May 27, 2010

Outerbanks - Cape Hatteras National Seashore

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of traveling to the Outerbanks of North Carolina for Devon and Mitch's wedding. I arrived the evening before the day of the wedding and set up camp at the beautiful Frisco campground. The tidy little campsites were tucked away behind the shelter of the sand dunes. I set up my little tent that I hiked the Appalachian Trail with and headed out down the boardwalk to take a look at the ocean. On the way, tiny little deer peered at me while grazing and the sun illuminated the plants, including the pennywort, Hydrocotyl bonarienses, growing in the dunes. As the trail climbed to the top of the sand dunes, I had a spectacular view the Cape Hatteras Light house and the ocean. The famous breezy winds blew as I marveled at the fully intact shells found along the beautiful shore. That evening with binoculars in hand (instead of a camera), I watched a great horned owl start his hunt at dusk, and as I slept away, the mama loggerhead sea turtles came ashore to lay their eggs and I prayed that they wouldn't be crushed by the ridiculous number of trucks that drove out onto the beach. I slept well only to be woken early in the morning by a whipporwill telling me it was time to start my day! To read about the ecology on Cape Hatteras National Seashore, follow this link.


















2 comments:

anellesgardening said...

Frisco is one of my all time favorite camp grounds. Looks like you had awesome weather for your trip!

Jessica Massey Benton Lobdell said...

I did have wonderful weather! It was my first time at this campground. Actually, it was my first time this far out on the Outerbanks. It was a wonderful trip for me. Watch the next few posts for more pictures from the trip!