Tag: B&B Trip Report Page 1 of 2
After a long day of driving home, we made our final stop of the trip in Ohio at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We didn’t have much time so we decided to go see Brandywine Falls. It is a short drive from the visitor’s center to the falls and just a short walk from the parking lot. The falls are very impressive and are bigger than most of the falls I’ve seen in Michigan. While we didn’t have a ton of time to explore the park, I liked what I saw. It’s not that far of a drive, I would love to go back and explore more.
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We woke up on the last day of our vacation, packed up camp, and headed to Antietam National Battlefield. Antietam is a large park, and since we were heading home and didn’t have a ton of time to explore, we chose to do the driving tour. The Battle of Antietam took place on September 17, 1862 and was one of the bloodiest days in American History. With over 23,000 casualties on both sides, the Confederate Army retreated back to Virginia, leading President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Now, the war wasn’t just about preserving the Union, but also abolishing slavery (NPS).
One interesting thing, all around the park are monuments like the one pictured above dedicated to state’s militias who lost their lives at Antietam. While driving around, we never saw a monument to the Michigan Militia. So, I did some research and found out that there are people working on raising money exactly for this purpose. They already have the land for it, but they need funds to construct that actual monument. There is a book that you can purchase to help the cause titled Michigan at Antietam. If you are a Civil War buff and would like to help, I recommend you check it out.
Before this trip, I really didn’t know much about the Civil War and what I did know I learned in High School. Visiting all of these battlefields really sparked an interest and has me reading a lot about it since I’ve been home. I’m glad I got to visit these places and learn about one of the toughest times in our country’s history. I really think more people need to do that, especially today. If we forget our history, we are bound to repeat it.
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We had planned to get into Harpers Ferry in the early afternoon so we had time to explore the National Park and Lower Town. Unfortunately, this was Saturday of Fourth of July weekend and traffic getting out of the Outer Banks was unbearable. We didn’t end up getting to Harpers Ferry until early evening and it really limited what we were able to see on our last two days.
We did arrive in time to explore Lower Town. Walking around lower town, you can practically feel the history. Our favorite place was the True Treats Historic Candy shop. Susan, the owner of the shop was standing by to tell us the story of the shop and give us a brief history lesson. It is the only research-based historic candy shop in the country and a trip to Harpers Ferry would not be complete without picking up a sweet treat to take home with you!
After walking around the town, we got back in the car and headed to our final campground of the trip, Owen’s Creek Campground. Owen’s creek is a tent only campground that is wooded and was surprisingly quiet for a holiday weekend. Interestingly, the campground is located on the same piece of land that houses Camp David. If you’re looking for a place to camp in the Harpers Ferry area, Owen’s Creek was the only one I could find that accepted reservations without a minimum stay. Anyway, I really enjoyed our stay here (especially the shade and the reprieve from the heat) and would definitely stay here again.
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After visiting Bodie Island Lighthouse, we headed to Roanoke Island to learn about the oldest American mystery. Do you remember the story from American History Class? The first English colonists were sent to Roanoke Island in 1585 by Sir Walter Raleigh. Shortly after arriving, Governor John White sailed back to England with the plan of returning later that year with supplies. Shortly, England went to war with Spain, the ships were comandeered by the English convernment and John White was not able to return to Roanoke until 1590. When he arrived the colonists were gone, the fort was dismantled, and the only clue left behind was the word “croatoan” carved in a tree. “Croatoan” was the name of present day Hatteras Island, but due to bad weather, White was unable to venture south and search for the colony. (wiki)
To this day, we do not know what happened to the colonists. We went to a ranger talk on the island where we discussed some of the theories: Did a hurricane wipe out the colony? Were they annihilated by disease? Did they assimilate with the nearby Indians? Did the colonists try to build a boat and return to England? Were they killed by the Indians? Or was it aliens? After returning home, we found this book by a 21st century anthropologist that gives a very compelling theory as to what happened to the first English settlers in the New World. Its too complicated to paraphrase, so I recommend you give it a read if you are at all interested in American history and what really happened at Roanoke.
Of course, when you’re in Roanoke, you have to see The Lost Colony! The drama is performed each summer on the site of the actual events. The drama just ended its 80th season which makes it the longest running outdoor symphonic drama in the U.S. Its the #1 thing to do in The Outer Banks on TripAdvisor and I highly recommend it too! The above photo is the only shot I took on Roanoke and is of the theater that houses The Lost Colony Show.
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The hottest day of the trip, we got on the Ferry from Ocracoke and began heading south. Our first stop of the day was at the Bodie Island Lighthouse. The lighthouse is located south of Nags Head near Oregon Inlet. Because of the heat, we chose not the climb it, but we did walk out to the marsh overlook.
In 1837, a search began for a spot for another lighthouse along the dangerous Outer Banks. They settled on a location in Pea Island, on the other side of Oregon Inlet because Lieutenant Napoleon L. Coste, the leader of the expedition said “more vessels are lost there than on any other part of our coast.” Soon after construction began, there were major structural problems and within a few years, the tower began to lean and the lighthouse was abandoned. A second lighthouse was commissioned nearby, but only two years later, it was destroyed by Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. The current lighthouse became operational in its current location in 1872.
