Mar 10 Congaree Bluff

 

From West Columbia down the Congaree for 25 to 30 miles Congaree Bluff extends itself. Will and I are meeting John Cely for a tour along the bluff. We are walking on private property which the Congaree Land Trust has a conservation easement on. The Arant family has allowed us to access their stretch on the bluff. Most of the bluff is privately owned with a small section of 201 acres owned by the state and operated as Congaree Bluff Heritage Preserve, the equivalent of a NC State Natural Area.

The Bluff rises 200 feet from the bank of the Congaree. We are in the coastal plain of South Carolina so the the rest of the area is flat. Thus, views are far reaching. John says this area has the best views in the region but very few people are aware of the Bluff since it is bordered by the Congaree which has a 46 mile stretch between boat landings. To the north lies the national park which has no roads through it.

Sparkleberry is a common understory small tree or bush. They are a relative of blueberry and do produce a lookalike berry. Although, it looks the same it is not as delicate. 

In 1825 Robert Mills produced an atlas of South Carolina maps. The state had 25 districts which are now called counties. He drew a map of each. The spot above is or is very close to a spot on the Bluff which Mills designated "Lovers Leap".  John was unaware of anyone leaping off here. 

This is a family sanctuary overlooking the river. Someone spent many hours here enjoying nature. It was near here, while peering over the edge of the Bluff, Will spotted a car below. It looked as though it had been there for a while. With his binoculars, John said it had been down there since 1990. He recognized the license plate had a Carolina wren on it and that was the year the state issued the plate. How did he know that? Well, there was a controversy about the bird in question. Carolina wrens are brown with a titled head, long beak and upward pointing tail. The bird identified as a Carolina wren on the plate was yellow, short beaked and downward tail. 

John was going to the Friends of Congaree oyster cookout that afternoon and would ask Kam Arant about the car. Here is the story on how the car got down there: here's the story of Li'l Red, the chevette at the base of the bluff -- Kam Arant's late husband Tom was using it as a substitute pick up, since his was in the shop, to collect firewood -- I thought there would have been plenty to gather on the bluff but apparently he had taken li'l red down that way before  --- anyway he couldn't make it back and  burned the clutch up; they gave up when a borrowed tractor almost flipped over trying to retrieve it; Kam was rolling her eyes for the telling of much of the tale; esp since I think it was her vehicle.