Fossils at Dawn

We didn't go to Charleston for profound experiences of nature. We went because we always felt we'd love the city if we had more time to explore its urban pleasures. But the only sublime experience on our recent trip was a sunrise Fossil Tour of Morris Island with Charleston Outdoor Adventures.

Primarily, we went to Charleston to eat and drink. Charleston is that kind of place. People dress up and spend substantial sums of money on excellent food and strong cocktails, or slip something over a swimsuit and spend much less money on excellent food and local beer.

Yes, the city is steeped in complicated history and rich in historic sites and museums, and I did visit a couple of those places too, but we went to catch the end of the the Wine + Food Festival and stayed a full week because I was able to reserve a campsite at James Island Park for seven nights in March of 2024.

James Island is conveniently located between the historic center of Charleston and Folly Beach. There's a huge dog park with the slight drawback that it is on a small lake in coastal South Carolina. (Gators.) We'd camped there before. It was actually one of our first outings in an RV after we bought our Little Guy Max in 2020. That trip had only been a weekend visit, and Charleston is further than we usually go just for a weekend. Our previous visits to the area had always been short– a night or two or even just an afternoon. We'd always enjoyed ourselves and thought we would love to spend a week there. We did enjoy it, but neither of us lost our hearts to Charleston. We expected to love it. We expected to add it to our list of most favorite places. We did not. I have no bad feelings about the city. I don't know why we didn't feel the magic spark. Overall we both felt our trip was nice.

My fossil tour was a brilliant exception to this perfectly pleasant four-star week. The tour leaves at whatever time is appropriate for the tides on Morris Island, and my tour left Bowen's Island at 7 am.

A word about these islands. All of them are part of the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia, but not all of these are barrier islands facing the Atlantic Ocean. James Island and Bowen's Island are surrounded by tidal rivers and marshes. Morris Island and Folly Beach are barrier islands. We'd been to Bowen's Island before to eat at Bowen's Island Restaurant, a no-frills seafood place with impeccably fresh seafood and great views of the marsh.

I'll admit I was disappointed that my tour had to leave so early, but I love to look for shells and shark's teeth, and I'd read fantastic reviews of the tour. It seems you are practically guaranteed to find something interesting, so I shelled out my $80 or so and showed up at the literal crack of dawn.

The boat ride out was one of the peak experiences of my life. The oranges and pinks in the sky kept getting more and more dazzling as we twisted and turned through the marsh, down Folly Creek to the ocean. Our boat was the only thing disturbing the utterly calm water's surface. Birds of all sorts flew alongside us for a while before turning out into their preferred section of the marsh. As we arrived at Morris Island the sun was just rising above the horizon and frolicking dolphins were silhouetted in its light. Even the captain of the boat, who spends his life out here, took pictures of the glorious morning.

Once on the island, our captain, a passionate amateur fossil hunter, taught us what to look for. I confess I was the slowest learner in the group, but he very patiently drew large circles in the sand and directed us to find the fossil he saw. He didn't even have to break his stride to see fossils. It was an effective way to teach us. The kids in the group learned fastest, and they were off to collect the most amazing things.

I may have been the least successful hunter that day, but I was quite happy with my haul. Our guide told me what sharks all my different teeth were from, but I don't remember at all because really I'm not a collector, I just like the experience of walking on a deserted beach and finding teeth from animals that lived millions of years ago. I do remember that the round fossils are vertebrae. I also remember that some of the teeth had been through the shark's digestive system.

We spent about two hours walking and looking. I enjoyed talking with a woman from Seattle who had never been to the coastal South before.

The ride back was less dramatic than the ride out but any boat ride through the marshes is a delight to me.

I can't say I was disappointed in anything on our Charleston trip. But nothing exceeded my expectations except searching for fossils at dawn.

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