Corolla is on the east coast of the United States in North Carolina (NC), just 5 hours and 290 mi from Washington DC but the village was a world away until 1955 when electricity finally arrived. In the 1970s only about 15 people lived in the village and the paved road stopped 15 miles south of town. In October 1984 the state took over a private road and made it part of NC Highway 12. The state extended the road to pass thought Corolla, and it was the village’s first paved road.

The wild horses of the Currituck Outer Banks have survived nearly 500 years of fierce Nor’easters and hurricanes. They are truly representative of the Outer Banks spirit – untamed and rugged – and are an integral part of what draws visitors to the northern beaches every year. Nowhere else can you see wild Mustangs walking along the beach and grazing among beach homes.

Over 7,500 acres of the northern-most beaches have been defined as a horse sanctuary. As you enter the area you see a sound-to-sea fence that is use to protect these beautiful animals. The Colonial Spanish Mustang is on the Critical Breed list of the American Livestock Conservancy and on the Critical list of the Equus Survival Trust. Colonial Spanish is a group of related breeds and strains with common ancestors from stock brought to the New World from Spain.

Accounts of Spanish explorations and colonization attempts in the early 1500's state that Spanish Barb and Arabian horses were imported. Present day Corolla and Ocracoke island wild horses carry the distinguishing features of Spanish type horses. One striking similarity to the Arabian ancestry is the number of vertebra (one less than most breeds), which occurs in the Banker Horse Breed.

The Spanish Mustang Registry is satisfied that the Banker Horses, in particular the Corolla strain, are as lineally pure to the 16th century Spanish importations as can be found in North America today, and that they compare closely to the selectively bred South American Spanish derivative stock.

With all the above information researched, I needed to see these horses for myself. Thanks to the state of North Carolina the ride to Corolla was very pleasant, paved all the way.

After some false starts in planning I share with you what we finally figured. We first thought that we might save some money by not buying a tour to see the horses but soon learned that the soft beach sand would overwhelm our Ford Ranger 2x4 truck. We first walked in a bit and only saw other folks fighting the sand so we backed away. The horses aren’t dumb; they live a mile or better up the beach. Remember, every mile walked in you need to walk a mile out!

There are a number of good tour operators. There is no need to recommend anyone in particular but I do have a specific thought on seating. Some tours seat you facing-in toward the center of the truck…poor! Select a tour where you sit facing front. Some of the best pictures are taken coming upon the horses, not going past, and sitting front you get to look left and right. Our tour was extended a bit when our drive needed to push another driver out of a sand rut.

More pictures on http://www.flickr.com/photos/streamline_travel_videos/

See you on the road

Bernie J

Streamline Travel Videos

“Your bridge to adventure”

Hi fellow travelers,

I’m spending the summer of 2012 at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina as a National Park Ranger. It’s only a day and a half from home in Massachusetts and it was a very easy ride. Please follow along with my wife, Jan, and me as we share with you some less traveled nooks & crannies of the Outer Banks.

Currituck Beach Lighthouse, Outer Banks, North Carolina

On December 1, 1875, the beacon of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse filled the remaining ''dark spot'' on the North Carolina coast between the Cape Henry light to the north and Bodie Island to the south. Automated in 1939, the night beacon still flashes to warn ships sailing the chain of barrier islands along the coast.

Built in 1874-75 by the US Lighthouse Board-Superintendent of Construction, Dexter Stetson. With an overall tower height of about 162 feet, its one of the tallest lighthouses in the country.

This redbrick lighthouse towers above the northern Outer Banks in Corolla Village. Visitors can climb the circular staircase of 214 steps to the top of the lighthouse for a panoramic view of Currituck Sound, the Atlantic Ocean and the Currituck Outer Banks.

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse is fitted with what is known as a first order lens, which means it’s the largest (about 9-feet tall and 6-feet in diameter) of the seven Fresnel lens sizes. It is a white light but at one time flashed red. A red glass panel was place on a rotating mechanism around the outside of the first order Fresnel lens, which the Outer Banks Conservationists (OBC), permanent stewards of the lighthouse, plans to put back in place with continued restoration.

