Welcome Back the Night Sky

Human appreciation of the night sky has had a long history. People today still gaze up at the stars and planets, asking the same questions as those thousands of years before them. It is a place of mystery, a place that can’t be touched and these celestial bodies bring wonder and amazement to those that enjoy a long lived pastime. Sitting around the fire, one might imagine another world and contemplate the fragile life cycles that we have here on earth.

We also have a history of using the night sky for other benefits and gain. Here at Cape Hatteras, mariners would use the night sky for navigation and direction. It was valued as much as our historic lighthouses that still shine today on the shores of North Carolina. Natural darkness is also vital to the many creatures that call these barrier islands home. Sea turtles depend on the night sky for reproduction as new hatchlings look to the moonlight for guidance back to the sea. Nocturnal land animals rely on night darkness for their own protection and survival.

Today, more of us are taking for granted the experience of natural darkness; a cosmic wonder that is disappearing. Not only are we noticing a loss of visible stars in the sky, but we are losing our sense of perspective as we enter a world of endless sun. 90 percent of the population is now denied the unique beauty of the night sky. Light pollution continues to increase with more and more wasted light directed above. Though modern technology has limited our need to use the sky, we still enjoy staring upward pondering a world beyond our reach.

Fortunately, Cape Hatteras is an excellent place to enjoy the night sky. National Parks are some of the few remaining sections of country where we can enjoy the magnificence of a starlit sky after sunset. This narrow strip of barrier islands, 30 miles out to sea, brings us further from the lighted mainland. At Cape Hatteras National Seashore we have the opportunity to gaze back in history and enjoy a show that has been playing since the beginning of time. So, we ask you to join us after sunset, turn off any unnecessary lights, sit back, relax, and welcome back the night.

Turtle Patrol

Turtle stranding season is in full swing now as we are seeing more and more stunned young turtles wash up. Most help we recieve requires volunteers walking the beaches on the sound side of the barrier islands to look for anything that has been stranded overnight. Recently I have been able to find 3 turtles, unfortunately no live ones. One of the smaller ones was fresh dead, so fresh that we probably only missed him by 12 hours or so. I did have one live one about 2 weeks ago that was transported successfully to rehab. It leaves you feeling slightly depressed when you meet ones you just missed being ablr to save. The turtle in the picture washed up and had been dead for a couple of days im guessing becasue it was starting to smell a little bit. This is a young Kemp's Ridley approx. 8-12 years old. They take 25 years to reach reproductive age so small as they may seem they actually have a number of years behind them.

Most of the strandings that we find are about the same age. This is becasue they are most vulnerable at this size to disease, cold, and wind. As youngsters these turtles are far out to sea, traveling thousands of miles. Being no bigger than the palm of your hand, they are living life near the ocean surface a ways out to sea feeding on plankton and numerous other floating particles that they can find. As they become larger they then return to the shallows where they can feed on larger creatures such as jellyfish, crabs, and snails. Some turtles like the Loggerhead have powerful jaws that can crush any hard shell and your fingers too if you accidently get them too close.

When the turtles first start coming into the shallows near Cape Hatteras they are still small enough that they can be pushed around my ocean currents. Both the Labarodar currents from the north and the Gulf Stream from the south meet at Cape Point causing strong water moments and awkward travel for these animals. During the winter months the goal is to find their way into the gulf stream which they will then stay in the warmer waters until spring. If the crazy island weather hits and there is a sudden cold snap, this is when we are on the lookout for cold stunned turtles. Being so small they do not have enough body fat yet to control temperature. If their body temperature drops too low this will cause a shutdown in their body systems and they become pretty helpless. We come then to find them washed up on the beaches unable to return to the water. These are the turtle that we know didnt make it to the Gulf Stream in time for the colder winter weather.

When coming across a turtle on the beach the first step to to see if there are any signs of life, which can sometimes be difficult if a turtle is really lathargic and out of it. By touching the back of the neck one can sometimes see some head movement. Also, tapping the inside of the front flipper will also trigger some reaction. Sometimes if we are still not sure we poke at the eye slightly to see if it will blink. If a turtle is found alive, the first thing to do it get it out of the water and off the beach. These animals can not be warmed quickly however ( 1 degree F per hour) wrapping them in a towel and keeping them dry is the best way to do so when they are being transported to the vet. There they will be treatting and hopefully released after some time in rehab. Last year over 100 turtles were found on the beaches and 38 successfully returned.

Coming to find a Kemp's Ridley in the sound side of the island (fresh dead).

Wind blown and tired...but a rewarding feeling.

Turkey and Wetsuits

As for hosting my first Thanksgiving it turned out rather well. Kaitlyn (neighbor from home) came up to visit for the holiday because she attends college a couple of hours west of Cape Hatteras and didnt intend on making the 12 hour drive to NY so we hung together for 3 days. We were in charge of the turkey, stuffing, pie, rolls, and gravy. Having never prepared a turkey on my own before I was a little skeptical. The 3 others that joined us included Rachelle and Jenn and Jeff who are they newly weds in the nps neighborhood. They brought the rest.

Most of the preparation details were passed on to me because I was actually willing to take control of the situation. This included removing the neck and giblits out of the body cavities....and then grabing the bird and chasing kait around the house with it flapping its wings. The gravy was the best part and the turkey was delicious. I believe the direct quote was, "This gravy is bangin!" So we had a successful day in the kitchen, proving that we werent just two stupid girls left to handle something important ;)

Today, feeling adventerous, we decided to go down to the surf shop and rent wet suits. We then proceeded to drive to Frisco and drag Rachelle out of her house and flooded back yard to come wipeout ...i mean surf with us. The waves were 10 feet or so but they just werent breaking the way that we needed to get a good ride. I managed to get up on my knees only once before getting slammed into the curl and decided that I would then just float and watch the sunset over the lighthouse. I must admit that turning over underneath your board before a wave hits is a very good way to avoid slamming your head, although you run the rist of hitting yourself with your own board.

