Wednesday Filler: The Coolest National Park Entrance Sign

Entrance signs for national parks are wonderful things to see.  Even for people who pass them by and don't otherwise give the place a second look, they have an effect on reminding the onlooker that this is a special place set aside by the nation (it takes an act of Congress to create a full park) for reasons of national significance.  Some signs are cooler than others though.

Many parks don't even put a small spray of local flora or even exotic bedding annuals at the base of their sign, but Congaree sure does.  I was expecting just another sign that I would get really exited over, but instead I found palm trees (Sabal Minor), something I never expected native this deep inland in even South Carolina.  And yes, they and other wonderful truly Subtropical things do happen to grow here, and there are a hundred other reasons why you should be thrilled when you see this sign.