Island Cats of Ocracoke: Part III vacation photos

Ocracoke Lighthouse is the oldest OPERATING lighthouse.

There are others older but they are not in service.

In 1798, a 54' wooden tower was built on this point on Ocracoke Inlet to mark the channel.

After the inlet shifted it was replaced by a light vessel in 1820.  In 1822 that light vessel was also affected by shifting sands.  This same year Congress authorized the funding to build this lighthouse.

It is 75' tall and shines 14 miles out to sea.  it emits a constant fixed beam.

It is not for climbing like most lighthouses.

We were allowed to walk inside.  First opening on the left is a window note the thickness of the walls

 The park ranger at  the light house told mom 

Mr. Kitty has his own website...as of this writing Mom was

still searching for the websie.  Mom said Mr. Kitty was very friendly,

loved on everybuddy who passed by him.

FYI:  The peeps are traitors they rubbed and loved on him

CLICK HERE TO READ ALL ABOUT OCRACOKE ISLAND

FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON BLOGGER
DECIDED TO HIDE OUR big Lighthouse post YESTERDAY
IF YOU MISSED OUR LIGHTHOUSE POST CLICK
HERE

So mom tried all kinds of things to get yesterday's post fixed.
It was set to auto post at 12 am Wednesday.  We could see
the Wednesday post but no one else could see it.
Editing the time and reverting to draft then publishing again
I think what finally worked was editing the time to 5pm
she had been changing it to past times.  

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!!!

Tuesday tale

You know mom was gone 87 hours last week!

 I told her we had to work hard to catch up! You will never believe what she said to me.....!!????? 

MADI YOU AREN'T WORKING HARD...

YOU ARE HARDLY WORKING....

ONE THING FOR SURE HER NEXT 

LEAVE REQUEST WILL BE FLOATING 

DOWN THE RIVER OF DE-NILE!!

Mom says today's post is short and sweet
since she made you read so much yesterday.
Part II of vacation photos is tomorrow.
If you missed part I, click here

HUGS MADI

Wild Horses of Corolla aka Part 1 Vacation Photos

Last Tuesday I posted a WANT ad for a new assistant.  Click here if you missed it.  Well GUESS what the old gray mare aka Mom went on a mission to find me a new assistant! MOL MOL.  

They traveled to each destination via a very luxurious Motorcoach with Globe Treks....more details on this wonderful company at the end of today's post.

The first stop of their Outer Banks tour was to visit.......

Corolla Wild Horses

Descended from the Spanish Mustangs brought to the Outer Banks by early explorers, the Corolla Wild Horses have roamed across the Currituck Outer Banks for approximately 400 years. These horses are such a significant cultural and historic resource to our area that the Spanish Mustang was designated as the official state horse of North Carolina in 2010.

These wild horses roam freely in Corolla and are most commonly found in the four-wheel-drive areas of the beach. It is illegal to intentionally come within 50 feet of the horses, so that means no petting or feeding, but they can be appreciated from a distance on one of our wild horse tours. We have several tour companies that can get you within picture-taking distance while also giving you a great history lesson about the horses and the area itself.

My peeps road in a Humvee owned by Wild Horse Adventure Tours. 

 They road about 8 miles down a paved road

 all of a sudden they were on the beach riding on the sand

and for sure you needed to fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride.

There is no stopping allowed on the beach for about a mile and a half...

once there you go behind the dunes sand paths and to find the surprise of your life..

the most gorgeous, healthy wild horses.

When the Spanish approached the NC coast 400 years ago they let the horses off the ships into shallow water.  The Spanish followed them in boats.  Once on land they found the local

natives to be unfriendly.  The Spanish got back in their boats quickly.  Horses do not get back on ships out of water so they left them on the island to survive on their own 

AND THEY DID.  They adjusted to vegetation there and found fresh water in different parts of the island where they live today.

 As you can see they are gorgeous and healthy and thriving

 The picture below is of one if the stallions...the locals call the Egret a cattle egret.

These egrets and the wild horses live quite happily together.  The horses

attract insects...the egrets follow the horses around eating the insects.

This beautiful horse walked on the right side of the humvee where Mom was sitting.

Mom said it looked up at her with the most gorgeous brown eyes!!

All of the houses on the island are built up on pilings to allow for water to run under during storms. They all have carports not garages like the house below. Several years ago the resident awoke to find a mare in their carport...she had just given birth.  The name on the house

was Sweet Caroline...so the locals named the baby Caroline.

 There was an egret just out of the photo running quickly to keep up with the handsome black stallion.  

Handsome stallion and one of his lovely ladies

look at that gorgeous flowing pony tail

 After looking over all of the applications and photos, I have decided

this handsome fellow is quite suitable to fill in for the old gray mare...MOM....the next time

she takes leave without prior approval

Mom here:  I know nothing about horses (tame or wild),.  I know they are majestic animals.

After seeing these beautiful creatures I have learned they are smart and SURVIVORS!!

They know how to look after themselves and adjust.  There are approximately 100 horses in the Corolla herd....we did not see any 'wild' (LOL) they are all very calm.  Meandering along

about their business pretty much ignoring the humvee and the cameras..  Best time to see them is early morning.  We were there around 9 am.

Ramona, my friend, these photos are for you!!! I know
you enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

ALL OF THE PHOTOS YOU SEE THIS WEEK WERE MADE POSSIBLE BY THE MOST EXCELLENT
GLOBE TREKS AND 'OUR STATE MAGAZINE'
please click on the links above to visit their websites

WE THANK MR. GREG SUTTER, tour manager and guide and owner of GLOBE TREK 
and MS. JENN WHITE, tour host and
 Sales manager of ADVERTISING 
OUR STATE MAGAZINE
We would also like to give a great big round  of applause
to Mr. Joe Warren he is the best Motorcoach Driver
we know. This motorcoach was huge!!
Bravo to you three for your
Excellent attention to details all week and herding
24 excited humans all over the Outer Banks of NC.

They are back.....

FINALLY from the

Tour de Outer Banks Lighthouses of NC

hosted by Globe Trek out of Hendersonville, NC

It was fabulous!!!

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE ONE AND ONLY  MS KATHY FOR HER EXCELLENT

TLC AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL 

MS KATHY YOU ARE THE BESTEST SITTER IN THE UNIVERSE!!

WE MISSED YOU ALL!!!

There are a 87 tons of photos...to go through

but never fear Mom will make sure you see them 

A L L L L L L L L

 Plates!!

*no clue what it means

1. AMULET

2. PRTYNBL, Party in Black

3. PAPUYAYA, *

4. ZONAMED,*

5. GRANDMADEB, Grandma Deb

6. JAXSN, Jackson

7. IAMGR8FIT, I am great fit

8. MYGIRLS2

9. 2DAYIWIL, Today I will

10. SOFTTAIL, someone must be talking about me Madi!! mol

11. RDY2SNP, Ready to snap

12. XPLORER, Explorer

13. GIFT4KAY, Gift for Kay

14. TNTUXEDO, Tennessee Tuxedo?

15. AHOME4YA, A home for you

16. 8IIIIII8, *

17. OBXGAL,  OBX stands for
Outer Banks (which is where the peeps went on vacation)

18. MINJEE*

19. WEROOF!, Roofers?

20. SIGMAX2

21. *DCLEAN*, * no clue

22. HOTMESS

23. ASH-POO, *

24. SURF'N66

25. RUNLATTE, runs for lattes?

26. F1SENNA, *

27. CORGINUT, Corgi Nut

28. POYZIN, Poison

29. HAPLIRET, Happily retired

30. TAXING

NEVER FEAR THERE ARE MORE!!