Winter Paddling--North Carolina Swamp Style

My family is from Florida originally, mom's side from Ft. Lauderdale and dad's from Avon Park.  One of  my favorite places to go when I was a child was Highland's Hammock State Park in Sebring, Florida. A catwalk wove its way through the triple-canopy jungle of the park, hovering over black water swamp filled with fish, frogs,exotic birds,thousand year-old trees, 'gators and the occasional cottonmouth in addition to singing insects.  My grandfather, tough German that he was, would occasionally reach into the water, grab a lily pad and swing it toward a cottonmouth curled on the knee of a cypress, hoping to make it strike. Come to think of it, perhaps that's the root of my since-conquered fear of snakes?

Anyway, that love of the swamp ecosystem is embedded in my DNA now, and it's carried into our programming and my pastimes.  Last week my staff and I explored a park new to us, Merchant's Millpond State Park in Gatesville, NC. Though it's a little chillier in late winter to spring and in the late fall, the paddling is much more enjoyable because there are far fewer bugs and snakes to deal with.  There are still plenty of things to look at, like the old-growth cypresses, the still-numerous birds that prowl for fish, and the crystal-clear skies at night.  If this interests you, we'll be headed to the Roanoke River Basin for three days, March. 27-29.  Join us for camping in beautiful black water swamp of North Carolina--it may be the most fascinating trip you take this year.
A few pictures from our adventure to Merchant's Millpond:

Sunrise from our campsite at Merchant's Millpond State Park

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