It is good that some of us prefer to live in the middle of nowhere. Though Reston has lots of green space compared to a place like Tyson's Corner, it is all relative.
Our coastal home is about two miles from this marsh area in the Croatan National Forest. The trails through the park are wonderful.
Those of us who live close by are fortunate to be able to enjoy them all year. Since the weather on the North Carolina coast is rarely too cold for a hike, we wander through the marshes even more in the winter than we do in the summer when it can be hot and humid.
This being Easter weekend, the campground near this marsh is full of people, many from far away and some even from Virginia.
Camping has changed a lot, and as we did a swing through the campground last evening, we only saw one tent and one set of college guys trying to figure out how to make a tent out of a tarp.
No matter where you are rains wash what is on the roads into the streams and rivers. We do not have a lot of roads but we do have a lot of marsh land which filters the run off. The coastal rivers are also full of nature's live filter, the oyster, which filters water at up to 1.3 gallons per hour.
In a certain sense places like the Croatan National Forest and NC's Crystal Coast provide a balance to the urban development of places like Raleigh and Reston.
Friday as I was dodging oyster beds coming in from the river, I did not have such positive thoughts about the oysters. The next time I come in from the White Oak River to our marina, I will try to remember that oysters, even when we aren't eating them, and marshes, wherever they may be, are great treasures which we are lucky to have in this rapidly urbanizing world.
