OBX after Irene

The pictures are stunning...roads crumpled like the top of crunchy brownies, the island cut in half  and breached in several places.  Power lines hang limp and houses tilted and skewed in shapes never intended.  It will be awhile before they open up the campgrounds on the Outer Banks.  As campers and lovers of the ocean, we try and spend a couple of weeks in June on the OBX. Its a world unto itsself, wild, beautiful and chalk full of history.  Fot those of you not familiar with it, its a 50 thousand year old spit of sand jutting 18 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean.  Off of Buxton NC, sits Cape Hatteras and its famous light house.  This is where the Labrador current fom the cold waters of the North Atlantic and the warm waters of the Gulf Stream converge.  In the days of square sail ships it was the super highway back to Europe.  It was also a dangerous place with shifting sand bars and tricky currents and it produced thousands of shipwrecks.
 
Hatteras Island is a wonderful destination and there are many campgrounds dotting HWY 12.  Scenic, historical, and chalk full of outdoor activities on an island with no structure taller than 4 stories. But for now, and I suspect the rest of 2011 there will be no camping on the OBX.  The residents and state is struggling to re establish roads, power and clean up.  To read more subscribe to The Island Freepress: http://islandfreepress.org/ There are pictures of the aftermath and links to help with the recovery donate and help this commuity get back on its feet.