Congaree National Park near Columbia, SC

Saturday June 11

We arrived at a Walmart in Columbia, SC, in mid-afternoon and parked for the night. After unhooking the jeep, we drove out to Congaree national Park, which is the home of some of the tallest trees in the United States, averaging around a 130 feet. Most of the trees are Bald Cypress and Tupelo. The Cypress are impressive with their height and the “knees” that they produce. You can see in some of the pictures that the “knees” are short and are plentiful around the trees. Their purpose is to help anchor the trees and/or help them breathe when the swamp is flooded (The park information didn’t state either definitely). The trees tend to be wide at the base to help anchor them in the mud. The boardwalk was an elevated trail that kept us out of the muck, and allows the park to stay open when the Congaree River floods the swamp. “Congaree” is the name of a Native American tribe that lived in this area before the Europeans came to America.