Swanquarter

Sunday had me leaving Pettigrew State Park early and by 8 am I was on my way South.  Back on HWY 94.  Before it reaches the Mattamuskeet area again it passes through Pososin Lakes NWR. There is a great number of Black Bear living in this area, but mostly over on the western side in the Pungo Unit, which I did not get to visit.  I stopped at the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway Bridge for a photo.

The view from the top is magnificent but one can not stop and take photos...

SO I snapped this Hail Mary shot, you can get a feel for how breath taking it was...with the Pocosin, the forest, and the Pungo River far below.  I was making tracks because I needed to be home in time to help Mom on Sunday evening as my sister was leaving there about 1, and home was a little over 5 hrs South.  I planned a stop in SwanQuarter.  

There was some interesting roadside things going on like this...

OUCH!

Once off 94 back onto the Abemarle Highway, (264) I headed in a Westerly direction then took a South turn to Swanquarter, a sleepy fishing village just on the edge of the Pamlico Sound.  I would enjoy returning to take the ferry across to the Outer Banks and the Ocracoke Lighthouse.  I did not get to see it when I went to the OBX last summer due to time constaints...the only way there is by ferry.  Maybe I can combo this with my next trip up to Visit Pungo and Alligator NWR. Dramamine will be necessary, actually I use Bonnie, it worked for me last time I needed it. 

The village is built around fishing and by the looks of it hard times have hit! 

The town does not cater to tourism, no galleries, no eateries, no hip saloons.  Going down Main St, Hwy 45, takes you to the Swanquarter Ferry mentioned above.  I stopped in the Park to enjoy the view eat a quick bite and scan with my binoculars.  A couple of birds seen: Blue Jay, Morning Doves, Red -Winged Blackbirds, Grackles, and Eur. Starlings. I didnt see any Swans, I guess its the wrong time of yr for them  Winter is the best time to visit this area as wintering waterfowl come by the thousands...so maybe my next trip up here can be in winter. 


Lunch Spot at the park

Then I entered SwanQuarter NWR

 the road into the Wildlife Refuge,  is a rutted 2 mile dirt track with many wildflowers along the roadside, like Butterfly weed, 

Brown Swallowtail on Butterfly weed

And this,  Hibiscus Moscheutos was blooming all along the drive...

At the end of the road is the Bell Island Fishing per its 1,000 ft long!! 

You can see people way out there...I didnt walk the "Plank" I had to get going! Didn't see many interesting birds,  a few Laughing gulls, one Fosters Tern, many RW Blackbirds, ...quite a vanishing point!  Wish I had hit this at low tide, may have seen some peeps then.

and a peek at the coastline..

I really wished for more time, I could spend the rest of my life exploring this region alone!! SO Much to see.  I like that these areas have been reserved for wildlife and people like me who would otherwise be shut out of these areas if it was developed with McMansions.  NC has done a much better job of protecting its shoreline from over developing than SC has.  

Spotted on the wire this Blue Grosbeak...female

The journey home proved to be a challenge! At Fayetteville, NC on I-95, the traffic came to a complete stop at exit 87. In 45 minutes time I probably moved 15 ft. Since I was sitting directly by an entrance ramp the little dark angel on my shoulder said "get off this interstate it is not going to move! SO I whipped a U-E and went out the inny! And others followed...up on the street I made a right turn,  Wilma was no help finding me an alternate route so out comes my 1995 road atlas and I mapped my way to Lumberton via back roads and got back on I-95 forty miles down the road there.  

I had some challenges on this weekend road trip but I managed to overcome all of them and had a great time full of new experiences!

Time Well Spent!

 

 PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.