Seems nobody knows exactly why it’s call that.

This is a beautiful swamp. The Francis Beidler Forest is flooded by rainwater channeled through the forest by crisscrossing, meandering creeks rather than the roiling, rising waters in a flood plain like Congaree swamp.  Here, reflections fill the surface of clear blackwater flowing slowly around huge bald cypress, tupelo and red maple trees.  There is no tangle of fallen and flood strewn debris and no film of mud everywhere.   An Audubon Center boardwalk lets us stroll through nearly effortlessly.

The fellow at check in did remind us though that they have just as many snakes and spiders as Congaree, do have the occasional alligator, and this spring, a huge hatching of worms.  These worms let themselves down out of the canopy on individual strands/webs. They celebrate them here as exactly the food the returning birds want.   I am very glad I wore my hat!   The worms are everywhere.

We watch a yellow crowned night heron stalk, snatch, then expertly crunch and swallow a crawdad.  Tiny yellow birds dart all around us.  They are Prothonotary Warblers, one of the most prolific nesters here.  Occasionally one lights long enough for a good picture.  We watch carefully for river otters but never spot one.  We hear a nearby barred owl.

They do charge a fee, $10, but it is a great walk.

I would say that this is a park more accurately described as amazing than beautiful.  It is all about a wilderness area encompassing the Congaree River floodplain forest, the largest floodplain forest remaining in the US.  Just two weeks ago, and as often as 10 times a year when the Congaree overflows its banks, this area was inundated by ten feet or more of fast-moving water. Today, old growth water tupelo and bald cypress and the occasional loblolly pine tower above acres of dorovan muck (clay mixed with decaying leaves), still swamp pools, and slow-moving Cedar Creek.  It is amazing how plants and creatures have evolved to survive here.  We paddle the creek.  We launch in that slippery mushy muck.  The air is heavy with the smell of wet earth.  We maneuver around submerged and half submerged debris and limbo under fallen trees.  All this with a watchful eye for the snakes (I spotted one just ½ mile into the paddle) and spiders and all that call this place home.  Viewed from water level, cypress and tupelo trunks appear enormous and the cypress knees that jut from the backwaters along the creek are too many to count.  Sunlight filters through the bright, spring green as the canopy overhead is just leafing out.  We spot the waving white flags of a half dozen whitetail deer as they startle at our appearance.  Birdsong mixes with the rustle of wind through the trees. We have this unique place pretty much to ourselves for these hours.  Yep, it is amazing.  There are brief moments of disappointment as the roar of jets tear through the peaceful isolation of this wild space.

We stroll the visitor center boardwalk for a nice overview of the wide range of micro ecosystems that are represented in this plain.  Not your typical mega National Park but a good reflection on man-kind that we still managed to attempt to protect it.

Probably an important note.  Oddly, there were practically no mosquitoes our entire time in the park.  Given the terrain, I suspect that is not always the case and could very well impact how much I or others appreciate the place!

It is a 1 ½ hour drive and all goes smoothly.  We check into the KOA, not exactly a 5-star KOA, but it’ll do as a base for exploring Merritt Island NWR and the Canaveral National Seashore.

We head out to the beach Friday afternoon.  It is nearly deserted, beautiful and relaxing.   We check out the manatee viewing area at Haulover Canal, one manatee makes a quick appearance plus dolphins and brown pelicans cruise about.

Saturday, we catch a sunrise on the beach then spend the day in the refuge.  The highlight, watching a bobcat up close. Turns out he is hunting for breakfast and we catch the pounce.  Amazing.  Add quite a few roseate spoonbills and some great looks at reddish egrets and flocks of glossy ibis (we typically have seen them one or two at a time) plus an assortment of other fun marsh birds and a sampling of shore birds.  We log around 6 miles on foot through the course of the day then head to the beach to relax.  Nope, not today.  13 parking lots and the place is packed.  We head home 4ish with a quick stop for ice cream at a cool cone-shaped place, Frisbees.  Nice ending to a fun day.