The Dismal Swamp—Not!

At Albemarle Sound in North Carolina, the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) splits in two for a while. The Virginia Cut route runs near to the coast. The Dismal Swamp route is farther west, running through the—you got it—Dismal Swamp. But really, do these pictures look dismal to you? Green trees, calm water, wild pink roses and white magnolia blossoms, birds singing, dragonflies standing guard on the life lines, and butterflies flitting across the deck, so close that they’d brush by us. It was pretty darn undismal. In fact, the only dismal thing we encountered was the too-warm, still nights when we had to put up all our screens or close the hatches due to the bugs. Otherwise, the days were terrific, even if you do have to motor the whole way. Also, the people were great. Halfway through there is a free dock at the Dismal Swamp Visitor Center, and the women in the center were wonderful. They showed us the book exchange, gave us loaner bikes to bike the trail, and told us how to get to the village of South Mills for an ice cream. The second day, we met Robert, the lock keeper at the Deep Creek lock, who is happy and friendly and blows a conch horn while you’re locking through. We gave him one of the conch shells we collected in the Bahamas because his were looking worn. The Dismal Swamp route is a bit longer than the Virginia Cut route, but it certainly was worth the extra time and effort.