Blue Moon Sails Away: The Dismal Swamp

Despite it's name, this was the most marvelous place to visit. It is now my current favorite of all the places we have been on this trip. The swamp is now much smaller and dryer than it was a few centuries ago due to logging, farming and all the draining those required. The area is now only about one-third the size when George Washington surveyed it in the 1760s. It has been the source of amazing stories, poems and get-rich schemes for centuries. It has been the hideout for runaway slaves, escaped criminals and moonshiners. Each mile of the old canal is full of history, animals, birds and plants. The canal itself was begun after the Revolutionary War and completed about the time of the Louisiana Purchase. It was the connector between the riches of Virginia and North Carolina. It has stories from the War of 1812 and the Civil War. A person can spend a lifetime and only scratch the surface. We bought a book back in Elizabeth City at the recommendation of the lady running the museum gift shop, The Great Dismal by Bland Simpson. It is a short short and overview of the current state of the swamp. The author grew up in the area and made extensive interviews of folks who lived along the canal or in the swamp. Great book if you want to know more. Meanwhile, enjoy what see saw with the pictures.

This was the only indication that the channel led to our stop before the
Dismal Swamp Canal, Lamb's Marina. This turned out to be a wonderful
stop, better than our guide had led us to believe. It was extremely affordable
and the people there were so friendly. One gave us a ride to Mass and tried to refuse
our paying for gas. We were there 2 nights waiting out weather.

In between rain showers, we worked on troubleshooting our radar. We really had
to go offshore for long stretches, especially at night without it. After hours of
running down possibilities, we determined it's not something we can fix on board.
Now we have to decide to repair or replace, neither is cheap!

Putting radar troubles out of our minds, we enjoyed the canal. This type of dead
tree is not uncommon and we'd sure prefer to see it upright than in the water
waiting to hit our hull.

One calm eddy off to the side made for a perfect mirror image. This area
was a jungle of 2 or 3 different types of vines all trying to choke each other out.

We really don't like to see wood bobbing along. At least this log was above the water
not waiting to whack our prop.

No old growth wood remains in the swamp. All the cypress, juniper and other
hard woods have been completed logged out at least once in the past 250 years.
Most of the land along the swamp is now a preserve so the growth is coming back.
Only a few centuries from now, these trees will be huge.

Through some of the stretches, it took having a watch on the bow to look for
stumps, logs and trees overhanging the canal.

The shades of green were ever changing depending on the light and tree types.

We saw so many, many types of birds. The highlight was seeing a
fledgling eagle on what appeared to be his maiden flight. His flight seemed to
improve and strengthen with each flap of his wings. Truly magnificent. The
flocks of geese were common sights as they head back to Northern nesting
grounds, the original snowbirds.

There are so many side canals that were dug to provide access for
loggers and planters. Most of these are now slowly filling in and becoming
overgrown.

It was high pollen season for the cypress and junipers. The pollen
was not the thin, dust-like pollen we're used to with pines. We
were happy to see that it didn't stick to the hull.

There were so many trees and vines in bloom all along the canal
creating a gorgeous mosaic of colors along the banks. Splashes of
shades of pink, white and yellow seemed to show up at random intervals.