I really wanted to come back here and attempt to get a night sky shot of the lighthouse, like the Hatteras Lighthouse shot. But, unfortunately, it rained all night long so we missed our chance. I will have to come back and try again another time.
For this stop on our trip, we camped near the lighthouse at Oregon Inlet campground. I was nervous about this campground because there’s a warning on the website about the 24/7 construction that is happening on the Bonner Bridge (the bridge that spans Oregon Inlet) but I didn’t notice either the light or the noise. It is really hard for me to separate my feeling about this campground from the incessant heat that day. At this point in the trip, I learned that I was not made to tent camp on the beach in the summer and I was ready to head back north. The last time we were in the Outer Banks, this was one of my favorite campgrounds.
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After visiting the ponies, we headed into the Village of Ocracoke. Coming from Hatteras, the first thing you see when you get to Ocracoke is just road and dunes. Once the island widens out, you get through the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and you reach the Village of Ocracoke. Of all the towns in the Outer Banks, Ocracoke has the most character. The small size of the island causes the village to be kind of tight with cars sharing the roads with golf carts, and in some cases, pedestrians and bikers too. There are quirky shops, boutique hotels, and interesting restaurants all without walking distance of each other.
Located in the heart of Ocracoke Village is the The Ocracoke Island Lighthouse, the second oldest operating lighthouse in the US. It is the smallest of the lighthouses of Cape Hatteras Lighthouses, standing at only 75 feet tall (NPS). Like Hatteras Lighthouse, it is an inland lighthouse, but unfortunately, The Ocracoke Lighthouse is not open for climbing. If you plan to check out the lighthouse, be aware there are only 2 or 3 parking spaces nearby. If possible, I would recommend walking or biking to the lighthouse.
Located in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, a short drive from the Village of Ocracoke is the Ocracoke Campground, where we camped for two nights. One nice thing about this campground is that they have a generator-free loop, meaning you won’t be hearing air conditioning all night long. It seemed like when we were there, most people chose that loop, so we traded generator noise for people noise. We chose a dune-side site so we were able to walk over the dunes right onto the beach which was really nice. One thing that was tough about all of these National Seashore campgrounds is that there was no tree cover and our second day at Ocracoke was rough because it was 92 degrees at ten in the morning and we had to pack everything up. The heat was really starting to take it out of me. I don’t know that I would tent camp on the beach in the summer again. Luckily, we had an hour ferry ride back to Hatteras to cool down and relax.
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After packing up camp at Frisco, we got in the car and headed to the ferry to Ocracoke Island. If you are not familiar with Ocracoke, it is a remote barrier island off the coast of North Carolina that is only accessible by ferry. We got to the ferry dock around 1pm and there was already a significant line. We waited about an hour just to get on a ferry! I learned my lesson; if you are planning this journey, get to the ferry dock as early as possible.
Our first stop on Ocracoke was the pony pens. The Ocracoke ponies are known as Banker Ponies but they are not ponies at all, but small horses. The ponies are believed to have come to Ocracoke from a 16th or 17th century European shipwreck. In the 1950s a local boy scout troop took over the herd and had the only mounted troop in the nation. In the 1960s, the herd was taken over by the National Park Service. Currently, there are 17 ponies in the herd and you can help care for the animals by adopting a pony.
When planning a visit to Ocracoke, be sure to check out the NPS calendar. About once a week, a ranger talk is led at the pony pens that allows you to get up closer to the ponies and allows you to feed the ponies if you so please.
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We woke up early our first day at Frisco and headed to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse to get there before the crowds and the heat. We arrived and got our ticket to climb the 256 steps to the top. My view fromthe top is pictured below.
Later that evening, we came back for a night sky ranger talk on the beach. We used our experience shooting the night sky the night before and put it to use with the famous lighthouse as the foreground.
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse has an interesting history. The original Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was built in 1803 but was too short to warn passing ships of the nearby Diamond Shoals. In the 1850s, the lighthouse was added onto, making it 150 feet tall. But, by the 1860s, the lighthouse was in dire need of repairs so the current lighthouse was constructed and was finally lit in 1870. In 1935, the lighthouse was decommissioned due to beach erosion and replaced with a skeletal steel tower. The lighthouse was then transferred to the National Park Service and in 1999 the lighthouse was moved inland to its current location to protect it from ongoing beach erosion (NPS).
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After visiting the Wright Brothers Memorial, we made our way to Frisco Campground, our home for the next two nights. This was our favorite campground of the trip, full of dunes and secluded spots. Since it was the middle of the week, there weren’t a lot of other campers, so we chose a spot at the top of a dune with a view.
Deer in the dunes at Frisco Campground
The Cape Hatteras National Seashore has applied to be a international dark sky park which means that it has a lack of ambient light nearby and is great for stargazing, and in our case, astro-photography. With our D3100s, we’ve never attempted astro photography, but we rented a D7200 for this trip and we had to take advantage of this combination! It was a fun learning experience! The above Milky Way shot was taken at our campsite at Frisco.
To learn more about Cape Hatteras National Seashore, visit the National Park Service. Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. For information about our new Guided Photography Tours, visit GuidedPhoto.com.
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