There stood in front of me the oldest tree that I have seen at Angel Oak park in Charleston, South Carolina. The tree, estimated to be 500 years old, stood in the middle of its namesake park. It was quite a sight.

The wide trunk looked firmly rooted to the ground and the branches were as big as small trees. Wooden poles were propping the gnarly branches as they sagged to the ground. Dried, fallen leaves were completely blanketing the ground. The thin, slender upper branches seemed to be reaching up for the open sky.

We were leaving South Carolina and it took us an hour to drive to its location. It was close to the route that we were driving going to Savannah, Georgia. We couldn’t pass the chance of seeing one of the oldest tree in South Carolina. Our visit to the Isle of Palms and Shem creek park were all pleasant and this attraction was something different.

Both sides of the dirt road were filled with vehicles hogging for space. There was a two way traffic of people heading and coming from the cramped enclosure of the tree. A layer of dust were dancing around their feet as they walked.

The immense size of the tree makes one pause and try to grasp the whole scene. It was showing on the faces of most people. We were no different as we slowly walked our way toward the trunk. I felt the surrounding environment change as the tree canopy hovered over me. It took a few moments to process the experience and become familiar with it. As I became more familiar with my surrounding, I heard the singing of the birds and the chirping of the insects. It was coming from all over the tree canopy and it was so loud but I didn’t hear it until I became aware of it.

It was not this experience that I was expecting from the Angel Oak tree. I thought it was just going to be another old tree experience.