• Tagged ancient trees, bayou, enivronment, Florida, islands, Jekyll Island, Lake Verret, Louisiana, moss, nature, plantations, rivers, Savannah, South Carolina, Spanish moss, swamp, trees

One of the first things to strike you with a sense of wonder when you visit the deep South is the grandeur of beautiful, draping Spanish moss decorating the huge trees. While the hanging moss has a mysterious appeal for people not used to seeing such natural beauty, Spanish moss-draped live oak trees thrive in the southeastern United States. If you don’t live there, then the charming and somewhat spooky appearance of the silver-gray strands, hanging like natural Halloween decorations, summon images of old plantations, bayous and the swamps like seen in movies. The fall season and bright foliage of northern colder climates steal the show during autumn, but for portions of the south, Spanish moss is a show stopper year-round. When it sways in the wind at night, this tangled ‘tree hair,’ as the Native Americans called it, is both eerie and intriguing. French explorers dubbed it ‘Spanish Beard’ as an insult, so the Spanish then named this moss ‘French Hair.’ It’s been used as bedding, stuffing, upholstery, insulation, mulch, medicine and in arts and crafts; it’s even been used as an ingredient in making voodoo dolls. Yet this flowering plant, is is not even a true moss. It’s a distant member of the pineapple family and grows until it looks like it’s dripping from large trees. It can grow over 25 feet long and does not kill the giant, ancient trees. Here’s a look at some stunning, spooky Spanish Moss. [48 Photos]

• Tagged moss, mountains, National Park, nature, Olympic National Park, photos, pics, trees

Olympic National Park in Washington offers a bit of everything for nature lovers, hikers and adventurers like Pacific Ocean beaches, rain forest valleys, glacier-capped peaks and a dazzling diversity of plants and animals. 95% of this park is still wilderness, making Olympic Wilderness one of the wildest places left in the lower 48 states. The National Park Service says, “This year, nearly 40,000 people will camp in the Olympic Wilderness and several hundred thousand people will take day hikes and walks. Olympic is fragile. But if we care for Olympic, we can preserve its wildness and grandeur for future generations.” In this awe-inspiring national park, visitors can go from glacier, to marvelous moss-draped wilderness, to the sea in one amazing day. [36 Photos]