Day 28 - Buxton - Two Far 2022 Reunion Bound (the long way around)

May 7, 2022

Day 28 - Buxton

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We took a short ride today out to the Hatteras Lighthouse. Kerry was very disappointed to learn that is was closed to climbing due to ongoing restoration work.

We still had fun visiting the museum and walking around the grounds.

The best thing about our visit was meeting Cynthia and Raphael from Pittsburgh. They both love cycling and have biked a number of trails, including the GAP, C&O and the Ohio to Erie Trail.

They were very interested in our bike. We always enjoy the opportunity to tout the joys of tandem travel! Cynthia even got to take a test ride.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse At 198.49 feet, it is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States

The current lighthouse was built in 1870. The shifting coastline of Hatteras Island made it necessary to move in the lighthouse in 1999 to protect it from the ocean.

This map shows how the Hatteras coastline has changed over the last 150 years.

The enormous movement of sand has always created a problem for overland transportation on the island as well. Plank roads were used before paved roads were built. Today, roads are still closed by sand and water after strong storms.

After decades of trying various measures and some intense debate, the decision was made to save the lighthouse by moving it 2900. The move took 23 days.

The NPS beach near the lighthouse.

Leaving the lighthouse, we took a ride through the NPS Cape Point campground.

We were surprised to find the campground nearly deserted on a May weekend. There was not a single RV present and only 2 tents.

This was one of the 2 tents in the campground. At first, we thought this was one of those tents that extend from the hatch of an SUV. When we got closer, we saw that it was attached to a 1/4-ton military trailer. (AKA Jeep trailer)

This was the lone occupant of the campground that we saw.

We spent the rest of the day loafing around. Or goal is to be on the road shortly after 6AM to minimize our exposure to rain and headwinds. We'll see how that works out!

Today's ride: 9 miles (14 km)
Total: 1,033 miles (1,662 km)

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Dave CardarellaIt was very interesting to read about the lighthouse move. It cost
$11.8 million to move it (I googled it.)
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