Explore a living art
gallery without walls located on Washington County’s Coastline along
its northern boundary waters on the Albemarle Sound. You can’t drive
to it. You can’t walk to it. Yet its corridors are miles long. The
best way to view and experience the magnificence of this museum is
with the stroke of a paddle.
This art gallery is composed of thousands of
Taxodium distichum, or more commonly known as Bald Cypress. Perhaps
no other species of tree in the US is so remarkably individual and
different in appearance from one to another than bald cypresses.
Shaped, broken, re-invented and broken again by Nor’easters and
hurricanes, these testaments of time show a resilience that goes
well beyond that of even the sturdy coastal live oaks. While there
are older cypress trees found in North Carolina’s protected
tributaries, (like the one on the Black River whose growth rings
confirm its age of 2,624 years old), the cypress of the coastal
sounds possesses far more character and unimaginable shapes due to
their exposure to the unchecked fury of every storm that comes their
way.
When someone paddles by these 3-dimensional pieces of art and views
them from different angles, each piece changes shape, character, and
personality right before your eyes - sometimes causing you to wonder
if it is even the same tree. The stunning array of cypress trees
stand like sentinels in the shallows of the Albemarle Sound, (the
largest freshwater sound in North America). The cypress sculptures
have been created by the same artist. The Sculptor continues to
touch up these works of art in this living garden using the brushes
of sun, wind and water. Their ancestors lie hidden beneath the
waters in the form of stumps and logs. Therefore, canoes and kayaks
the safest way to meander among their living offspring.
Paddle from tree to tree. Each tree has a story to tell. As you sit
bobbing in your boat, imagine what that story is. Look at these
sculptures from different angles. Indulge yourself in the simple and
yet profound beauty of these towering trees. Viewing this museum is
not a race or a sprint to the museum gift shop. Pause and let your
muscles relax and your troubles dissolve as the water cradles and
gently rocks you into a state of bliss.
More than just trees, this open-air museum is also an aviary where
eagles and osprey soar through the treetops, nest, raise their
young. They dive with sharp talons extended to catch the abundant
fish found in the Albemarle. Smaller kingfishers chitter as they
swoop from perch to perch looking for their next meal.
Tourists go to great lengths to go to Easter Island to see ancient
sculptures made by man or travel to see Roman or Mayan ruins. But
how much more impressive is it to see ever-changing living works of
art created by God through nature and set in a giant reflecting pool
of the Albemarle Sound.
The final ingredient added to this experiential art gallery is the
glory of each sunrise and sunset casting golden light on the surreal
sculptures and reflecting off the mirrored surface of the water.
Most mornings and evening the vast expanse of the Albemarle Sound
becomes a placid reflecting pool, delighting padders and
photographers alike. The combined effect rivals that of any place on
earth.
Welcome to the Albemarle.