Currituck lighthouse...at the Northernmost tip of the North Carolina barrier islands. Just below Virginia, and until this year home to wild ponies directly descended from those brought by Spanish settlers in the 1600's.

   Full view of this red brick masterpiece.

Next lighthouse traveling south, the Bodie ("body") Island light. Once at the edge of Oregon Inlet, natural movement of sands and tides have left it nearly a mile inland.

Too many beaches to sigh over this trip. . . but this is one of our favorites. On the ocean side of Cape Hatteras, it is now fortified by immense, buried sandbags, concrete & steel reinforcements to protect the famous lighthouse from further erosion.

Third lighthouse this trip, & the tallest in the US . . . an awesome sight. Heavy local and controversy over how best to save it from the Outer Banks' constantly shifting sands. Erosion has put it in grave danger from hurricanes and natural erosion.

Wanchese, at the tip of Roanoake Island (between the mainland & the Banks), remains a thriving commercial fishing center. The old boats remain in service til they are cast aside on sandbars to help stabilize the harbor. This island was settled by Capt. John Smith in the 1580's; Indian names abound here.

All manner of seagoing vessels, both modern and time-worn, . . . and many have been abandoned here at the edge of the "Graveyard of the Atlantic"

August 29, 1998 ©  Tim&Karen