Yes, the Swamp is Dismal today.

This was the best sunshine of our day:  sunrise at Elizabeth City, NC.

We followed Zendo out of Elizabeth City and into the Great Dismal Swamp today.  We covered 18 miles to reach the South Mills Lock for the 11:00 am opening.  Once we went through the lock as one of six boats, we were in the Great Dismal Swamp Canal.  

  In this lock the Lockmaster took a bow and a stern line from us, looped it around a bollard and handed it back. 

Then we shortened our lines as the water lifted all boats 8 feet.

It's a rainy day, which is too bad because it's too wet to take a hike or a bike ride in the swamp.

The Great Dismal Swamp, which runs between North Carolina and Virginia, was first named the Great Dismal, which means "swamp." So now the name is redundant.  George Washington visited this area, which was slated to be cleared for settlement; however, they decided to harvest the timber instead.  People escaping from slavery hid in the swamp on their way north.  The canal was built by enslaved peoples and completed in 1805.  

The green overhanging trees in the canal are lovely.  However, US Highway 17 runs beside it, so it does not have the deep quiet of the Okeefenokee Swamp.  If it were a sunny day, we could take a dinghy trip to Lake Drummond, away from the highway and really be in swampy land.

Here are the first four boats tied up at the Welcome Center in the swamp.

Aunt Aggie is rafted to the first boat, Tranquility.  

Since this photo was taken, two more sailboats have arrived. A big one is rafted behind us.  His anchor is just 3 feet behind our dinghy.  I will need tranquility to sleep tonight in this crowd of boats.  Tomorrow more rain and wind are expected.  All the boats are planning to leave at 7:30 am.