Part 1 of 41 NC State Parks
I’m thankful we got to have our visit right before Hurricane Dorian hit this beautiful island, so before we get started, here are some links if you feel inspired to help contribute to disaster relief efforts.
OBX Community Foundation
Ocracoke Island Hurricane Dorian Relief - GoFundMe
This was my first time taking a real week-long vacation with a significant other. Kevin and I stayed in an AirBnb in Hatteras, and after several days, I convinced him that there’s more to see in the Outer Banks besides fish. I kinda knew about Jockey’s Ridge in name only, and we went into this completely blind as to what to expect. I was wearing a dress if that tells you anything. For those like me who sorta know stuff but need a refresher, Jockey’s Ridge is the largest natural sand dune on the east coast. It was wild to see, like an expansive hilly desert with beachy plantlife. Instead of heading straight for the top of the dune where the rest of the tourists were gathered, we took the nature trail and hiked about a mile to the sound. Something unique I’ve never been able to observe on other hiking trails was how the impressionable sand here lets you see all the little tracks of different wildlife. We got a kick out of following the footsteps of a grasshopper and then finding him sitting at the end.
I was so busy appreciating nature that I barely noticed we were suffering from heat exhaustion. I don’t know what Kevin carried in that backpack, but the only thing we needed to bring was water, and I guess we brought everything but. The park rangers at the office were prepared for dummies like us, and gave us some cold packs for our wrists once we got back.
Part of the reason we decided to visit Jockey’s Ridge was so we could put a stamp in these passport books we got awhile ago at Pilot Mountain. I’m not sure if others experience the same mid-vacation mindset where anything seems possible, but I got inspired on this hike. My goal for the next year or two is to take photographs at all 41 North Carolina state parks and blog about each experience. With the photography aspect in mind, I would have loved to have gotten some cool shots of people hang gliding with the colorful kites, or come back when the sun was lower in the sky for some dramatic lighting on the dunes. This was a spur of the moment stop on our trip though, and something I tend to have a hard time with is being totally immersed in an experience while also taking cool photos. It’s typically one or the other for me, so this will be one of the biggest challenges I’ll experience with this project.
I told Kevin about my idea, and he was on board immediately, coming up with the extremely ambitious next step to hike the Mountains to Sea trail once we’ve visited all the parks. Vacation Me was like “yes! what a great plan!” Now that I’m home and back to my normal mental state, I keep pointing out how much we’re absolutely not ready, and every logical reason that walking the length of the entire state in one go is insane and terrifying. But that’s still the plan, so I hope Future Lindsey and Future Kevin are the fit and outdoorsy people of our dreams. Stay tuned.