Cape Hatteras National Seashore – North Carolina
On our vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, we visited the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. This site was established in 1953 as the first national seashore in the United States Cape Hatteras protects more than 70 miles of barrier island coastline.
Rising above the landscape is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse which was completed in 1870. It’s bold black and white spiral stripes stand at 198 feet, making it the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States. Its powerful beam once guided ships safely past the shoals that extend far out to sea.
The lighthouse’s story mirrors the dynamic nature of Cape Hatteras. As the shoreline eroded the ocean crept close to its foundation. In 1999, engineers took on the feat of moving the entire lighthouse nearly 3,000 feet inland to preserve it. We appreciate the commitment to preserving history in the face of natural change.
Cape Hatteras, with its shifting sands and strong ocean currents, reminds me that history is not frozen in time, that it moves, shifts and adapts.
Read More From Nancy
Obed WSR – Tennessee
When I traveled through Tennessee, I found myself moving through the landscape of the Obed Wild and Scenic River. Unlike many places we visit and clearly arrive at, this was a landscape you enter without gates or formal entrances. At the Obed WSR there are miles of creeks and rivers. This remarkable river system came […]
Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality Monument – Washington DC
In 2018, I visited the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument in Washington D.C., one of the newer additions to the National Park System at the time. In my pursuit to visit as many National Park historic sites as possible, I often made a point of seeing them soon after they were designated. When Belmont-Paul came […]
Big Cypress – Florida
Big Cypress is not exactly a national park, but a national preserve. A national preserve allows certain traditional uses to continue while still protecting the land. When Congress established Big Cypress in 1974, it became one of the very first two national preserves in the country, Big Cypress protects nearly 729,000 acres of land, making […]
