The Pink Pig & Savannah National Wildlife Refuge

We've heard of the Pink Pig BBQ & Seafood restaurant and were surprised to see it was about a half mile from the campground.  They are known for their pork bbq, seafood and have a great reputation.  We decided to put their reputation to the test today and had lunch there.  One good sign was there were a lot of cars and trucks in the parking lot and almost all the tables were taken when we got there. 

The service was great and the staff was friendly and outgoing.  No grouchy people were there as far as we could see.  The outside isn't that impressive, but the inside was decorated with pink pigs, grey pigs and even a turkey.  If you like bbq, then this is the place to eat if you are in the Levy, SC area.  We will go back to this restaurant when we get a chance.

Gobble gobble!

 We ordered the pork bbq platter with coleslaw and brunswick stew and everything was great.  They serve a very large plateful of food and have a nice assortment of sauce for the bbq.  Gerry went traditional and I had a Gullah spice sauce which was great. 

Gerry couldn't finish her lunch and we took the leftovers back to the motor home and then went geocaching for a while.  We wound up at the Savannah Nat'l Wildlife Refuge and took the 4 mile drive through the marsh and low country and managed to see some gators and birds.  It was an interesting drive and we turned on our radio to AM 1610 to listen to a broadcast about the refuge and what was at each of the 4 audio spots.

"Savannah NWR, which lies on both the South Carolina and Georgia sides of the Savannah River just upriver from the city of Savannah, Georgia, was established April 6, 1927. The refuge 28,168 acres include bottomland hardwoods and tidal freshwater marsh. A 3,000 acre fringe area of upland hardwoods exists along the eastern boundary. An additional 3,000 acres forming an impoundment system are managed for migratory wading birds and waterfowl. These freshwater impoundments were formerly the rice fields of plantations dating back to the mid or late 1700's. Many of the dikes enclosing these pools were originally built during the rice culture era.

The refuge is home to a large variety of wildlife including: ducks, geese, wading birds, shorebirds and several endangered and/or threatened species including bald eagles, wood storks, manatees and shortnose sturgeon. The refuge also provides nesting areas for wood ducks, great horned owls, bald eagles, osprey and swallow-tailed kites among others."

Spanish Moss covering old trees.

Old cistern from long gone Plantation house.

Prime gator spot

Rice field trunks were used to control the level of water when the area was a rice plantation.  There were notches in the post where they could vary the amount of water coming into the rice field.  There are still a few of the old controls still left in the marsh.

We managed to claim an earthcache today during our drive through the marsh.  Caches have been banned from most National Parks, Refuges, etc for some reason.  At one time virtual caches could be placed but they are banned also.  Earthcaches are like virtual caches in that you have to answer questions about the cache, but there isn't a physical cache at the location.  This cache had a few questions and also accepted photos of the cachers at the location.  Here I am below with proof of me finding the cache along with answering the questions. 

After the drive thru the refuge we decided to head back to the motor home and relax for a while.  Gerry wanted to read and I wanted to watch some football.  I haven't seen a complete game all year and high scores seem to be the norm for now.

That was our day, how was yours?