Return to Cheraw

I had never seen a Fox Squirrel before. I don't even like squirrels. Tree rats they

call them here, for all the damage they do, but I had to be intrigued by the little masked fellow that greeted us at the entrance to Cheraw State Park. This picture comes from the Internet as I was not quick enough with the camera. But he sat just like this atop the gatepost as we turned in. A friend from the Central Carolina Paddlers had joined me for a paddle trip this past weekend but it soon became a wildlife adventure starting with this little guy and his many cousins skittering through the park.

I posted about the park last October when the paddle club chose Cheraw for their annual club camp out. The lake is exquisitely beautiful ending in a cypress swamp, but cypress trees dot the shoreline and Pat caught this picture in the early morning calm near our campsite.

The ranger station, where we checked in is across the lake from the camping area. The swimming area and a golf course are on the side with the ranger station. Apparently the Fox Squirrels prefer to associate with the golfers, we never saw them on the camp side of the lake. When we settled into our campsite, we were beset with their obnoxious cousins, the Gray Squirrels, pushy critters who immediately assumed we were there to feed them. We spent a good deal of time discouraging them before they left us alone. When Pat inadvertently left a wrapped granola bar in her kayak after we beached, she returned to find squirrels close enough to step on but no sign of granola bar or wrapper.

The lake held other delights as well.

 A bridge and boardwalk connected us to the other side of the lake, a comfortable walk despite the heat. All manner of things were in bloom including laurel and delicate purple water iris. We had hoped to see pitcher plants when we paddled among the cypress trees but the water level was too high. Just across town, the Greater Pee Dee River was 6 to 8 feet above flood stage. There was no flooding near us, but this normally quiet lake had a definite current and we could hear a roar from the spillway back at camp.

Because of the heat, we paddled in the early morning, then again at dusk. On our first day trip to the swamp we desturbed an osprey who cried out and tried to lure us away from a large nest atop a cypress tree.

On an evening paddle, we followed an otter, swimming and diving for his supper. We saw ducks and geese. We saw very few humans on the water, this despite good weather and a very full golf course.

Cheraw's moniker is that it is "the

prettiest town in the South" and it may be. We decided to explore the historic district one afternoon and we're not disappointed.  The graveyard of Old St. David's Church contains soldiers from every war since the Revolution. Family plots are so full, graves are being stacked. Everything in the historic district is beautifully maintained. We have a map now and hope to return in cooler weather to explore more.

There is so much to see and do here, on the lake, in the town, and in the wonderful old graveyard, I hope to return in the fall with my nature-loving, history-appreciating children. Like the squirrels, we'll see what else we can find!