Ever since I was a kid, the name Okefenokee evoked all the southern swamps, the dark watery places with snakes and cypress trees and Spanish moss, wild and mysterious, especially foreign to northerners and known to few people. The Okefenokee NWR is nearly 400,000 acres, 85% of which is Wilderness, so it, in fact, is wild and secretive and "one of the world's largest intact freshwater ecosystems." While it can be accessed by water, most visitors skirt the few roads on the periphery, only seeing the swamp briefly from waterways and canals. The VC was closed on Mondays, but the adjacent Okefenokee Adventures headquarters was open with a gift store and maps. I bought Ecology of a Cracker Childhood by Janisse Ray. The author grew up hereabouts. All the gift shops for the past couple of months have had dozens of alligator / snake paraphernalia - key chains, T-shirts, toys, coasters, mugs, earrings...and all the refuges have warnings about NOT feeding gators and being aware of "venomous snakes." But I've only seen sleeping alligators and one water moccasin. Which is fine.
In the 1890s, a grand but ultimately doomed attempt (the Suwanee Canal) to drain the swamp for rice, cotton and sugar cane and for eventual logging ended after workers and engineers managed to penetrate 11.5 miles into the swamp before acknowledging failure.
EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG
Work was slow due to various problems. The sides of the drainage ditch collapsed because of poor engineering design and bad weather. Leased convict labor, large steam shovels, and finally gold miners from north Georgia using large water hoses were unable to dig the ditch deep enough through an area known as Trail Ridge to drain the swamp.The extant Suwanee Canal now allows access into part of the Okefenokee. This is a project I want to research. It reminded me of similar efforts in The Great Dismal Swamp farther north.
Okefenokee also has habitat supporting Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, and the white-ringed nesting trees are evident off the entrance roads and the auto route.
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| Okefenokee NWR - GA |
The Suwannee River originates in the swamp and drains the southwestern portion, eventually flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, while the southeastern part drains into the St. Mary's River and the Atlantic Ocean. The refuge is rainfall dependent with periods of drought when it is susceptible to fire. In both 2007 and 2011, gigantic wildfires burned through 75% of the refuge, but fire is considered in a historical context as a natural event, benefitting the habitat. As I read, birds fly away; many animals burrow; most survive. Still, these were devastating expensive fires.
I walked on the rebuilt boardwalk but it was cold and windy, although sunny, wild and dramatically beautiful.
The Chesser Family were early settlers in the swamp, and their island homestead is now a part of the refuge, preserved as they lived and another visitor attraction.
I decided to camp at the Stephen Foster State Park (in the Okefenokee NWR) but had to drive 70 miles around the southern end of the swamp to get there. I then drove 14 miles in, looked around and left. There were a few RVs situated on ground barely above the water level, and it seemed dismal, depressing and damp on this particular afternoon, so I drove back 70 miles and then another 30 or so to Kingsland where I got a motel for the night. This is called wimping out.
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| Okefenokee NWR - FL (Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park) |
I ate at Applebees, and chatted with a couple next to me who were traveling from New Jersey to the Gulf Coast of Florida for a vacation. They have traveled all over the country, including the great parks out west, so we compared our favorite places. That we came from slightly different perspectives I realized when they praised the road to Key West as beautiful. After talking with people about 15 minutes, one can figure their political views, which in restaurants like Applebees are conservative. But I love the little surprises: this couple's son was in a rock band and, according to them, doing well, opening for big names, etc. They were going to see him in Miami next week and were proud.
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| Okefenokee NWR - wildfire effect - FL |
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