We are currently in rural South Carolina about halfway between Georgetown and Conway, and about 30 miles south and west of Myrtle Beach. The little settlement where our RV pad is located is called Lake Yauhannah although there’s not much of a lake. I think it is a wide spot in the Great Pee Dee River. The refuge includes some of the lowland areas where the Great Pee Dee (I just love to say that) and the Waccamaw Rivers come together.

The refuge is Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, but we have not been able to find it on any maps. We stopped at the South Carolina Welcome Center on the North-South Carolinas border to pick up a highway map, and sure enough the refuge was not on the map. Hmmm, we were a little concerned at that point… But we found it, settled in, and are “hard” at work as you can see. Shannon is working her fanny off.

                                                                

The refuge was established in 1997, and this brand new, state-of-the-art Visitor Center/Environmental Education facility was completed and opened for business in 2008. Objective or mission of the building was to provide environmental education to and for rural South Carolina. Therefore it is located in the rural area away from population centers and main travel corridors. There is a Friends group which has a gift shop in the VC and through its fund raising efforts and gift shop sales hires an environmental educator. It’s the Friends group, then, that does the education and the scheduling, and staff and resident volunteers (us) are not involved directly with environ ed unless we want to be, and we do that by developing a relationship with the environmental educator.   

During our orientation session, we learned that a new policy of the USF&W Service or Dept. of Interior or federal government, we’re not sure which, is a hands-off approach by all staff and resident volunteers (us) in the operation of the gift shop. We cannot operate the cash register or sell anything, etc. Only Friends members can do the selling. Since this VC is 15 to 20 miles out in the sticks, the Friends group cannot get any volunteers to help in the gift shop and the gift shop remains closed.

The VC has a wonderful exhibit room that explains the local ecology of the two river systems that come together here, the Waccamaw and the Great Pee Dee (don’t you just love it?). The Waccamaw is a coastal river flowing through mangrove areas and bogs and picks up tannins which give it a dark black color. The Great Pee Dee (whew!) originates further inland and picks up sediments as it travels to the ocean. It is brown in color. So, you can tell which river you are on or are crossing by the color. When the two rivers come together, both colors are evident as they flow down river and mix. But where I was going with this and the photo is that the VC also has a few aquariums with live animals on display. Not nearly as much as Wolf Creek Fish Hatchery, but there are some similarities. Snakes and turtles. But the star is the alligator. He is an aggressive guy and you don’t stick your hand in the aquarium and pet him. He hisses when you come into his room and strikes the sides of the aquarium when you get near. He is fed a pinkie mouse every other day, and it's done quickly and carefully.

The landscaping around the VC is very pleasing. There is a well-established butterfly garden, and the weather here is still very conducive for butterflies. Ah, weather. We have been getting mostly afternoon highs in the 80's. Last week the humidity was tropical and it was very miserable. Right now the humidity has been lower and it is bearable outside, but the sun beating down is hot. A few days of a Minnesota October might feel pretty good right now.

We work Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. No staff is present on Saturday. Saturday’s are big visitor days; on our first Saturday we had 15 which included a group of 8 motorcyclists who stopped for a potty break, and Shannon counted a few drive-throughs and twice for a couple that drove through twice. Our week days we are getting 3 to 7. So, not a lot happening. Shannon does what she does best when mostly bored. Weeds. This place should look pretty spiffy by the time we leave.