OKEFENOKEE SWAMP 101.
From the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Jan. 2018: “The Okefenokee Swamp is a mystical and primeval place. Its wildness is preserved by the National Wilderness Act. Nearly 354,000 acres of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge are designated as a National Wilderness Area. It provides outstanding opportunities for solitude & undisturbed recreation. Okefenokee is one of the rare and wild places where one can retreat from civilization and reconnect with the Earth.”
“Covering 630 square miles in southeast Georgia, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge encompasses nearly all of the world-renowned Okefenokee Swamp. Alligators bask in the sun while flocks of White Ibis, Wood Storks, and Sandhill Cranes forage in the shallow tea-colored water. The ‘Land of the Trembling Earth’, as the Native Americans called it, is an ever-changing landscape. From the open, wet prairies of the east side, to the forested cypress swamps on the west side, Okefenokee is a mosaic of habitats, plants & wildlife. The pine islands and uplands surrounding the swamp are home to such species as the Gopher Tortoise, the Endangered Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, and the Indigo Snake.”
“The Okefenokee has the distinction of birthing two rivers – the St. Marys River flows east to the Atlantic Ocean forming the Georgia-Florida border, and the Suwannee River flows south through Florida into the Gulf of Mexico. The swamp’s thick peat layer is covered by slow-moving, mirror-like black water. Floating peat “batteries” allow for grasses and flowers to grow, and if left long enough they eventually form tree islands, knows as “houses. Okefenokee is a vast bog inside a huge saucer-shaped depression that was once part of the ocean floor. The Swamp remains one of the most well preserved and intact freshwater ecosystems in the world.”
Day 59 – There were supposed to be thunderstorms today, so I had typed up the previous info thinking I could insert it into the blog today since we wouldn’t be doing anything. It’s 7:30 p.m. right now & the thunderstorms have still not arrived. Thinking we’d be indoors soon with the weather, Rob went for a walk first thing this morning & got some pictures.
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
We went out to the tent this morning, had lunch, then drove to Fargo to the post office to get out mail (finally). WE GOT YOUR CARDS, MAEDI & ERNIE, THANK YOU! AND WE ARE HAPPY FOR YOU AND K.C.!!!
On the way back to the campground, we again drove through the Suwannee River Sill. We were the only ones there, humans that is – we saw plenty of other wildlife. It was quite warm out and very humid; the high today was 82 degrees. We’re hoping that thunderstorm comes in tonight & lowers the humidity!
