If you, like many of us, thought Huckleberry Finn and the Swiss Family Robinson had it made - just floating on water, living in a tree house, taking it slow and easy - this is your trip. It's a trip down the Edisto River with an overnight stay in a tree house that would be the envy of the entire Robinson clan.

Carolina Heritage Outfitters (just 45 miles from Charleston, off I-95) operates the river tour and tree house accommodations within its privately owned Edisto River Refuge. The Edisto is a blackwater river that runs through one of the most pristine natural areas in the state. Black because of the tannin secreted by the cypress trees that shelter the bank, the gently moving river flows along at about 2 to 4 mph. Don't hurry the trip. Just relax and try to spot the great blue heron, egrets, anhingas, woodduck, pileated woodpecker, wild turkey, deer, raccoon, bobcat, river otter and alligator that inhabit this area.

Halfway through the 22-mile trip you arrive at your tree house. There you'll find nearly everything you need -- cooking utensils, a gas stove, provisions for breakfast, a wall lamp and sleeping quarters for two to eight people.

Sit on the porch overlooking the slowly moving water. Listen to the serenade of the frogs and owls. And imagine. Gazing at it in its unspoiled beauty, it's not hard to imagine how this land looked before anyone floated through these waters - and why they came back time after time.

By Joquita Burke