distance away, so the picture is not very good.

We enjoyed a nice hike on a boardwalk and learning about the area. Congaree is also home to the synchronous fireflies, but they are done for the year. Also, you have to get a ticket through a lottery, which opens in March- we have added that to our bucket list!

The last thing we did while in the Columbia area was visit USC- no not that one, the University of South Carolina. The campus is pretty with soft yellow buildings and brick walkways:

We drove by their stadium- it’s HUGE (seats 77, 559), and has a giant statue of their mascot, the Gamecocks:

All-in-all we were not big fans of Columbia- it just looks old. Maybe we didn’t find the right places to look… We were talking to someone who said ” you don’t want to be in Columbia- it’s hotter than heck there!”- little did they know it is even hotter than that in Bakersfield! 🙂