Lighthouses of the Outer Banks: Part II vacation photos

Cape Hatteras 208' tall, 250 steps...

We climbed all the way to the top

Officially completed and lit in 1870

It is the 2nd of 3 that have been constructed in Buxton, NC

In 1803 the first Cape Hatteras light house was built it was sandstone it was 90'

the light from the Argand lamps and reflectors were not sufficient.  

It was modified to a new height of 150' in 1854 and first order Fresnel lens were installed

they were the most powerful of that time. In 1861, during the Civil War, the Fresnel was removed by retreating Confederate soldiers to keep it out of Union hands. Shell damage during the war and structural deterioration prompted construction of a replacement lighthouse in 1870.  In 1871 the original light house  was demolished

In 1999 Cape Hatteras lighthouse was moved 1/2 mile to save it from the encroaching Atlantic OceanThe lighthouse was cut from it original base, hydraulically lifted onto steel beams and traveled along

railroad tracks to is present location this took 23 days.  
In the picture below in the upper right hand corner you can see approximately where it sat before it was moved.  This photo was taken from the top looking down into the parking lot

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is my favorite!! Who knows why?

Currituck Beach Light house stands 158'  ~ 220 steps depending on who you asked.  It is located in Corolla, NC
It has a first order Fresnel lens which began flashing on December 1, 1875.
It is visible for 18 miles
Her beautiful natural bare brick makes her most unique...
The 'crazy peeps' climbed to the top of this beauty too

Mom likes this photo looking up through the trees

Bodie (pronounced body) Island Light Station
150', 214 steps
Located just south of Nags Head, NC
Built in 1847 on the south side of the Oregon Inlet known today as Pea Island.
Due to a poor foundation it was rebuilt in 1859 in the same location.

However, it was blown up in 1861 by retreating Confederate troops who feared
the Union would use it to their advantage for navigation.

Today's Bodie Island Lighthouse was completed in 1872 this time on the north side of
the Oregon Inlet.  It isn't far from Cape Hatteras National Seashore.  It has a first order 
Fresnel lens that flashes its 160,000 candlepower beacon 19 miles.
It is an architectural twin to Currituck Lighthouse except for being painted with black and whitehorizontal stripes

Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse

was modeled after a 1877-1955 screwpile lighthouse that once guided mariners along a narrow channel connecting the Pamlico Sound to the Croatan Sound.  The Pamlico Sound is 70 nautical miles in length and encompasses 1,700 sq miles and was once mistaken by early explorers as the Pacific Ocean.  During the peeps vacation they traveled 30 miles on a portion of the Pamilico Sound on the Cedar Island Ferry across the sound to Beaufort, NC.  The trip took 2 hours.

The screwpile lighthouses 

were once very common  serving as aids to navigation along North Carolina's trafficked rivers and sounds

TOTAL STEPS MY CRAZY PEEPS CLIMBED 
THEY CLIMBED BODIE AND CAPE HATTERAS ON THE SAME DAY WITHIN IN A FEW HOURS OF EACH OTHER: STEPS CLIMBED 464

CURRITUCK STEPS CLIMBED 220

TOTAL STEPS CLIMBED IN A 24 HOURS PERIOD WAS 684!!!
YES THEY WERE SORE BUT SO HAPPY TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY!!!