The Dismal Swamp is an area that straddles the Virginia and North Carolina borders. It was once over 1.5 million acres and some of the most difficult territory to move around in. The very nature of a swamp lends itself to difficulty and legends of all kinds of life-challenging habitats and creatures. It became a sanctuary for runaway slave communities to become established and somewhat
protected, .as they eked out a living and eventually the natural resources and farm products would be extracted by hard working and creative entrepreneurs. Eventually a canal system was developed in the area that was a critical transportation system for food, resources and supplies, especially crucial in circumventing the blockades that so effectively limited the resources the Confederate states could access during Civil War. Alas, nature does not always follow the aspirations of men. It is now around half a million acres that still has canal routes and even some hiking trails throughout the area. I sought refuge here for a couple of days during severe thunderstorms and torrential downpours.






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