With a 20-second flash cycle, the light can be seen for about 18 to 19 nautical miles. The distinctive sequence enables the lighthouse not only to warn sailors but also to help identify their locations. Like the other lighthouses on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, this one still serves as an aid to navigation. The beacon comes on automatically every evening at dusk and ceases at dawn.

To tell the Currituck Beach Lighthouse from other regional lighthouses, its exterior was left unpainted and gives today’s visitor a clear view of the almost countless number of bricks used to form the structure. Additionally, the forged wrought iron detailing throughout, including the brackets supporting the gallery, the railings, rosettes, spiral stairs, are among the finest examples of Victorian design, anywhere.

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse was the last major brick lighthouse built on the Outer Banks. Thirty years ago, the Currituck Beach Light Station was in need of repair. The nonprofit OBC was created to preserve the light station. Since then, the OBC has spent more than three decades and nearly $1.5 million from private funding restoring, maintaining and operating the lighthouse. OBC receives no government funds. OBC opened the lighthouse to the public in 1991.

The Currituck Beach Light Station is a member of Currituck Heritage Park, Historic Corolla and Historic Albemarle Tour.

Near the lighthouse is historic Corolla village and the Whalehead Club. These are should-see for all visitors to the Outer Bank.

Don’t miss the wild horses. I will talk about them in a future post.

Hi fellow travelers,

I’m spending the summer of 2012 at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina as a National Park Ranger. It’s only a day and a half from home in Massachusetts and it was a very easy ride. Please follow along with my wife, Jan, and me as we share with you some less traveled nooks & crannies of the Outer Banks.

Currituck Beach Lighthouse, Outer Banks, North Carolina

On December 1, 1875, the beacon of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse filled the remaining ''dark spot'' on the North Carolina coast between the Cape Henry light to the north and Bodie Island to the south. Automated in 1939, the night beacon still flashes to warn ships sailing the chain of barrier islands along the coast.

Built in 1874-75 by the US Lighthouse Board-Superintendent of Construction, Dexter Stetson. With an overall tower height of about 162 feet, its one of the tallest lighthouses in the country.

This redbrick lighthouse towers above the northern Outer Banks in Corolla Village. Visitors can climb the circular staircase of 214 steps to the top of the lighthouse for a panoramic view of Currituck Sound, the Atlantic Ocean and the Currituck Outer Banks.

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse is fitted with what is known as a first order lens, which means it’s the largest (about 9-feet tall and 6-feet in diameter) of the seven Fresnel lens sizes. It is a white light but at one time flashed red. A red glass panel was place on a rotating mechanism around the outside of the first order Fresnel lens, which the Outer Banks Conservationists (OBC), permanent stewards of the lighthouse, plans to put back in place with continued restoration.

With a 20-second flash cycle, the light can be seen for about 18 to 19 nautical miles. The distinctive sequence enables the lighthouse not only to warn sailors but also to help identify their locations. Like the other lighthouses on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, this one still serves as an aid to navigation. The beacon comes on automatically every evening at dusk and ceases at dawn.

To tell the Currituck Beach Lighthouse from other regional lighthouses, its exterior was left unpainted and gives today’s visitor a clear view of the almost countless number of bricks used to form the structure. Additionally, the forged wrought iron detailing throughout, including the brackets supporting the gallery, the railings, rosettes, spiral stairs, are among the finest examples of Victorian design, anywhere.

The Currituck Beach Lighthouse was the last major brick lighthouse built on the Outer Banks. Thirty years ago, the Currituck Beach Light Station was in need of repair. The nonprofit OBC was created to preserve the light station. Since then, the OBC has spent more than three decades and nearly $1.5 million from private funding restoring, maintaining and operating the lighthouse. OBC receives no government funds. OBC opened the lighthouse to the public in 1991.

The Currituck Beach Light Station is a member of Currituck Heritage Park, Historic Corolla and Historic Albemarle Tour.

Near the lighthouse is historic Corolla village and the Whalehead Club. These are should-see for all visitors to the Outer Bank.

Don’t miss the wild horses. I will talk about them in a future post.