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SUNSET AT HATTARAS ISLAND
Day 25, 26 To the Mainland by Ferry then Matamuskeet NWR, N.C.
Day 25 (May 14)
These two days brought terrific changes from the busy style of the “hit the beaches, grab the fishin’ pole” attitude on the Outer Banks, to the changes in the topography, the activity, and the environment of our trip. Where the Outer Banks holds the east coast tourists and part timers in the palm of its hand, the eastern shore (mainland) of North Carolina is quiet, pastoral, and without many of the distractions that are present on the Outer Banks. Oh, the OBX has its assets to be sure and provides income for many of the residents. It is the “Surfing” capital of the world (that includes sailboarding,
Day 25 (May 14)
These two days brought terrific changes from the busy style of the “hit the beaches, grab the fishin’ pole” attitude on the Outer Banks, to the changes in the topography, the activity, and the environment of our trip. Where the Outer Banks holds the east coast tourists and part timers in the palm of its hand, the eastern shore (mainland) of North Carolina is quiet, pastoral, and without many of the distractions that are present on the Outer Banks. Oh, the OBX has its assets to be sure and provides income for many of the residents. It is the “Surfing” capital of the world (that includes sailboarding,
OCRACOKE LIGHTHOUSE
para boarding, and some surfing.).The winds are almost always there at 15-30 mph. Hawaiians will disagree with this I am sure.
But we left that on Thursday Am and boarded the Hatteras to Ocracoke Island Ferry (free) at 9:30 after being” bumped” by the priority vehicles (mostly gov’t and trucks). That journey for the 10 miles takes about 40 minutes and we did spot some American Oystercatchers and Black Skimmers along the way. That put us on the SE end of Ocracoke Island away from the Ferry Docks. It is a 10 mile drive to the Ferry in town . (Ocracoke) We had made reservations so were assured of a place on the Ocracoke to Swan Quarter (mainland) Ferry. There was a wait, however as that Ferry left only at 1:00 PM. Looking for birds, mailing postcards and observing the many fishing boats that came and went from the boat launch occupied us in part. Lunch occupied the rest of the time. We departed at 1:00 Pm on a vessel about twice the size of the first one .This one carried about 50 vehicles across Pamlico Sound. As these Ferry’s are not like the one to Mantoulin Island or Newfoundland with lots of room, the key is with the trailer to “watch me” (the guide man repeated this many times until I got the message.). It is so easy to fallback in habit and look in the rear view mirror and see the rollout awning (over the slide out) come inches away from the overhang on the Ferry. He convinced me though that he could keep me and the trailer safe, I finally placed my trust in him completely and kept my eyes on him. I told him afterward,”You are good”. , “Thanks” he said.
This Ferry ride is three hours across the Sound to Swan Quarter. Never heard of that, eh? Well it is not much. I think there is one restaurant there, but we pulled off the Ferry (”watching and trusting”) to exit the close quarters. The campground is only about 24 miles from the Ferry Dock, and suddenly one realizes we are in a pastoral, rural setting that surrounds us as we move into the interior. This campground – “The Osprey Nest” is small with just 16 sites (we had called ahead) and there was Audrey the owner/caretaker mowing OUR lawn space... Already we could feel the personal touch of these people and this place. There was no office, so in the morning we went to her kitchen and paid the fees. No credit card here! The wind was howling at 30-40 mph as we set up camp.
This campground is situated on the northern shore of Lake Matamuskeet, the LARGEST lake in North Carolina. At 40,000 acres it makes up most of the NWR by the same name. Geese are the main inhabitants of the shoreline and they are in the “chick” stage of family raising (see pics). We settled in and enjoyed the peace and quiet of a rural setting.
Day 26
The temperature remained warm in the morning (72F) and we had set our sights on seeing the NWR at Matamuskeet. The wind was calm. Two bikers that came in with their tent were already on the road to get their 50 miles in before noon. After a “walk around “to scout for birds in the campground, we set out to go up the road just a few miles. There is a Reserve Office so that is where we picked up any hints and maps we should learn about the Reserves in this area.
Lake Matamuskeet is 40,000 acres in size andin the 1910’s, there was an attempt to create a “New Holland” by draining the lake and creating great farmland from the soil. After some years this attempt to keep a pumping station operating and canals flowing (emptying into the Ocean) it was given over to the government. The pumping station was, at that time, the largest in the world in 1915-16 when it was built. Then, In the 1930's the CCC was called into “revitalize” the pumping station, revert the Lake to its former state and rebuild the Lodge at the pumping station, for hunters on the “Greatest Goose Hunting Lake in North America”. Today that pumping station due to faulty steel (they used beach sand which had salt in it and corroded the steel) is being rebuilt to use it in the revitalizing of the Lake. It is an important feeding ground for 100,000 swans, geese and ducks that stay here from Nov to late Feb before heading north again. Included in this effort are water level adjustments, fields of corn and soybeans raised by cooperative farmers, and the native seeds like millet, panic grasses and spike rushes. There are woods, of loblolly Pine and the surprising Bald Cypress all around the lake and in it1
Our tour was on the roads and trails that are open to the public. We did add some birds to our list and saw some that we had only seen once or twice. These were; red headed woodpecker, prothonatory warbler, wood duck, sanderlings, red tailed hawk (we had not seen many hawks), and the glossy and white ibis. The days total was 43 species. It was a good, warm, mostly sunny, day. To add to this we didn’t have to drive too far either. I think I only put 24 miles on the car. Oh yes, before I forget, the rural area gas price was $2.39/gal. We bought that here in Fairfield at a station that had no sign at all. We went by it on the way in and missed it. Yes they were the old flip up handle pumps.
