Congaree National Swamp

Sunday was so beautiful that I decided we needed a little family field trip.  I had heard of Congaree National Swamp but had never been there.  We packed a little cooler bag full of snacks and hit the road. Olivia and McIver weren't quite as 'into' the adventure as I was, but they were troopers as we drove to the swamp which was further away than I had anticipated.

We started out in the Visitor Center.  They had an exhibit with a 'sweetgum tree' that had fallen over to show all of the different types of animals that can live in the habitats it creates.  Olivia's peeking inside to see the borers (gross!).

My sense of direction has been sub-par lately so we decided to follow the 2.5 mile boardwalk trail through the swamp.  We had a field guide with 21 numbered stops along the boardwalk so we had a little bit of a 'treasure hunt' along the way to keep everyone interested.  We saw a huge expanse where a tornado hit during Hurricane Hugo and all the 'new growth' that has sprung up in the last 20 years, an old iron box where bootleggers used to hide their still, Weston Lake and so much more.

The Ranger at the Visitor Center gave each child a Junior Ranger Workbook.  It was full of information about the swamp and all kinds of activities for the children.  They 'interviewed' trees and guess-timated their height, circumference and age.  Both Olivia and McIver surprised me by being really 'into' the workbook activities.

Olivia was so into it, she didn't want to stop walking to write.  After completing the trail, we stopped back by the Visitor Center to show the ranger their workbooks and they had both completed enough activities to earn the Junior Ranger patch.

McIver with the 'cypress knees.'  (He really was happier than he looks!)

At the end of our visit, the Ranger told us that the makers of Shrek filmed this swamp to use as inspiration for the swamp where Shrek lives in the movie.  It has been a while since I've actually seen the movie (I've listened to it several times from the front seat while we were on long drives, though.), but I think they hit the nail on the head... especially with the dark trees and cypress knees.