Sheltered Lands

M C C L E L L A N V I L L E,  S C     The main objective when visiting The Nature Conservancy’s Washo Reserve is reaching the end of the boardwalk.  What an experience it must be to walk the quarter-mile boarded path atop the swampiness of a 1,000-acre freshwater cypress lake.  Its end, allegedly, rewards you with a view out over the waters which support oldest wading bird rookery in America.   This rookery, and more broadly the greater Santee River delta of South Carolina, has been declared by Ducks Unlimited a hot spot in the Atlantic Flyway.  Both the Santee and Washo are vital components of the flyway which essentially is the north-south interstate followed by hundreds of species during migration.  In South Carolina, the route pinches thin concentrating even more the profusion of birds traveling through here.  An abundance of endangered American Stork call Washo home, potentially adding another reward to this boardwalk’s endpoin...

E D I S T O,  S C     On the second day of February – the most numerically unique date on the 2022 calendar – we’re cruising along national scenic byway route 174 toward Edisto, South Carolina.  It’s a unique driving experience slicing through Lowcountry, especially so where the road surface is mere inches above the water.   The tide is high, and the road is only slightly higher.   I guess that’s partly why it’s called Lowcountry down here. A few miles before entering the commercial buildup to the beach town of Edisto, we turn left onto the graveled and sandy Botany Bay Road.   It’s a classic Lowcountry experience - the thick canopied passage tunnels through a forest of loblolly, palmetto, and live oak adraped in epiphytic Spanish moss and resurrection ferns.   Sun streaks burst through adding even more vibrancy to this visual treat of a drive.   But this Lowcountry experience isn’t just about an iconic drive under draping Spanish moss. ...