Tomorrow we hope to visit the 2nd of three NWR in this area called Pocosin NWR. This was donated as part of a land grant from the Mellon Foundation and includes 110,000 acres. It is twice the size of Matamuskeet NWR.
‘Pocosin’ means in Algonquian “place on a hill” and although there are no hills here it is higher than the surrounding land. These wetlands are flat and have extremely poor drainage. Hence, they are peat bogs that have been used in the past for fuel, and are extremely subjected to fires. But more on that tomorrow
But we left that on Thursday Am and boarded the Hatteras to Ocracoke Island Ferry (free) at 9:30 after being” bumped” by the priority vehicles (mostly gov’t and trucks). That journey for the 10 miles takes about 40 minutes and we did spot some American Oystercatchers and Black Skimmers along the way. That put us on the SE end of Ocracoke Island away from the Ferry Docks. It is a 10 mile drive to the Ferry in town . (Ocracoke) We had made reservations so were assured of a place on the Ocracoke to Swan Quarter (mainland) Ferry. There was a wait, however as that Ferry left only at 1:00 PM. Looking for birds, mailing postcards and observing the many fishing boats that came and went from the boat launch occupied us in part. Lunch occupied the rest of the time. We departed at 1:00 Pm on a vessel about twice the size of the first one .This one carried about 50 vehicles across Pamlico Sound. As these Ferry’s are not like the one to Mantoulin Island or Newfoundland with lots of room, the key is with the trailer to “watch me” (the guide man repeated this many times until I got the message.). It is so easy to fallback in habit and look in the rear view mirror and see the rollout awning (over the slide out) come inches away from the overhang on the Ferry. He convinced me though that he could keep me and the trailer safe, I finally placed my trust in him completely and kept my eyes on him. I told him afterward,”You are good”. , “Thanks” he said.
This Ferry ride is three hours across the Sound to Swan Quarter. Never heard of that, eh? Well it is not much. I think there is one restaurant there, but we pulled off the Ferry (”watching and trusting”) to exit the close quarters. The campground is only about 24 miles from the Ferry Dock, and suddenly one realizes we are in a pastoral, rural setting that surrounds us as we move into the interior. This campground – “The Osprey Nest” is small with just 16 sites (we had called ahead) and there was Audrey the owner/caretaker mowing OUR lawn space... Already we could feel the personal touch of these people and this place. There was no office, so in the morning we went to her kitchen and paid the fees. No credit card here! The wind was howling at 30-40 mph as we set up camp.
This campground is situated on the northern shore of Lake Matamuskeet, the LARGEST lake in North Carolina. At 40,000 acres it makes up most of the NWR by the same name. Geese are the main inhabitants of the shoreline and they are in the “chick” stage of family raising (see pics). We settled in and enjoyed the peace and quiet of a rural setting.
Day 26
The temperature remained warm in the morning (72F) and we had set our sights on seeing the NWR at Matamuskeet. The wind was calm. Two bikers that came in with their tent were already on the road to get their 50 miles in before noon. After a “walk around “to scout for birds in the campground, we set out to go up the road just a few miles. There is a Reserve Office so that is where we picked up any hints and maps we should learn about the Reserves in this area.
Lake Matamuskeet is 40,000 acres in size andin the 1910’s, there was an attempt to create a “New Holland” by draining the lake and creating great farmland from the soil. After some years this attempt to keep a pumping station operating and canals flowing (emptying into the Ocean) it was given over to the government. The pumping station was, at that time, the largest in the world in 1915-16 when it was built. Then, In the 1930's the CCC was called into “revitalize” the pumping station, revert the Lake to its former state and rebuild the Lodge at the pumping station, for hunters on the “Greatest Goose Hunting Lake in North America”. Today that pumping station due to faulty steel (they used beach sand which had salt in it and corroded the steel) is being rebuilt to use it in the revitalizing of the Lake. It is an important feeding ground for 100,000 swans, geese and ducks that stay here from Nov to late Feb before heading north again. Included in this effort are water level adjustments, fields of corn and soybeans raised by cooperative farmers, and the native seeds like millet, panic grasses and spike rushes. There are woods, of loblolly Pine and the surprising Bald Cypress all around the lake and in it1
Our tour was on the roads and trails that are open to the public. We did add some birds to our list and saw some that we had only seen once or twice. These were; red headed woodpecker, prothonatory warbler, wood duck, sanderlings, red tailed hawk (we had not seen many hawks), and the glossy and white ibis. The days total was 43 species. It was a good, warm, mostly sunny, day. To add to this we didn’t have to drive too far either. I think I only put 24 miles on the car. Oh yes, before I forget, the rural area gas price was $2.39/gal. We bought that here in Fairfield at a station that had no sign at all. We went by it on the way in and missed it. Yes they were the old flip up handle pumps.
Tomorrow we hope to visit the 2nd of three NWR in this area called Pocosin NWR. This was donated as part of a land grant from the Mellon Foundation and includes 110,000 acres. It is twice the size of Matamuskeet NWR.
‘Pocosin’ means in Algonquian “place on a hill” and although there are no hills here it is higher than the surrounding land. These wetlands are flat and have extremely poor drainage. Hence, they are peat bogs that have been used in the past for fuel, and are extremely subjected to fires. But more on that tomorrow
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