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Congaree National Park, South Carolina

On a hot, humid day we walked through this old-growth hardwood forest and were impressed ... and a little frightened ... by all the large spiders. (Stop at picture #4 if you don't like spiders.)

Below: Majestic bald cypress trees.



Below: The humid conditions lend to the growth of exotic fungus on the trees.



Below: Some colorful fungus on a fallen branch.



Below: Bright purple beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) were plentiful.



Below: One of the many large, frightening spiders in the park. This is a golden silk orb-weaver which can grow to over six inches long (with leg span).



Below: This spider (suspended on a web that you can't see) was over four inches long but our camera was shaking too hard to get a good picture. These spiders have been known to catch and kill small birds in their webs.