Caw Caw Interpretive Center

Today was a Webelo Den Event at the Caw Caw Interpretive Center.
It is a Charleston County Park.  It is located in Ravenel, SC.  It used to be a rice plantation. The rice fields are still there but they are filled with marsh grasses now. There are 8 self guided trails, but the Den booked an interpreter to teach us about the park. We learned alot!

The road in to the park.

I always take his picture at the signs. He is wearing a cub scout activities shirt under that sweat shirt!

Before the rest of the scout's arrived, Lon played with the diorama.  You could fill and drain the rice fields

Back outside, the scouts are all here, ready to learn !

The scouts all around our interpreter!  She was very nice.

Lon looking through the spotting scope!  What a great piece of equipment. The boys were not allowed to touch it and they were very good about it

Pointing out the difference between a bird's nest and a  grey squirrel's nest!
Birds are flat and have twigs. Grey squirrel's have more leaves and are rounded.

She (sorry, I can not remember her name right now but once I remember it I will put it in) called this shelf fungus. I never knew it's real name, I remember it as bear bread

A white tailed deer track. Those are always cool
A little bit down the trail we learned about beavers moving into the park. They are now rare in South Carolina.  The interpreter showed us a tree with beaver teeth marks in it and perhaps his hole to the underground tunnel to the new lodge he may or may not be building in the little stream.

It is a pretty place

Evidence of alligators!  We did not see the alligator, which was good

There will be more shots of the swamps, it really was pretty.

Not sure if you can tell, but there is a little bit of rainbow sheen on the water.  It is from the cypress needles that feel into the water, releasing lots of tannic acid.

Learning about Spanish Moss. It does contain bugs in the summer. Chigars and red bugs.  It lives on the air, and she poured some water on a small sample and it turned bright green !  Spanish Moss can absorb 8 times its weight in water!
The early Natives used it for diaper filler!

This stop was where the plantation house stood. There is still a clearing there.

You can see some of the rainbow effect

Cypress knees

The swamp on the other side of the path.  The green stuff is called duck algae. It is rich in nutrients for ducks and other aquatic life.

The last stop for learning on the trail.  We all learned alot.
Our tour was supposed to be just an hour and a half, but the boys were all so good, she added some time! It was almost two hours.
It was the perfect day to go out to the Caw Caw Interpretive Center. I am glad we went. Lon had already completed his naturalist pin, but this was worth doing.
I think we should come back again as a family and see more of the park. We could have been there all day.