Wetsuits surprisingly keep you very warm...until you get out of the water. We should have gotten in closer to where we parked the car. THats all I have to say.

Move of the Century

I have the task of giving a program about the lighthouse. The 2 interp rangers that are stationed here for the winter both need to have a talk on this topic and it is obvioius why. So that means Jen and I are both working on bettering our programs :) We wanted to make each one different so we both choice different lighthouse topics. Jen is delivering a talk about the light's historic values and how life was for the lighhouse keepers out there on the Outer Banks. I chose the epic relocation project named "the move of the century." After the relocation it was named a National Civil Engineering Landmark which I think is pretty neat!

The lighthouse was moved from its original location to its new home 2,900 feet to the southwest. The move was completed in the summer of 1999 so this year marks the 10th aniversary. This truly was an engineering feat. Most visitors come in amazed that it was able to be moved all in one piece without a single crack in the foundation. The only crack in the lighthouse was caused by lightning long before the relacation project.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse weighs 4800 tons...thats more than 2 space shuttles and is composed of 1,250,000 bricks (The tallest brick lighthouse in the world). At 208 ft it is also the tallest lighthouse in North America. Intimidating?....yes. Those responsible for the project were a chimney moving company out of Buffalo, NY and a housemoving company out if Virgina. Both the principal and double keepers quarters were moved as well and placed at the new site.

Preparation began 6 months earlier. Workers dug down 6 feet from the base of the lighthouse and proceeded to separate the lighthouse from its granite base with a diamond tiped cable saw. As the granite was removed, steel shoring towers were placed underneath to transfer the weight. A straight line was then cleared and paved with gravel creating a move path for the lighthouse. The lighthouse now sat on steal that rested on heavy duty rollers. this is how the lighthouse would move...little by little.

Hydrallic jacks pushed from behind as the monsterous structure made its way slowly down the move path. Steal beams were taken from behind the lighthouse and placed in front like stepping stones as it moved along. After 23 days of slow movement the light reached its new home a safe 1,500ft from the ocean on July 9, 1999. It now stood the same distance away from the sea as it did when it was first built in 1870. Just goes to show how fast our world is changing. The island is being shifted to the southwest at an extrodinary rate. She continues to shine today keeping man-kind safe from the dangerous waters of the diamond shoals and we have returned the favor in keeping her safe from beach erosion for another 100 years.

Some storm damage pictures....you may recognize this house as the house that was filmed in the movie "Nights in Rodanthe" the road closure is curently about 20 minutes south of where I live.

Beached

As I sit here in the Museum of the Sea...in front of the famous light house...at Cape Hatteras National Seashore...I end up thinking to myself " why have I been here for 2 hours and still havent seen a single sole walk in here. This is a wonderful place to visit." Then there is a snap back to reality. "Oh Yeah...no one can get here and the only people who are here have been here twice already because they are so bored that they came back twice.



The road has been washed away and has been shut down since Thursday. So everyone who visited the seashore for a vacation is getting a little more of Hatteras Island than they were hoping to get. As for me, Jennifer and I have been having real heart to heart conversations because there is nothing else to do besides complete stats sheets for which we have no stats. Today we have had a total of one family come strolling through the grounds that managed to get through the road block. As of right now the only way off the island is to travel 20 miles south the Hatteras Village and take the 2 hour ferry trip back to the main land...not for me.

The outer banks continues to be in a "state of emergency" and I guess if I were from a big city I would consider myself stranded. At least we have a grocery store, a roof over our head, and each other for entertainment. For now they are deciding to build a temperary section where you are allowed to drive along the beach past the road damage as long as you have 4 wheel drive. We shall see in the days to come.

In other news I am hurrying through my interpretive writing course at top speed. I have already learned a great deal and look forward to my next assignements include a site bulletin and radio essay. There is the possiblity that my site bullentin will be used here in the park. Everyone who comes in here is wanting to know all about the moving of the lighthouse so I think my bulletin will be on that.

Open Our Beaches!

Things have started to slow here on Hatteras Island. I had the chance to get out and explore several times. The only interpretive staff that we have here are Laura, Rachelle, myself, Mark and a couple of volunteers. Mark will leave in about 2 weeks which is sad because we get along quite well and have had fun. We will be getting another seasonal in on the 9th and I have heard that she will be a good addition.

My exploring has been limited to Rodanthe, Hatteras Village, and I am hoping to get to Ockracoke soon enough. The towns up and down the chain look very similar in that the houses are tall and the boundary between the villages and park land obvious. "Since we cant build out we will build up!" most of the locals don't want anything to do with park service employees but I have found that if you let them know that you have nothing to do with the decisions to close the beaches they will tollerate your presence. There are signs everywhere in town stating things like "open our beaches" or "RIP federal government promises." Needless to say my uniform comes off rather quickly after work before going into town. There are some places that really support the park and welcome employees without a second thought. It is just knowing which ones to avoid is the trick.

This is Mark's brillant idea for Halloween night. " So....I think that one of us should dress up like a sea turtle, another like a piping plover (endangered bird) , and the other can be a park service employee holding a beach closed sign. We then go out for drinks and start closing down sections of the bar and if people get too close we expand the closure. It would either be really funny or end really badly depending on who was in the bar that night!" Hmmmm...I dont think so!