Lost Colonists, Wildlife Refuges, and Microbrews

Saturday, April 25, 2015

It's been a beautiful week in North Carolina's Outer Banks. The weather has been perfect; highs in the 70's and lows in the 50's and 60's. Bright sun, blue skies, and some wind, but great weather for walking the beach. Each day we wait until late afternoon and make the walk on the beach when the photography is better and we don't need sunscreen. Big hats and we're set to go!

Great walking beach!

Flotsam or Jetsam? Horseshoe crab shell.

Fierce wildlife - Sandpipers, Willets, and Herring Gulls

Adding in a little upper body exercise

Guess who's dead body washed up - Sponge Bob!

And this Northern Puffer that had washed up

This small Ballyhoo was still alive, so we quickly gave him a lift back to the waves.

Major timber from an old shipwreck

Today is cold, overcast and the rain is starting, so we will be content to have a quiet day in the rig. Since yesterday was the last nice day, we decided to go exploring. The temps had dropped into the high 50's and it was windy, but sunny. We hopped in the little silver egg and drove a short way north and then west over the bridge to Roanoke Island. After driving through the town of Manteo we reached Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. Having read recently about the Lost Colony on Roanoke Island we were curious to see the site.

Sir Walter Raleigh sponsored the first exploration and settlement of the North American coast for England. In 1587 a colony with men, women and children was established on the northern end of Roanoke Island west of the Outer Banks. When supplies ran low, Governor John White was sent back to England. He was unable to find a ship to return for three years since England was at war with Spain. When he finally returned, the colonists, including his daughter and grand-daughter, Virginia Dare, who was born there, had vanished. Today it's called the Lost Colony because the mystery has never been solved. There is speculation that they traveled elsewhere, were killed, starved, or massacred by the native peoples, but there is no conclusive proof of any of these outcomes.


There have been archaeological digs since the 1800's, and the remains of a small earthen fort were found. It has been reconstructed on the site. A few artifacts have been found as well. The visitor's center houses a small exhibit explaining the history and displaying some of the artifacts. Nearby “The Lost Colony” drama has been performed outdoors every summer since the 1930's. I attended a performance as a child and still vividly remember Virginia Dare in her mother's arms being carried off the stage and into the wilderness to “who knew where?”

Reconstructed earthen walls of the fort

Roanoke Island also figured in Civil War history. The Union seized the strategic island from the Confederates. North Carolina was still a slave state, but when the Union took the island slaves would be free if they could make their way there. The Union established a Freedman's Colony and over 3,500 slaves lived there. After the war was over they were turned out of their cabins and the land returned to the original owners.

We walked out to the reconstructed fort and then drove back to the main road and drove a quarter mile to the regional headquarters for the wildlife refuges. They have a beautiful 3 year old visitor center with lots of good exhibits in a LEED (green) certified building. Greg looked at the exhibits while I got sidetracked talking to the work campers volunteering there. Karen and Tim are a lovely, interesting couple who started volunteering there two weeks ago for about a six month stint. We've had our eye on volunteering at one of the refuges in the area, Alligator River, Pea Island, or Pocosin Lakes, sometime in the future, and wanted to check them out. We had a great conversation, sharing experiences and work camping ideas. They hope to work next summer at the Elk Refuge outside of Jackson, Wyoming near Grand Teton National Park. How cool is that? We exchanged cards and hope to see them again somewhere down the road.

New Wildlife Refuge visitor's center on Roanoke Island

Our stomachs were growling at that point and Greg had scoped out a micro-brewery in the town of Manteo, so we drove a short distance, parked and walked the waterfront boardwalk to the Full Moon Brewery. We took a short detour to look at the restored lighthouse on the dock. Manteo appears to have renovated their waterfront and we found a lovely commercial waterfront area and residential area with pretty homes. Since the Outer Banks is becoming maxed-out for new homes and businesses, there seems to be a spillover to the nearby Manteo area.

Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse - now the centerpiece of Manteo Harbor

One of the old cast-iron screw-piles used for Pamlico Sound Lighthouses in the 1880s

We declined to sit outside in the cold wind at the brewery, so walked inside a nicely renovated brick building. It was crowded and a bit noisy, but we enjoyed a couple wraps and two microbrews; the Pale Ale for me and the IPA for Greg. Nice, ordinary microbrews, nothing special. Greg said they were brewed English style, so they were milder than we have encountered at other craft breweries. On our walk back to the car we took a quick look at the outside exhibits for their maritime museum. This area was famous for their shad boats.

Historic, locally built shad boat

We decided to make one more stop before going back to Oregon Inlet. In fact, we took the bridge past our campground and over the Oregon Inlet, on the bridge we walked the beach to a few days earlier. On the other side is Hatteras Island and the Pea Island Wildlife Refuge. Stopping at the visitor center we looked at the exhibits and then walked the trail along North Pond. There were several observation platforms to observe the waterfowl. As usual we are either too early or too late to catch the main migratory bird stopovers. There were a few ducks, geese and herons, but still a nice walk in the sun. At that point we declared the day over and went back to our RV to prepare for the coming rain.

The dunes relentlessly try to swallow the main highway, NC 12

Yellow Bellied Slider

This old snapper is very attentive to people walking over the boardwalk bridge, actually following us

Standing there 5 minutes brought out 12 big turtles, looking for handouts

Looking back at the visitors center

One of several birdwatching platforms

Thistle starting to bloom

Tomorrow we leave here to head north for family visits and appointments in Maryland before we continue on to New Hampshire for our work camping. We are due at Geneva Point on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire on May 15^th. Hope the snow is gone by then!