The Dismal Day has come! Dismay Swamp, NC (Still Behind)


I am starting this entry with photos.  The photos really tell the whole story!


 






The journey, long awaited for, was as fabulous as I was expecting from so many peoples' raves about it! It was like motoring in a forest! As you can see from the photos, there were houses along the way, it wasn't really out in the wilderness. In some places it felt like it, though!   George Washington owned about 1/12th of this area but sold it. Around Washington's time many wanted to drain the swamp and use the land for farming and such. That did come about due to the expense involved in draining it. So glad it remained the way it is!

There were some very interesting vegetation down the swamp. Several areas had these bushes growing out of what looked like a big ball root. After a while we realized that the plants were growing out of old rotted out pilings! Very cool! There were some dead trees along the edge that I thought had a beautiful shape. In some places in the water, algae grew in a neat pattern. I would've loved to have painted a picture of this. I may just do that later on! We also saw a lot of the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew 2 years ago which is why we couldn't go through it on our first trip. That was so disappointing, but, alas, they did a super job of clearing the swamp so we could go through it this year!


Looks like marble painting!

 













 A few photos of wild life:
All the turtles were far away for a good cell phone pic!



The following photos show some of the other boats we have met and their journey through the swamp.

Take Five


North Star



North Star and Pegasus
Towards the middle of the swamp is their visitor center. The center was run by some very helpful and friendly staff who gave us information on the place. Boats can tie up at their dock and stay one night free of charge. When no more boats can fit on the dock, boats then can raft up to one of these boats. As many as fit across the swamp can raft up. Problem with this is you have to be patient until the end boat leaves so the ones in the middle can also leave! 



Take Five, Dolce Vita, and Emerald Fire

 
There was a small draw bridge just after the visitor's center that stayed up all night and then came down around 8 am. If you miss the opened bridge all you had to do was call a certain number and the bridge would be raised.

North Star and Pegasus going through the bridge.
Alas, we finished the Dismal Swamp.  I hope to do it again some day.  It was well worth the wait to get here!  

Now on to Elizabeth City.  I enjoyed this city the last time through this area!

Fair Winds to All!

Joan


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