Congaree National Park- May 2021

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My First National Park!

Although I live in St. Louis and have visited the infamous St. Louis Arch, I refuse to acknowledge this object as a National Park and it will not be considered my first National Park because it is not a National Park. Any questions? Good.  

Congaree is located in South Carolina, kind of in the middle of the state. It's a beautiful swamp like environment, hence this becoming known as the Swamp Witch road trip. This is a very small park and the majority is accessed through the visitor's center. There are lots of trails that mostly center around a boardwalk, and this has an upper and lower part of that. It's very lush and peaceful and green, and an easy hike. We walked for a couple of hours before we ran out of daylight, but easily could have made a whole day of it with adding in some further trails. We wrapped up our stroll around dusk and heard several Barred Owls hooting about. 

The next day, we took a kayak trip with JK Adventure Guides through the marshy creek, and would absolutely recommend this company to get you in the water. There were snakes- this is important to know, as I do not love snakes but there are MANY. So, know before you go, these snakes are not shy. It was still an amazing experience living our swamp witch fantasy. It was a couple of miles down a slow moving river, then back up. The guide was very funny and knowledgeable, and the group contained people of all different ages and athletic abilities. 

Charleston, SC is an adorable coastal town that isn't super beachy, but very cute and charming and worth a little detour (about two hours) if you like brightly colored buildings and eating crab legs, which I do. So, that's where we headed for dinner after the swamp shenanigans. 


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